Celina wins fifth straight

CELINA - Since a Week One setback to Versailles, Celina is looking pretty doggone good.

The Bulldogs made it five wins in a row Friday with a 24-12 victory over the visiting Elida Bulldogs at Celina Stadium to stay on top of the standings in the Western Buckeye League.

Bobby Morris and Braylon Gabes each had first-quarter touchdown runs, while Parker Bertke ran a kickoff to the house later in the half for Celina (5-1, 5-0 WBL).

"I thought we played a pretty good first half," Celina coach Brennen Bader said. "The special teams were really good overall. … The second half was just a battle. They weren't going to give in. That's a well-coached team. That's a physical team. They made it a game, and our guys made enough plays to hold on."

The game wasn't that close, though.

Celina led 24-6 after a 26-yard field goal by Zach Greber halfway through the final frame. Elida's David Etzkorn rushed for a two-yard touchdown as time expired to make the score a little more respectable. The visitors threatened inside Celina territory a couple times throughout the game, but Kaden Murlin helped the defense get off the field with a pair of timely sacks. Celina played the entire second half without one of the area's leading tacklers in linebacker Tucker Ackley (ankle).

Celina scored on a nine-play drive to open the game, using one pass and eight runs to cover about 70 yards. Three players had 10 or more rushing yards on the drive, which Morris finished off with a seven-yard touchdown run at the 6:47 mark of the opening quarter.

The home Bulldogs returned to the end zone later in the frame, extending their lead to 14-0 after a one-yard touchdown by Gabes and Greber's second extra point. The scoring opportunity was set up when Elida's punter mishandled a snap and gave Celina the ball inside the red zone.

"We're doing a good job on offense of mixing things up," Bader said. "Our backs are running hard. Our quarterback is running hard. He's making throws. The big thing is we're winning the line of scrimmage. We're able to run the football, which makes everything else easier. Our skill guys are making plays on the edges."

A 33-yard run by Gabes put Celina near the red zone midway through the second quarter before Elida recovered a fumble at the 28-yard line. Shortly after, Elida's Jackson Covault made a contested catch down the sideline for 37 yards. That led to a two-yard touchdown throw from Isaac Earl to A'mari Wash on a fourth-and-goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bertke found daylight in the middle of the field, cut outside and raced down the home sideline for an 89-yard touchdown.

Gabes had a team-leading 61 rushing yards for Celina, which ended up losing the overall yardage battle 244-222.

Celina remains the top dog in the WBL through six weeks. Trailing by one game are Defiance and Wapakoneta, which Celina meets in consecutive fashion to end the season. Next Friday, Celina visits Bath (4-2, 3-2 WBL).

"We're just taking it one week at a time," Bader said. "We're enjoying the weekend when we get a win, then we're trying to figure out a way to get one more. We're just trying to get to our sixth win next week. We know what's out there for us.

"The good news is that we haven't hit our ceiling yet," he added. "We're hoping we can put it all together down the stretch."