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Hein, Rush run Maples to 21-7 victory over Rockets

By Adam Brewer for The 5 min read
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Mapletown's Ben Boone makes a pass before he can be brought down by Jefferson-Morgan's Kailan Foster during Friday's Tri-County South Conference game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.

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Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (right) out-races Jefferson-Morgan’s Andrew Eaton to score the first touchdown of Friday night’s Tri-County South Conference game at Jefferson-Morgan High School. The Maples defeated the Rockets 21-7. (Photo by Holly Tonini)

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Jefferson-Morgan's Austin Clark (10) barely gets out of the grasp of Mapletown's Matthew Rush during Friday's Tri-County South Conference game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.

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Mapletown's Ben Boone is brought down by Jefferson-Morgan's Trevor Kniha during an early play in the first quarter in Friday's Tri-County South Conference game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.

JEFFERSON — In a battle of 3-2 teams in the Tri-County South Conference, Mapletown collected big pass plays in the first half and had an effective running game in the final 24 minutes of play to prevail, 21-7, over Jefferson-Morgan Friday night on Homecoming.

The Maples’ offensive catalysts were its two main tailbacks, senior Adam Hein and freshmen Dylan Rush.

Both backs were stymied in the first half, rushing for a combined 17 yards on 10 carries, but exploded in second half to carry Mapletown to its second straight victory and only its fourth win in the last 11 meetings over its county rival.

Rush accounted for all three touchdowns for the Maples (4-2, 4-2) and garnered a team-high 24 rushes for 119 yards. Hein carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards.

“It never enters our minds on who is going to get the football,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “It goes from week to week and we ride the hot hand. We went with Dylan to start the second half and it was working. I give our running backs a lot of credit, there’s never any jealousy. They are great kids.”

It was the passing attack that helped Mapletown in the opening half, as quarterback Ben Boone threw for a total of 152 yards on 7-of-11 passing. Coming into the game, Boone’s passing numbers were 8-for-17 for 115 yards.

“Jefferson was strong against the run tonight and they had eight or nine guys in the box,” Messich said. “We thought we could hit some big pass plays on them and I think we even missed some. We were successful with it and Ben had a couple of good throws.”

The Rockets (3-3, 3-3) were led by quarterback Austin Clark, who rushed for 40 yards on eight carries and threw for 100 yards. Joe Headlee was J-M’s leading rusher with 50 yards.

“We were able to contain their run game in the first half, but they started the second half with some runs for big chunks,” J-M coach Liam Ryan said. “They were able to run the ball more effectively than we did. We knew Mapletown could throw, and they have a couple of skilled kids that can hurt you on defense.”

After a scoreless opening quarter, Mapletown got on the scoreboard when Boone saw Rush opened for a 53-yard scoring strike on second-and-26 at 9:01 of the second quarter.

“Tonight was a big night for us,” Rush said. “It puts us in a better spot to make the playoffs. On the touchdown, I ran a post-corner and Ben just threw one up and I was able to make a play on it. That was a big momentum shift for us.”

A late second quarter interception by Aaron Weaver and a 30-yard return set up J-M with the ball at midfield, but the Rockets were held in check after a couple of incompletions and trailed the Maples, 7-0, at halftime.

On its first drive of the second half, Mapletown marched 65 yards and extended its lead to 13-0 after a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by Rush. On the eight-play drive, Rush had seven carries for 49 yards.

After J-M turned it over on downs at the 25-yard line, Mapletown marched down the field on another eight-play drive that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown for Rush. Once again Rush was the workhorse on the drive, carrying seven times for 50 yards.

The Rockets responded on their next drive, as Clark hit Headlee for a 36-yard completion on third-and-6 and later hooked up with Jacob Bissett for a 22-yard scoring toss in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-12 with 35 seconds left in the third period.

“We maintained our blocks a little bit better in the second half,” Ryan said. “We had some decent runs and hit some big pass plays. We had to stay within ourselves and we can’t give up these final three weeks of the season. Our goals are still in front of us.”

Both squads had interceptions in the fourth quarter, but it was Mapletown who was able to run the ball and collect first downs to secure the conference victory.

“Our defense plays great every week,” Messich said. “They are aggressive kids and all 11 guys run to the ball on every play. They react to the play and they find the football. We thought we would be strong on defense this year from the very start of training camp.”

Both teams will be back in action next Friday, as Mapletown hosts Bentworth and J-M welcomes in non-conference foe Springdale.

Tri-County South Conference

Mapletown             0-7-14-0 — 21

Jefferson-Morgan  0-0-7-0 — 7

Second Quarter

MP: Dylan Rush 53 pass from Ben Boone (Matt Rush kick), 9:01 (7-0)

Third Quarter

MP: D. Rush 1 run (kick failed), 8:24 (13-0)

MP: D. Rush 7 run (M. Rush pass from Boone), 2:45 (21-0)

JM: Jake Bissett 22 pass from Austin Clark (Bo Ricci kick), 0:35 (21-7)

Records: Mapletown (4-2, 4-2), Jefferson-Morgan (3-3, 3-3)

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