By Michael Rich
Sean Sullivan had 181 yards and two second half touchdown runs and Preston Eisnaugle hooked up with Dean Karkut for two more scores to allow visiting Jonathan Alder to cruise to a 35-14 win over Buckeye Valley Friday night in Delaware.
The loss knocked the Barons out of what was a four-way tie for the top spot in the MOAC-Red Division football standings.
Buckeye Valley’s offense didn’t get rolling until it spotted Alder a 28-0 lead in the third quarter. BV quarterback Ben Spaulding threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.
He threw for 334 yards, completing 29 of 49 passes, and also led the Barons with 77 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Austin Fooce opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run with 7:16 left in the first half.
Alder (5-1, 3-0 MOAC ) took advantage of a missed field goal on its next possession. Sullivan found a hole and raced 37 yards to the Baron 36-yard line.
Buckeye Valley (3-3, 2-1 MOAC) held on first and second down, but Eisnaugle found Karkut over the top for a 36-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.
The two hooked up again for the Pioneers’ fourth touchdown of the night, a 64-yard connection down the right sideline with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter.
The Barons went 80 yards on nine plays on the next possession, capped by Spaulding’s 2-yard run, to get on the board with 1:59 left in the third.
Spaulding found Ian Hogg over the middle on a 36-yard catch and run to bring the Barons within 21 with 10:46 left in the fourth. Hogg led the Barons with nine receptions for 137 yards.
Spaulding connected with Teren Wycoff out of the backfield from 8 yards out on the final possession to cap the scoring. Wycoff caught seven passes for 70 yards.
The Barons return to action Friday at 7 p.m., hosting Pleasant.
Follow Michael Rich on Twitter @mrichdelgazette.
