EMPORIUM — Smethport looked like the Hubbers of old Friday night.
Blake Kinner rushed for 274 yards and two touchdowns and Nathan Hollowell ran for 112 yards and four touchdowns to spearhead a 50-34 victory over Cameron County in their AML North football game.
It took the Hubbers four games before they scored their first points of the season and then they erupted for seven touchdowns against the Red Raiders and rolled up 470 yards of total offense. Kinner carried the ball 24 times and Hollowell 20 times.
“I challenged our senior offensive line to take control and ownership of our team. They responded favorably,” said Smethport coach Adam Jack.
Unfortunately, the win came with a price. The Hubbers’ Noah Costa sustained a serious injury in the contest.
“The win was great, but our thoughts are with Noah,” said a somber Jack. “We wish him well.”
Hollowell opened the scoring for Smethport with a pair of short (5 and 2 yards) touchdown runs. Quarterback Grant Ognen’s pass to Hollowell was good for the PAT and a 14-0 lead.
Cameron County answered in the second quarter on a five-yard run by Jared Whiting and an 11-yard scamper by Derek Beldin for six points. Quarterback Adam Streich found Devin Palumbo open for the PAT and the score was deadlocked at 14-14.
However, before halftime, the Hubbers tacked on two more touchdowns. Kinner broke free from 20 yards out and Ognen kept from the one yard line. A pass from Costa to Hollowell made it 28-14 at the break.
Each team scored in the third quarter. Whiting bulled into the end zone for the Red Raiders and Kinner squirted through a seam from five yards away for Smethport. Neither team converted its PAT and the Hubbers headed into the final 12 minutes of play with a 34-20 lead.
Cameron’s Streich started the scoring in the final period with an 11-yard pass to Eric Morton and Derek Beldin ran for the PAT to close the gap to 34-28.
Smethport, however, got touchdown runs of seven and eight yards from Hollowell and PAT passes from Ognen to Costa and Alex Sanderson to make the spread 50-28.
A late touchdown pass from Streich to Whiting from 12 yards out closed the scoring for the final 50-34 margin.
“Both of our backs ran hard tonight and blocked well for each other when they weren’t carrying the ball,” Jack pointed out. “Ognen stepped up his game at QB and orchestrated the offense with some timely throws.
“I was happy with the kids who stuck with us the past seven weeks. They kept their heads up and along with our staff continued to work hard. Cameron County kept coming back the whole game and never gave up.”
For the Red Raiders, Beldin had 15 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown and Whiting also carried the ball 15 times for 73 yards and two TDs.
Receiving stats showed Sanderson with two catches for 44 yards for Smethport and for Cameron, Ethan Vislay caught three passes for 45 yards.
Matthew Stratton led the Hubbers on defense with six solo tackles and one sack, while the Red Raiders’ Jared Whiting was credited with 11 tackles.
Smethport returns to action next Friday at home with port Allegany.
Otto-Eldred 45, Port Allegany 6
PORT ALLEGANY — To say Otto-Eldred’s Sawyer Drummond had a big night just doesn’t cut it. A fantastic night might be more on target.
The Terrors senior quarterback completed 16 of 22 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-6 victory over Port Allegany in their AML North game Friday night.
And, speaking of targets, Drummond connected with Cameron Magee eight times for 153 yards and two scores and Dylan Close six times for 142 yards and two TDs.
Drummond started the scoring with a 51-yard pass to Magee and then found Cole Sebastian open for the two-point PAT and an 8-0 O-E lead.
In the second quarter he threw for three scores. He hit Nick York with a two-yard toss and then went back to Magee for the PAT. A two-yard pass to Close was good for six and a 59-yard hookup with Close made it 28-0. Gage Babcock ran for the PAT for a 30-0 score at halftime.
Drummond started the second half with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Magee and then found Sebastian open for the PAT to increase O-E’s advantage to 38-0.
When the Terrors got the ball back, Sebastian got in on the scoring frenzy with a 38-yard run to paydirt. Michael Motyka kicked the PAT for a 45-0 lead.
The Gators avoided the shutout in the fourth stanza when Devon Smoker raced 21 yards for the final 45-6 score.
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start,” said O-E coach Nick LaBella. “Port marched down the field but we were able to keep them out. Trey Stiles made some big plays for them, but once we contained him we played better defensively. Nick York got our interception.
“They (Gators) loaded the box on us so we went to the pass and then got rolling,” he added.
Otto-Eldred returns to action next Saturday at Sheffield.
BY QUARTERS
Smethport 14 14 6 16—50
Cameron County 0 14 6 14—34
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: Smethport 27, CC 17; Rushes/Yards Rushing: Smethport 48-400, CC 39-183; Yards Passing: Smethport 70, CC 84; Comp-Att-Int: Smethport 4-6-0, CC 7-19-1; Punts: Smethport 0-0, CC 3-130; Penalties: Smethport 3-30, CC 3-20; Fumbles-Lost: Smethport 1-1, CC 1-1; Total Yards: Smethport 470, CC 267; Offensive Plays: Smethport 54, CC 58
BY QUARTERS
Otto-Eldred 8 22 15 0—45
Port Allegany 0 0 0 6—6
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: O-E 16, PA 9; Rushes/Yards Rushing: O-E 13-95, PA 46-155; Yards Passing: O-E 303, PA 0; Comp-Att-Int: O-E 16-22-0, PA 0-2-1; Punts: O-E 1-53, PA 3-53; Penalties: O-E 2-10, PA 4-30; Fumbles-Lost: O-E 1-0, PA 2-2; Total Yards: O-E 398, PA 155; Offensive Plays: O-E 35, PA 48
