B-C's three-headed monster set tone early

LONDON — Undersized and overmatched, the Tipp City Tippecanoe defense resembled a rudderless ship in a hurricane against Bloom-Carroll's rugged approach to offense on Friday night.

Considering the storm converging, that was an ominous development for the Red Devils.

First came the thunder of 6-3, 225-pound wrecking ball Andrew Marshall. The lightning strikes of slippery 180-pound Dylan Armentrout were next. The churning legs of 215-pounder Chase Plantz offered no quarter, either.

The driving forces of the Bulldogs' running game combined for 414 yards in a 35-12 win in a Division III state semifinal at London High School that sealed the program's first state final appearance.

Armentrout ran 30 times for 250 yards and Marshall 19 for 129, including 200 combined yards in the first half. Two of Plantz's eight carries went for touchdowns, including a 2-yard plunge over the goal-line just before halftime that extended a one-score game to 21-6.

Scoring drives of 10 and 12 plays, respectively, to start the game helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 14-0 lead that forced the Red Devils, like Columbus Watterson a week prior, to play from behind early.

Running mostly from the inverted wishbone, they again benefitted from dominant blocking by one of the state's most dominant offensive lines, led by 6-4, 280-pound guard Jaden Ball.

On this occasion, however, lead blockers Collin Willett and Plantz did plenty of damage on inside runs against a Red Devil 3-4 defense that resorted to loading the box with 9- and 10-man fronts for much of the final three quarters.

For Bloom-Carroll, it was same song, different verse. It has routinely dictated tempo with Armentrout and Marshall following a large, mauling and experienced group of trenchmen since its opening-week loss to Harvest Prep.

They haven't lost since.

"We have got to lean on our big guys up front," B-C coach Jeremy McKinney said. "That was one of the epiphanies during that Harvest Prep games. It was, our best package might be putting six offensive linemen in there and just using our backs."

Amentrout's shorter stature and slashing style has proven to be the ideal pairing with the taller, hard-charging Marshall's punishing disposition. Both saw time at tailback in the inverted bone in the first quarter, with near-equal success rates, while Plantz continued his role as an effective short-yardage specialist.

Armentrout had six carries and Marshall five on a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive in first half. Prior to that, they had five carries each in a 10-play, 98-yard drive in the first quarter.

Both resulted in touchdowns.

"The defense, they get used to the speed and then one of us gets tired and the other is fully rested," Armentrout said. "(Marshall) is a power back, so it's really hard to stop one and have to adjust to the other that quickly. It's a perfect combo."

Marshall is committed to Kent State to play linebacker, the position that has molded his lofty reputation, but his added speed has made him a more explosive running threat. That has been the result of extra offseason work.

Armentrout and Marshall, in addition to the team's offseason program, work with personal trainers on speed and strength.

"The best thing he did last year was deciding to run track," McKinney said. "He lost about 10 pounds in the offseason and he got faster. He's not as heavy and bulky. And credit to (the coaches) on our track team to do what they did with him, because he is faster."

They're also an unselfish bunch. With all three backs serving as two-way starters, they lean on each other to stay fresh. For that matter, they also are willing blockers.

"That's one thing our coaches preach is blocking for each other and blocking on the perimeter," Armentrout said. "That's how 20-yard plays can turn into 80-yard plays. You saw that tonight when one of those plays happened."

He was referring to his 75-yard scoring burst up the middle on the fourth play of the second half, which pushed the lead to 28-6. It was the direct result of no secondary support to provide a last line of defense against a 10-man front.

It was an example of how the team's old-school approach to offense again set the ground rules. It was the second straight week the team went up two scores in the first quarter and third straight it scored on its first drive.

For the Bulldogs, it's the same song with a different verse.

"The game plan tonight was to run it down their throat," Armentrout said. "With our big offensive line, that has worked all year. With me, Andrew and Chase, that's really hard to stop."

Plantz fell just shy of 1,000 yards rushing as a junior on a team that made the final four in Division IV. He has been relegated to a supporting role this year, but his importance isn't lost on McKinney.

"Tonight was his 19th touchdown," McKinney said. "Coach (Cory) Heeter, our offensive coordinator, ran some numbers on Tuesday and 58 percent of Chase's carries have been for first downs or touchdowns. You have to stop (No.) 11 and you have to stop 7, but don't forget about 19 because he can do that, too."

Plantz has no qualms with the reduced role. He's a linchpin at linebacker alongside Marshall.

"We don't play selfish football here," Plantz said. "It doesn't matter who gets the ball. We're doing our job."

The Bulldogs, who have 14 straight wins, advanced to play Canfield at 3 p.m. on Dec. 2 at Canton's Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR