ASHLAND – Junior quarterback Keagan Armitage continued his hot streak for Ashland, accounting for six touchdowns to lead the Arrows to a 49-36 Homecoming win over the visiting Mount Vernon Jackets.
Coming off a record-setting game last week against Mansfield Senior that saw Armitage throw for six TDs and more than 400 yards, the junior picked up where he left off with 315 passing yards, three TD tosses and three rushing touchdowns.
“Offensively, we found some things that were working. Keagan’s doing a good job moving in the pocket, moving away from pressure and then our guys on the scrambles are cutting and getting open for him and he’s putting the ball on them,” Ashland Coach Scott Valentine said. “I thought we ran the ball better tonight. Our guys up front, they got out on us a little bit, so we were able to get up inside in the second half. I think offensively those are things that are working right now for us.”
Mount Vernon (1-6, 0-3) scored on the opening drive when senior Freddie Hart busted loose from 20 yards out to give the Jackets a 7-0 lead.
Ashland (4-3, 3-1) answered with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard TD pass from Armitage to Owen Reef to tie the game.
On its next drive, Ashland marched 66 yards before Armitage plunged in from 2 yards away. A Bryce Stormer extra point gave Ashland a 14-7 lead.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Arrows again drove the field, finishing a 14-play drive with another Armitage touchdown run from the 1 yard line with 3:54 left in the half.
The Jackets struck quickly, moving the ball 61 yards on four plays, including a 56-yard pass from quarterback Jaxon Gregory to Jacob Tiell, before senior Andrew Crane scored on a 1-yard dive. The Jackets converted a two-point conversion cutting the Arrows’ lead to 21-15 with 1:47 left in the half.
Not to be outdone, the Arrows countered with a five-play, 57-yard march that took just 52 seconds off the clock and ended with a third touchdown run by Armitage that gave Ashland a 28-15 advantage.
The Jackets opened the second half with a drive that ended with Hart scoring again, cutting the Arrow lead to 28-22.
Ashland responded on its next possession when Armitage connected with Reef on a 7-yard touchdown pass.
The Jackets went 84 yards on four plays, including a 42-yard run by Dakota Shock, setting up a 6-yard TD run by Crane.
When Armitage found Manny Langston for a 27-yard touchdown, it pushed the Arrows in front 42-29. Reef capped another 11-play drive on the Arrows’ next possession with a 9-yard TD run, giving Ashland a 49-29 lead.
The Jackets ended the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Shock with 2:32 showing.
Hart rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries before leaving the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Crane added 77 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns and Shock scampered for 58 yards and one touchdown.
John Wolfe caught 8 passes for 101 yards and Mitch Eckrich came off the bench to snag 8 passes for 47 yards.
“Mitch was a backup and played some earlier in the year but with those guys (Donald Denbow and Bryke Williams) going down that was the spot he had to go in for us and be able to help us and he did,” Valentine said.
Reef rushed 11 times for 47 yards and one touchdown and caught 6 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Friday night was the third straight game the Arrows have scored 42 or more points and the fifth straight game they’ve scored 35 or more points.
“Offensive football is about your guys making plays. I can call something but if our guys don’t block and our guys don’t make the plays, it’s not going to work, it doesn’t matter what I call. I think that’s a credit to our kids. They’ve kept getting better. They keep working hard in practice on the little things and that’s made a difference for us,” Valentine said.
Next week, the Arrows travel to Clear Fork to take on the Colts (3-4, 1-3).
