By Steve ruman

sports @vindy.com

NILES

For the first two possessions of Friday’s game between Beaver Local and Niles, it appeared as though fans at Bo Rein Stadium were witnessing the same Beavers who have struggled mightily over the past seven years.

Niles opened the game by easily marching down the field with an eight-play, 53-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Corey Hayes to Marlon Pearson.

Beaver Local’s first possession ended with a turnover in its own territory, and it looked like the rout might be on.

Actually, the rout was on, but in very unexpected fashion.

Beaver Local eventually righted the ship, scoring on six consecutive possessions to run away with a 49-20 non-conference road win over the Dragons (1-4).

At the midway point, the Beavers (3-2) have already won more games than any Beaver Local team in the past five seasons.

The Beavers haven’t posted a winning record since 2006 when they went 6-4.

“I’m just proud of our kids; they faced adversity early in the game but they kept their heads up and they stayed focused,” said Beaver Local coach Jeremy McElroy. “We have a different mindset than we’ve had in the past, and it shows. This group, they never give up, they never quit playing hard.”

Beaver Local’s second possession lasted 14 plays, but stalled on the Niles 1. However, it set the tone for the rest of the night as the Beavers discovered they could run over, around and through the Niles defense.

The Beavers amassed 415 total yards, including 301 on the ground. Robert Johnston, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior was the workhorse for his team, rushing for a pair of touchdowns and 169 yards on 32 carries.

Sophomore fullback Terry Adkins made the most of his touches. Adkins carried the ball just seven times for 22 yards, but scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Chase Hillard (6-of-9, 114 yards) hurled a 36-yard scoring strike to Cody Riddle, while Dustin Martsoff capped the barrage with a 4-yard run in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

Martsoff’s score extended Beaver Local’s lead to 49-14 and momentarily enacted the mercy rule.

“This was all team effort,” Johnston said. “We played as one, and when we do that it works out well for us.”

“We had a pretty good week of practice, so I had a good feeling about tonight.”

Steven Mintz (three carries, 64 yards), Tyler Srbinovich (nine carries, 58 yards), and Corey Hayes (five carries, 39 yards) led a Niles offense which struggled to gain momentum. Hoping to find some sort of spark, the Dragons used four different quarterbacks.

Johnston believes Beaver Local’s best is yet to come.

“We’re a much different team,” Johnston said. “We worked extremely hard in the offseason. We’re much bigger than we were a year ago.”

“We believe we are a playoff team.”