Robertson and Paint Valley tear through Westfall
By: Charlie Ihlenfeld
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BAINBRIDGE, Ohio (WOUB) — It’s rare to see a player truly live up to the description of putting on a clinic, but that is exactly what Braylon Robertson managed against the Westfall Mustangs, 41-20. The Bearcats’ running back finished the night with 236 yards on the ground to go alongside three rushing touchdowns. Not only the Bearcats’ workhorse, Robertson forced a fumble and snagged an interception on defense.
The first half was marked by the Bearcats’ defense forcing turnovers to set up the offense with prime field position. On the opening possession of the game, a Mustang interception got Paint Valley started deep in Westfall territory. A couple of plays later, the Bearcats capitalized via the first Braylon Robertson touchdown rush of the night. Willie Wheaton tallied another interception in the first, but the following Paint Valley drive stalled out due to penalties.
The Bearcats struck again in the second as Preston Fauber connected to an uncovered Bryson Dunham to extend their lead to 14-0. Both defenses clamped down for the rest of the half, emphasized by a goal-line stand that kept the Mustangs off the board. The Bearcats nearly pulled off a miraculous play at the end of the half when a Hail Mary interception was followed up by a Robertson-forced fumble on the tackle to corral the defender. That fumble was picked up by Carson Free, but he could not find the angle for the final few yards needed to extend the Paint Valley lead.
Westfall was determined to be aggressive out of the gates in the second half, and they recovered an onside kick. Starting well within Bearcat territory, the Mustangs cut through the Bearcat defense en route to an easy rushing touchdown to reduce the Paint Valley lead to 14-7. From there, the Bearcat onslaught was relentless. It started with Robertson breaking loose for a lengthy touchdown run, making it 21-7. On the next Paint Valley possession, he struck again for a long touchdown run to give the Bearcats an even greater lead, 27-7. By the end of the third quarter, Paint Valley had extended their lead to 33-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs were able to cut into the deficit with an early touchdown, but when another deep drive lost its momentum on the Bearcats’ one-yard line, Paint Valley had sealed their victory.
Behind an overwhelming performance by their secondary and Braylon Robertson, the Bearcats improve to 4-1, and they will face Adena on the road next week. Westfall was defeated for the second week in a row, falling to 2-3. They will host Southeastern in hopes of ending the streak.