North Baltimore cruises past Rams to complete perfect regular season

NORTH BALTIMORE– North Baltimore did it. The Tigers defeated Upper Scioto Valley 49-8 on Friday night to finish their regular season with a 10-0 record, thanks to a strong effort from their three skilled athletes. Junior quarterback Luke Long, along with athletic senior receiver Cooper Clark and running back Brody Walter, all had strong games in the Tigers' 10th-straight victory. North Baltimore avenged last season's 36-14 loss to USV, making it look easy. The Tigers scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, along with a safety on a botched snap on a punt by the Rams. North Baltimore scored 28 of its 49 points in the first half, recording two interceptions. Less than two minutes into the game, Long found Cooper Clark on the right side for a 34-yard score. It took just five plays for NB to find the endzone after the Tigers recovered their own onside kick. Just three minutes later, Walter notched an interception for the Tigers, before rumbling into the endzone from two yards out in just four plays. Following the safety on the Rams' next possession, Long connected with Clark on a 44-yard completion for another touchdown. The second quarter saw a load full of yellow laundry, as the referees seemingly tossed flag after flag on both teams. After junior Ian Ramirez caught another interception for the Tigers in the second quarter, things took a turn as several USV players were ejected from the game for fighting. That didn't do anything to slow down the Tigers' momentum, as Walter once again found the end zone of a three-yard run up the middle. After junior back Zander South ran in a two-yard score three minutes into the second half, Long left the game and the Tigers opted to go with Clark in the backfield, going with more of a wildcat set. That resulted in two second-half rushing TDs for Clark. Clark drove in a 59-yarder in the third quarter, and topped that with a 62-yard sprint early in the fourth to put the game away. Clark has been something in the backfield as the Tigers have worked into the gameplan as the year went along, and it worked to a T in Friday's win."It's just a way to get our playmaker, to get the ball in his hands a different way," North Baltimore coach Greg Bishop said. "With Luke's knee, we want to keep him safe and keep him healthy, just to get the ball in space to our guys."Clark ended with 123 yards receiving on six receptions and two touchdowns, and 119 yards rushing on two carries and two TDs. Long completed eight of his 13 passes, throwing for 157 yards and two scores. Walter ran the ball 17 times for a total of 61 yards and two TDs. Ramirez had 25 receiving yards on two catches, and South finished with 18 yards rushing and 21 yards receiving. Isaiah Hyden added one catch for 16 yards. "I didn't wanna stop at all, didn't wanna let up at all," Long said of his short night on Friday. "If we can keep it rolling into the playoffs, that'd be amazing."The Rams got on the board early in the fourth, as senior receiver Hunter Damron ran in a 19-yard keeper for the touchdown. Damron moved from receiver to emergency quarterback after starting QB Caiden Lowery was kept out of the second half due to injury. Damron ended with 22 yards rushing, caught one pass for six yards, and completed one pass for 27 yards while throwing an interception as well. Through two quarters, Lowery ended with 32 yards passing, completing only two of his six attempts and throwing one interception. Lowery also ran the ball for 27 yards. Running back Ryan Roberts carried the ball four times for 30 yards. Receiver Beau Sanders caught one pass for 25 yards, while Andrue Kindle caught one pass for 27 yards. "I'm a big believer in take advantage of what they give you and execute," Bishop added. "That's the biggest thing, and our kids have done that. It's led to this 10-0 season and a league title."The win grants the NWCC champion Tigers an automatic bye in the first round of the playoffs. Now at 10-0, North Baltimore will hope to carry their momentum into a strong postseason. USV 0 0 0 8N. Baltimore 20 8 15 6SCORING PLAYSFIRST QUARTERNB - Clark 34 Pass from Long (2-pt Failed)NB - Walter 2 Run (2-pt Failed)NB - Safety NB - Clark 44 Pass from Long (2-pt Failed)SECOND QUARTERNB - Walter 3 Run (South 2-pt Run)THIRD QUARTERNB - South 2 Run (South 2-pt Run)NB - Clark 59 Run (Ramirez Kick)FOURTH QUARTERUSV - Damron 19 Run (Kindle 2-pt Pass from Damron)NB - Clark 62 Run (Kick Failed)