Beechcroft receiver Kevin Chapple said he was unable to sleep Thursday night in anticipation of facing Mifflin’s vaunted secondary, led by senior Troy Robinson.
“I sat up until about 4 in the morning trying to think of ways I was going to get past Troy and make some big plays,” Chapple said. “That was my whole mindset coming into this game. Getting the better of him was a big motivating factor.”
Chapple and his Cougars teammates could sleep easy last night, having pounded the previously unbeaten Punchers 42-6 in a City League North Division showdown before an overflow crowd at Mifflin.
Quarterback Maurice Hale completed 9 of 17 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 123 yards and another score to lead Beechcroft (6-1, 4-0), which seized control from the outset and never let up against a defense that had yielded only three touchdowns all season.
“We wanted to put up a score or two early and set the tone for the evening,” said Hale, who has emerged as one of central Ohio’s top dual-threat quarterbacks. “We knew they had a good defense. Honestly, I was surprised that we were able to get so many touchdowns on them in the first half. We were really motivated.”
Beechcroft scored on its first five series for a 35-6 lead by halftime.
“Our team felt a little disrespected coming in,” Beechcroft coach Bruce Ward said. “We kept hearing Mifflin, Mifflin, Mifflin. People seemed to forget that we’re still the champion of this league, and teams still have contend with us.
The most-spectacular play occurred on the Cougars’ opening series. Hale sidestepped a potential sack, stepped up into the pocket and heaved a bomb into the end zone that Khaleed Franklin hauled in among a mass of bodies for a touchdown of 43 yards. Franklin, 6 feet 3 inches, outjumped Robinson (5-9) to win the jump ball.
“We knew they’d try to put a lot of pressure on us, but our line did a good job keeping them off me,” Hale said.
Mifflin coach Gregg Miller saw the game in a different light.
“Our guys just didn’t show up to play,” he said. “The kids didn’t do what they were coached to do all week. Our whole game plan was predicated on pressuring Hale. We called blitz on just about every single play, and I don’t remember us getting to him once.
“That quarterback is too good to let him sit back there and throw it all over the place, not to mention take off and run with it.”
The only highlight for Mifflin (6-1, 3-1) was a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kamaron Green that cut Beechcroft’s lead to 14-6. The Punchers, who managed only five first downs, never threatened to score again.
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