Tuttle edges Blanchard with run game
BLANCHARD — Tuttle’s resurgence under second-year football coach Brad Ballard continued in impressive fashion on Friday night. The Tigers beat their second-straight quality opponent, this time a 13-7 victory over neighboring rival Blanchard.
A week after ending Davis’ 30-game win streak, the Tigers are at 2-0 thanks to a grinding running game and an opportunistic defense that made the big plays when it mattered most.
“We had to keep our head down and go to work,” Ballard said. “We took it two and three yards at a time, ran the ball, controlled the clock and kept it away from them.”
Tuttle pulled in front late in the third quarter on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that featured tailback Jason Biddy and quarterback Rhett Boles. The Tigers did not attempt a pass on the march, instead relying on running behind their gigantic offensive line anchored by senior Cody Carlton (6-foot-7, 285 pounds) and sophomore Hunter Anthony (6-7, 305 pounds).
Boles, who finished the game with 62 yards on 26 carries, had his longest run of the night on a 15-yard keeper that put Tuttle in front to stay 13-7 with 37 seconds to play.
“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game going in, and we had to be ready to play the entire 48 minutes,” Ballard said. “Our kids worked so hard in the offseason. They really got after it and came in in great condition.”
Blanchard tried throughout the fourth but were turned away each time by the Tiger defense. The Lions’ final attempt saw them march to the Tuttle 30.
Consecutive sacks of quarterback Joe Craig left the Lions in a fourth-and-18. Craig’s desperation toss was batted down by the Tuttle secondary in front of the first down marker.
Craig, who is a senior transfer from nearby Newcastle, was the Lions’ primary weapon on offense. He completed 19-of-34 passes for 177 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
Blanchard scored the game’s first points when converted quarterback-turned-tailback Parker Williams scored on a 10-yard run with 11:24 in the second. Williams’ touchdown run was set up by a nifty 23-yard pass that Craig completed to Brett Owen to move the ball deep inside Tuttle territory.
Tuttle answered back just before halftime taking advantage of excellent field position taking over at the Blanchard 37 after a short punt. Seven plays, later Bowles scored from two yards out to trim the Lions’ lead to 7-6 with 1:30 to play before half.
Blanchard played well defensively for the most part and turned away Tuttle twice when the Tigers moved inside their 10-yard line in the game’s early going.
“You’ve got to credit Blanchard,” Ballard said. “They are a well-coached team and did some things that caused us problems when we got into the red zone.”