GALION — Bodpegn Miller didn’t know how many yards he ran for on Friday night.
Three words suffice.
More. Than. Enough.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior quarterback rode the team bus 11 miles to Galion and then proceeded to let his long legs do the work in a 49-0 win over the Tigers on a rainy night at Unckrich Stadium in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference football game.
Headed to Ohio State next season as a receiver, Miller ran for four touchdowns and passed for another as Ontario remained perfect at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the MOAC. Galion, which won its first four games, fell to 4-2, 1-2.
Two of those TD runs were highlight-reel keepers as Miller raced through the entire Galion defense on runs of 80 and 76 yards, setting up a running clock for the entire second half.
Want real numbers? Miller rushed for 224 yards on nine carries, averaging almost 25 yards per carry. He also completed 10 of 14 passes for 167 yards, averaging almost 12 yards per attempt.
photo gallery from ontario’s 49-0 win at galion on a rainy friday night
Using his 4.43 speed in the 40-yard dash and his eyes constantly scanning ahead, Miller galloped as much as he ran, changing directions and speeds as he loped down the field.
“(Running) just comes natural,” he said afterward.
He came into the game averaging 8.2 yards per carry, rushing for 603 yards in the first five games.
“Honestly, I don’t think. I just see open space and I just go there. Especially tonight, definitely rainy and slippery. I use that to my advantage and really work on my footwork,” he said.
Ontario coach Aaron Eckert knows his vocabulary is tested every week by his quarterback, who also tossed a 25-yard TD pass to Jon Mahon.
“He’s just special. I don’t know, in my lifetime, if I’ll ever get to coach a kid like that again. So you just enjoy it,” Eckert said.
“He’s such a good kid, comes from a good home. He’s got great parents. He’s grounded. He does a great job in the classroom. He does a great job on the athletic field.
“Tonight, you just saw him break away and once he gets in the open field, there’s no one catching him,” Eckert said.
(These photos were taken by Tom Theodore)
Bodpegn Miller eludes Galion’s Ayden Schmidt Credit: Tom Theodore 
Ontario’s Gavin Miller sheds a Galion tackler. Credit: Tom Theodore 
Ontario’s Jon Mahon reaches for a pass at Galion. Credit: Tom Theodore 
Two Galion tacklers wrap up Ontario’s Noah Poole Credit: Tom Theodore 
Galion defenders wrap up Ontario’s James Mahon. Credit: Tom Theodore
Miller is the main reason Eckert has found a way to reload his team this season after graduating 22 players from last year’s 10-2 team.
The coach said the win over Galion was his team’s most complete game of the season.
“By far,” he said.
“We’ve been close. We’ve had good first halves, good second halves. There’s been games we’ve thrown it better. There’s been games, we run it really well.
“Under the (wet and windy) conditions tonight, I thought that we executed. I thought we did a good job of taking care of the football. Defensively, we were pretty sound … just doing our assignments and locking in this week.”
His QB agreed.
“We haven’t brought it together and played four quarters of football,” Miller said. “And you see what we can do right there. We’re just tough, gritty kids, and we didn’t let the rain stop us.”
Galion coach Matt Dick, whose team had scored more than 40 points on three different occasions this season, couldn’t find openings against Ontario. It was the Tigers’ second straight loss, falling to Shelby last week, 35-6.
He said the Warriors and Whippets both focused on stopping his team’s passing attack by using an extra defensive back and presenting a lighter front.
“We have some stuff to run up the middle because it’s a 4-1 box and we’ve struggled to do that. I think if you can get that going that helps all the passing stuff we do. And if you can’t get that going, they’re playing a dime defense on first down,” Dick said.
“We’re gonna watch that film and and figure some of that out. The weather definitely didn’t help us. But that’s not an excuse. They were a better team tonight,” he said.
After facing Shelby All-Ohio QB Brayden Devito last week, Dick was equally impressed with Miller.
“Bodpegn Miller is a really special athlete,” he said.
“They’re a really good football team. When they get into those third downs, ‘We’re like, oh, we got a shot.’
“Then their kid makes a play … and it wasn’t just him.
“But I think the lights are on, it’s third down-and-eight, we’ve got to get off the field there. And all that just leads to momentum (for Ontario),” he said.
Up next:
— Ontario is at Marion Pleasant next Friday in another MOAC game. The Spartans (4-2) defeated Clear Fork in Week Six.
— Galion is at Highland next Friday in a league game. The Fighting Scots (3-3) lost to Shelby in week six.
Ontario 49, Galion 0
Scoring summary
1st quarter
Ontario — Bodpegn Miller 6-yard run (PAT Kooper Kilgore kick), 7-0
Ontario — Jon Mahon 25-yard pass from Miller (PAT Kilgore kick), 14-0
Ontario — Miller 80-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick), 21-0
2nd quarter
Ontario — James Mahon 5-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick), 28-0
Ontario — Miller 15-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick), 35-0
3rd quarter
Ontario — Miller 76-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick), 42-0
4th quarter
Ontario — Kilgore 4-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick), 49-0]
