Bloom-Carroll sticks to winning formula and is headed to the Division III state championship game

LONDON – After opening the season with a loss, Bloom-Carroll decided at that point it was just going to line up, play physical and run the ball right at people.

The Bulldogs never deviated from that plan. They leaned on their massive offensive line, add in some talented running backs, and it proved to be a winning formula. It didn't matter when teams would put eight and nine players on the line of scrimmage, the Bulldogs continued to execute game after game.

Heading into Friday’s Division III state semifinal against Tipp City Tippecanoe, the Bulldogs couldn’t have written a better script as they rushed for 438 yards and overpowered the Red Devils in a 35-12 win at London High School’s Bowlus Field.

After coming up short the last two seasons in the Division IV state semifinal game, Bloom-Carroll (14-1) was able to get over the hump and punch its ticket to the state championship game. The Bulldogs will face Canfield (13-1) at 3 p.m. Friday in Canton at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Junior running back Dylan Armentrout led the way with 250 yards rushing on a season-high 30 carries and three touchdowns.

Bloom-Carroll set the tone early. After Tippecanoe (13-2) had a nice drive going to start the game, the Bulldogs forced a fumble at the 2-yard line and then proceeded to go a 98-yard scoring drive. They ran the ball 11 consecutive times on the drive and Armentrout, who recovered the fumble, capped the drive off with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Bloom-Carroll forced another fumble, and this time Chase Plantz recovered it to set up another score. With Armentrout and Andrew Marshall taking turns and chewing up big chunks of yards, the Bulldogs cashed in on the turnover when Armentrout scored on a 7 -yard TD run to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with 9:06 left in the first half.

“My line always makes great blocks, along with the receivers and all I have to do is read the hole. It all goes together, Armentrout said. “I feel like our offensive line is one of the best, if not the best lines in the state. They are always making huge holes for me, and I appreciate those guys up front.

“It was tough to lose the last two years, but it feels great to come out here and play Bulldog football and finally come up with the win, and we are going to the state championship game,” he added.

The fact the Red Devils knew the Bloom-Carroll was going to run it right at them, and they basically could do nothing to stop the Bulldogs, had to be disheartening.

“We thought we could run the football and use our size and lean on the big guys up front and we did that,” Bloom-Carroll coach Jeremy McKinney said. “When you can run the football with success, that’s hard on defenses, having been on the other end of that, that is hard to overcome mentally when you are trying everything you can, and the other team is still successfully running the football. That’s tough, mentally, on defenses.”

Plantz, who had two rushing touchdowns, took it a step further. “It is demoralizing for the other team because they can’t do anything about it. They were calling out some of our plays we were running, but we were still able to pick chunks of yards.”

After Tippecanoe quarterback Liam Poronsky scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to cut the margin to 14-6 with 4:39 left in the first half, the Bulldogs responded by marching 55 yards to paydirt. Plantz scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds left in the first half to give Bloom-Carroll a 21-6 halftime lead.

Bloom-Carroll basically put the game out of reach when Armentrout broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a commanding 28-6 advantage.

Tippecanoe scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the margin to 28-12 midway through the third quarter, but they simply could not stop the Bulldogs’ ground game. Armentrout intercepted a pass, one of three turnovers the Bulldogs forced, to set up another score.

Plantz scored his second touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run with 6:52 remaining to close out the scoring.

Armentrout’s performance allowed to him to go over 2,000-yard rushing on the season as he raised his season total to 2,115 yards and 18 touchdowns. Marshall finished with 129 yards rushing on 19 carries as he topped 1,000 yards for the year along with 14 touchdowns, and Plantz added 35 yards rushing as he raised his touchdown total to a team-leading 19.

In five playoff games, Bloom-Carroll has rushed for 1,351 yards while giving up only 446 yards rushing. In 15 games, Bloom-Carroll has rushed for 4,231 yards.

“As an offensive line, we make sure every week that we prepare the same, regardless of what the other team’s size is,” Bloom-Carroll junior offensive lineman Jaden Ball said. “We come out with 100 percent effort and try to set the tone from play one. We don’t take a plays off, and we play for each other. That formula has worked and got us this far.”

“We make sure every week that we prepare the same, no matter what the other team’s size is, we come out with 100 percent effort and set the tone from play one.”

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.