TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE Blue Devils take bite from Leetonia Bears

Lisbon wasn't about to give the Bears a fourth straight victory.
BY ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBIANA -- The Lisbon High football team hurt Leetonia's playoff chances and likely locked up a postseason berth of its own, routing the Bears 49-0 in a Tri-County League game Friday at Crestview Rebel Stadium.
And after three straight losses to Leetonia, Lisbon's Jay Yorty wasn't about to let history repeat itself.
The senior, playing running back for the first time in his high school career, rushed 21 times for 126 yards to lead the rout.
"I wanted that Spaghetti Bowl trophy bad," said Yorty, who also completed three of four passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. "The seniors really wanted this game because we've lost to them three years in a row. We weren't ready to play against them last year, so we were ready this year."
With Yorty playing at tailback for Lisbon (7-1, 4-1), junior Tyler Heath started at quarterback and ran the option to perfection. He also caught a 41-yard pass from Yorty.
"We have kids that are interchangeable and can play anywhere," said Lisbon coach Jim Tsilimos, whose team was 10th in the Division V, Region 17 computer ratings. "Tyler did a great job running the offense tonight and these kids responded to the challenge.
"We've been playing under the radar the last five weeks, just getting by. But tonight, we played like we did against Martins Ferry and beat a good Leetonia football team."
Leetonia's woes
Leetonia (6-2, 3-2) was ranked sixth in the Region 17 computer ratings and entered the contest with one of the best rushing offenses in the area. But Lisbon's defense and injuries to running back Aaron Merrill and quarterback Matt Custer shut down the Bears' offense before it even got started.
Leetonia finished the game with under 30 yards of total offense.
"We just couldn't get anything going offensively tonight," said Leetonia coach Artie Altomare. "We had a few key injuries, but Lisbon really beat us in the trenches and wore us down. This was an important game for us, but we just have to move on and get ready for Crestview next week."
The game got off to a sloppy start, as both teams turned the ball over in the first quarter. Leetonia's defense looked strong in the opening period, however, stopping the Blue Devils twice inside the 20.
Lisbon drove to the Bears' 1 on its second possession, but fumbled the ball away.
But that's when things started going downhill for Leetonia.
On the next play, Bears running back Kurtis Williams was tackled in the end zone for a Lisbon safety, giving the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
How it went
Yorty and the Lisbon offense took over from there, scoring twice in the second quarter to build a 16-0 halftime lead. The first TD came on a 1-yard run by Yorty with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
With 36 seconds left in the half, Yorty hooked up with Aaron Hochman for a 58-yard touchdown pass.
With the Lisbon defense dominating the Leetonia offense, the Blue Devils quickly put the game away in the third quarter with a pair of scores.
Linebacker Chris Friend got the defense on the board, returning an interception 37 yards for a score to put Lisbon up 29-0 after three quarters.
The Blue Devils' backups tacked on three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a pair of scoring runs by sophomore Josh Grafton.
Sophomore Corey Smith added a 2-yard TD run.
"This was a big win for us," said Yorty. "Hopefully, we can just take the momentum from this win and keep it going."