Wellston tries 10 kickers, then opts for 2-point conversions

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Wellston can’t kick about a 3-1 record for its best start since 2004.

No, really, the Golden Rockets can’t kick.

“We go for 2-point conversions because our kicking game is simply non-existent,” coach Greg Phillips said. “It’s not that we don’t work on it, we just can’t kick them.”

Wellston has not successfully kicked an extra point this season and stopped attempting them after failing on two tries during the season-opening 41-20 loss to Jackson, the top team in Division III, Region 9 in this week’s first computer ratings.

Since then the Golden Rockets have posted 126 points in three games and Forrest Hale has been the go-to guy for the 2-pointers. He converted four against Huntington in the 48-12 win, all four attempts in the 32-9 victory over Adena and made successful runs on the first four of Wellston’s six touchdowns in beating Portsmouth West 46-6.

Phillips would love to have the luxury of kicking an extra point and is willing to give anyone and everyone the opportunity.

“We’ve tried 10 different kickers,” he said. “So if you have anybody that wants to kick, have them come down and try to kick for us.”

CATCH THIS ACT: Every quarterback has his favorite target and Grafton Midview QB Dustin Crum is no different. Crum threw eight touchdown passes, one shy of tying the state record, and wide receiver Logan Bolin caught six of them, to equal the Ohio mark, during Friday’s 55-35 win over Avon.

Bolin had scores of 13, 15, 20, 38, five and 20 yards to reach 13 TDs this season for the undefeated Middies (4-0), who are second in Division II, Region 4.

He is the sixth player with six TD receptions, the most recent prior being Heath Wiseman of The Plains in 2013.

Crum fell just short of joining eight others with nine touchdown tosses in game, including University of Missouri starting quarterback Maty Mauk (Kenton).

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN: Columbus West running back Byron White ran for 389 yards and nine TDs — tying the all-time Ohio record — in a 70-56 win over Columbus Africentric. Tiffin Columbia’s Cliff Miller had nine in an overtime game last season against Shelby and Kimu Kim of Canfield had a like number in 2013 against Niles McKinley.

FOOT NOTABLES: Findlay Liberty-Benton’s Nathan Craft and Mason Rose teamed up for a huge game in the Eagles’ 28-14 win over Leipsic. Craft completed 20 of 33 passes for a school-record 412 yards. That shattered the single-game record of 345 yards set by former Ohio State basketball standout Aaron Craft (no relation) in 2008. Rose had 10 catches for 270 yards to surpass by one the school record for receptions on a game (Michael Bush 2006, Zack Cramer 2009). He also broke Roger Benson’s 42-year-old record of receiving yards in a game (240). . Trenton Edgewood’s Devon Garrett scored five touchdowns (four on the ground, one through the air) and gained 196 yards on just 12 carries in a 62-21 win over Lima Central Catholic. . Kansas Lakota’s Andrew Ferree returned two interceptions for touchdowns (44 and 65 yards) in the Raiders’ 35-14 win over Montpelier.

CONGRATS: In his team’s 20-7 win over Minster, Maria Stein Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin became the second coach to win 100 Midwest Athletic Conference games in his career. He joins the late John Reed, who coached conference teams Rockford Parkway and Coldwater. . Columbus Franklin Heights snapped a 37-game losing streak in Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division play, dating to 2008, with a 55-44 win over Mount Vernon. Brenden Knox rushed for 368 yards and four touchdowns. The Falcons, who haven’t won more than two games in a season since 2008, are 3-1. … Findlay, which chalked up the first win in school history by beating Ada 13-6 in 1899, became Ohio’s 26th program to achieve 600 career wins when the Trojans beat Toledo St. Francis 35-0 on Friday.

EFFICIENT: Pemberville Eastwood had nine offensive possessions on Friday, and scored on each of them in a 63-8 win over Fostoria. . Lima Bath and Napoleon did not complete a pass but both were winners: Bath defeated Defiance 35-6, and Napoleon beat Sylvania Southview 24-6. . Danville (4-0) has outscored its four opponents 217-26 and is averaging 456 yards per game while allowing 109 on average. Three of its four games were played with a running clock through the entire second half, the exception being the 37-13 victory over Fredericktown.

GREAT STARTS: The Corning Miller Falcons improved to 4-0 with Friday’s 41-13 victory over Racine Southern. It marks the first time Miller has won at least four games in a season since the 2000 season, its last trip to the state playoffs. Miller won just 21 games in the last 14 seasons, including a 1-9 mark last year. After successive 2-8 seasons, London is off to a 4-0 start. . Bluffton is 4-0 for the first time since 2005.

STREAK BUSTER: Cortland Lakeview beat Trumbull, 30-27, to end the Eagles’ 27-game regular season winning streak going back to week eight of 2012.

By Craig Merz

Associated Press

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