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McLouth stretches record to 3-0 with another romp

By Shawn Linenberger - | Sep 23, 2005

McLouth didn’t hang 50 points on the scoreboard Friday.

But the Bulldogs again held their opponent to a touchdown in a 27-7 win against Doniphan West in McLouth.

MHS scored first on a 49-yard pass play from Jimmy Steffey to Joel Gill in the first quarter. Gill tacked on the extra point with 7:22 left in the first.

McLouth scored again with 3:41 left in the first quarter on Kevin Stewart’s 2-yard run. Gill’s second extra-point attempt failed, but McLouth held a 13-0 lead after one quarter.

Doniphan West answered in the second quarter on a 1-yard run with 3:07 left in the half.

The scoring drive started on the McLouth 15. The Bulldogs had to punt from their own 4. Doniphan West returned the punt to the 30, but a 15-yard Bulldog penalty put the Mustangs in an even better position for a score.

McLouth went into halftime with a slim 13-7 lead.

“We started out gangbusters — we go up 13-0,” MHS coach Harry Hester said. “I think our kids thought ‘here we go again’ and we throttled back a little bit.”

The slim lead, though, increased in the second half.

Stewart again scored, this time with 5:58 left in the third on a 1-yard run. The Bulldogs attempted a two-point conversion and failed, but McLouth extended its lead to 20-7.

In the fourth quarter, Steffey put the game out of reach with a 1-yard-run with 2:43 left in the game. McLouth converted its two-point conversion for its final points of the game.

The 13-7 halftime score marked the closest margin of victory McLouth has held so far this season. Hester was encouraged that his team came back strong in the second half and didn’t allow Doniphan West to pull ahead.

“I saw something in our kids I haven’t seen in three years,” Hester said. “They were confident.

“They weren’t rattled — no panic like in the past. I really complimented them about that after the game.”

McLouth’s offense again put up big numbers. The Bulldogs had 515 yards of offense — 300 of which came on the ground. Stewart led the team in rushing with 263 yards on 33 carries. The senior averaged nearly eight yards a play.

Defensively, McLouth again gave up just a touchdown. Through three games, the Bulldogs have surrendered only 13 points. On Friday, Doniphan West had 67 rushing yards and 106 passing yards.

The Bulldogs led the Mustangs in every statistical category, including one Hester could have done without — penalties.

McLouth was flagged 12 times for 107 yards, while Doniphan West had just three penalties for 20 yards.

“We continue to struggle in that category,” Hester said. “I think that brings ups up to 28 in three games.”

Now 3-0 overall and 3-0 in the Delaware Valley League, the Bulldogs have the same record they did last season after three games. Last year, in Week 4, Jefferson County North defeated McLouth, 28-0, handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

This season, McLouth again enters the game undefeated, while JCN is 1-2. The Chargers earned their first win of the season Friday with an 8-6 victory against Jackson Heights.

“They’re Jeff North,” Hester said. “They’re going to hit you. Coach (Steve) McMillan has a great program.

“Obviously, we hope to have a great week of practice and hold our own.”

At JCN, however, the Chargers are in the midst of homecoming week, which will culminate with Friday’s game against McLouth.

Hester hopes the Bulldogs can spoil JCN’s festive night.

“We’re tired of being people’s homecomings,” Hester said.

The teams will play at 7 p.m. Friday in Winchester.