Still perfect: Ontario moves to 7-0 by outscoring Pleasant

ONTARIO –Bodpegn Miller is the undisputed offensive leader of an undefeated Ontario High School football team that averages 42 points a game.

After a 45-14 win Friday night at home against Marion Pleasant, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior quarterback was anxious to talk about the Warriors’ defense.

“Our defense has been amazing,” said Miller, who passed for two TDs and ran for two more against the Spartans. “The coaches put together a good gameplan and those guys execute it.

“The only reason we’re scoring so much is because our defense puts us in good situations with a short field and we just capitalize on that,” said Miller, who has thrown 14 TD passes and run for nine more in seven games.

The win improved Ontario to 7-0 overall and gave the Warriors sole possession of first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference with a 4-0 league record. Pleasant slipped to 4-3, 2-2.

Bounce-back defensive effort

A week ago, Ontario gave up 35 points in a win against Galion. That helped spur a good week of practice for coach Aaron Eckert, whose defense largely stopped a Spartans’ offense that came in averaging almost 32 points per game.

“Last week, we did some things that we hadn’t done all year and it showed. We got out of position and gave up some big plays,” Eckert said.

“Tonight, I thought we did a decent job, other than the lull in the third quarter there of just doing our job, doing what we’re supposed to do, and not trying to do someone else’s job,” he said.

A big part of that was slowing Pleasant junior QB Owen Lowry, who came in averaging 213 yards per game through the air with 12 TD passes and eight touchdown runs.

“You have to try to get pressure on the quarterback. Tonight, I didn’t think we did a great job of that at times. (Lowry) is really elusive.

“I’m just happy the way that our kids kind of gritted through it, especially in that third quarter when they got it within two scores (at 28-14). It was a game at that point and then we just kind of battled back and then just kind of closed the door on them,” Eckert said.

‘We always want to go 1-0 every week’

Miller said Eckert and his staff have done a great job of keeping the team focused on the task at hand and not looking at what may lie ahead in the future, including a Week Nine showdown against Shelby (5-2, 3-1).

That focus helped Ontario build a 28-0 lead in the third-quarter against a Marion Pleasant team that had won three of its last four games.

Shelby was stunned Friday night, 28-24, at River Valley, a team Ontario blew out, 56-21, in Week Four.

“Coach always gives us a word of the week. This week was being humble. Always be humble, distribute the credit and just don’t look ahead. We always want to go 1-0 every week. We have got to focus on the next game up.

“We will focus on (Shelby) after we take care of (Marion) Harding next week,” Miller said.

‘The MOAC is no joke’

Eckert, whose team got TDs from five different players on Friday night, stressed afterward the MOAC is tough every week. Five of the league’s seven teams have winning records through seven weeks.

“You can’t win them all in Week Seven. You can’t win Week Eight and Week Nine. You have got to win Week Seven in Week Seven.

“Around here, the MOAC is no joke. Anybody can beat anybody in any given week. You have got to bring your ‘A’ game,” Eckert said.

The last two weeks have helped prepare Ontario for what comes next.

“We’re going to play a team next week at Marion Harding (3-4, 2-2) which is super athletic. Those teams like Pleasant or Harding are scary because they can score at any given moment.

“I think (Friday night) was a good wake-up call for us. We’ve had a couple of those these last couple of weeks. I think it’s good for us to realize we have still gotta go.

“Our team’s done a pretty good job of that. I thought we had a really good week of practice, but we have got to continue to get better each and every week,” Eckert said.

SCORING PLAYS

1st quarter

Ontario — Bodpegn Miller 1-yard run (PAT Trey Booker kick), 7-0

2nd quarter

Ontario — Landon Foltz 30-yard pass from Miller (PAT Booker kick), 14-0

Ontario — Quinton Frankhouse 35-yard pass from Miller (PAT Booker kick), 21-0

3rd quarter

Ontario — Mason Vantilburg 1-yard run (PAT Booker kick), 28-0

Pleasant — Alec Columber 26-yard pass from Owen Lowry (PAT Chase Van Oosten kick), 28-7

Pleasant — Columber 42-yard pass from Lowry (PAT Van Oosten kick), 28-14

Ontario — Booker 37-yard field goal, 31-14

Ontario — Miller 22-yard run (PAT Booker kick), 38-14

4th quarter

Ontario — Peyton Dzugan 3-yard run (PAT Booker kick), 45-14