Did the peaks and valleys against the Golden Eagles symbolize the season?
“Well, we have been in a couple of blowouts,” Leach said after the Hornets fell to 2-7 and 2-4 in the SWBL Southwestern Division. “We have been playing tough in a lot of games. We just haven’t been able to find a way to finish.”
Monroe scored on its first and last drives of the game, but those drives accounted for 130 of the Hornets’ 157 yards of offense.
The Monroe defense stymied Bellbrook for most of the night, but the Golden Eagles put together three consecutive long scoring drives in the second half to break the game open as they gained 200 yards in the ground after halftime.
Bellbrook finished with 302 yards on the ground on 47 carries.
“They came out and made some adjustments, and we didn’t have an answer for it,” Leach said. “They controlled both lines of scrimmage, and when a team does that, there is not a whole lot you can do.”
The loss was Monroe’s third by two scores or less, and Leach knows it’s all part of the growing pains that come with having young players in important places.
“We’re young, but I don’t ever want to say that as an excuse,” Leach said. “We just haven’t put a whole game together yet.
“We’ve got some young kids in key spots, and they play hard. They give it all they got. We just can’t close anything out.”
One of the youngest has been called on to step into the leadership role on offense.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Osterman had some ups-and-downs, finishing with 45 yards on 15 carries. But he closed the night with runs of 10 and 20 yards on the last drive, the latter setting up a 17-yard run by Cedric Amaniampong with 2:37 remaining to cut the deficit to 27-13.
Monroe took the opening kickoff 70 yards on eight plays, with senior Alex Bannister getting loose on the second play from scrimmage for a 57-yard run to set the Hornets up at the Bellbrook 12.
Osterman scored three plays later for a quick 7-0 lead.
“From where we were the first three weeks to now, you see the progress,” Leach said. “We just haven’t been able to get over that hump. We have had ups and downs and we are continuing to get better week by week, day by day.”
Leach is hoping a Week 10 home contest against 6-3 Preble Shawnee will give the Hornets a boost heading into the offseason.
“We got to find a way to finish with a win,” Leach said. “It would be really big for us to go into the offseason with a win.”
Bellbrook (6-3, 2-3) hosts Oakwood next Friday.
Bellbrook 7-0-13-7—27
Monroe 7-0-0-6—13
M: Nick Osterman 1 run (Nick Amaya kick)
B: Jacob Schmidt 46 run (Caden Kooken kick)
B: Brendan Labensky 2 run (Kooken kick)
B: Ethan Savey 42 run (Kick failed)
B: Justin Sloan 13 run (Kooken kick)
M: Cedric Amaniampong 17 run (Kick blocked)
About the Author