Defense leads Bellevue to Route 20 Rivalry win over Clyde

BELLEVUE — Bellevue's defense ruled supreme. The Redmen forced two mistakes by Clyde in its punting game and picked a pair of interceptions just in the first half. Bellevue limited the Fliers to less than 50 yards of offense in the first half in a 42-0 win in the Route 20 Rivalry contest Friday at Bellevue Athletic Field. The shutout by the Redmen was the first against Clyde since a 20-0 win in 2001. "Our kids played lights out on defense for the most part," Bellevue coach Alex Shepherd said. "We forced four turnovers and we needed it because offensively, we weren't really clicking in the first half. Our defense kept us in it and put us in good positions." The Redmen (1-0) got on the board first early in the game. Clyde (0-1) went to punt, but the snap sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone for a safety. That put Bellevue up 2-0 less than 90 seconds into the game. Neither team got much going offensively in the first quarter, but the Redmen found success in the second quarter. After forcing a punt, Bellevue picked up 12 and 13 yards on the ground from Evan Bova. A few plays later, Ike Brown gained 10 yards rushing before hitting Konner Dauch for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good, but the Redmen were up 8-0 with 7:28 left in the second quarter. Bellevue increased the lead just moments later. On Clyde's first offensive play on its next drive, Justin Bucher stepped in front of a pass from Grady Binder and returned it 36 yards for the touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but Bellevue's advantage increased to 14-0 with 7:14 left until the half. "We replaced our whole defensive line from last year," Shepherd said. "Four starters at the end of the year are gone. We weren't really sure how these new guys were going to step up. We tried to put them in good positions and really tried to be pretty vanilla so they knew what was going on. They could just play hard and they rose to the occasion." Bellevue's defense also forced a run on a punt when the blockers closed in. It resulted in a turnover on downs for Clyde, but the Redmen offense couldn't do anything with it. The defense continued to play well in the second half. After getting inside the Clyde red zone, but coming away with no points, the Redmen snatched possession back. Maddex Bailey picked an interception and returned it to the 16. Bova covered that distance on the next play, scoring around the end. The two-point conversion pass from Brown to Caden Cramer made it 22-0 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter. "Our defense put us in position all night to score points," Shepherd said. "Unfortunately in the first half, we missed out on several of them. We got a couple (scores) and in the second half started to put some things together and had some success. "Our defense played well enough to keep us ahead. Once we started clicking, it worked out." After forcing a pair of punts by the Clyde offense, Bellevue furthered the lead. Using a short field, the Redmen got within 3rd-and-1 when Brown scampered for 32 yards and the touchdown. The two-point conversion pass was no good, but Bellevue was up 28-0. "When we finally started getting things together on offense, then we were able to pull away," Shepherd said. "Our defense kept doing what they were doing. We were able to score some points." The Redmen grabbed one more interception in the fourth quarter when Brown nabbed a pass thrown by Jeremy Lantz. Lantz replaced Binder after he was banged up in the third quarter. Bova added a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The extra point by Devin Bischoff pushed the lead to 35-0 with 8:49 left. After forcing a punt, Landon Sartor exploded for a 32-yard touchdown run late in the game. Bischoff added his second extra point for the 42-0 lead. Brown completed 12 of 25 passes for 128 yards while running 15 times for 134 yards. Bova added 79 yards on 12 carries. Cramer led the receivers with four catches for 72 yards. It is the third win for Bellevue over Clyde in a year. The Redmen had not won three in a row over their rival since 2016-2018. "They're a great program, just like we are," Shepherd said. "Any time you can get a win against a rival and a program that's had such success that they've had, it's a testament to how hard our kids work. The kids put in the work and effort to get it done." Clyde will head home to face Toledo Start (1-0) in Week 2. Bellevue is on the road next week, traveling to Wauseon (0-1). It is the first of three straight road games for the Redmen. "Truth be told, I haven't really thought about that yet," Shepherd said. "We really try to emphasize and focus on one game at a time. We know that long trip is coming up and we have to prepare for it. Ultimately, our kids are going to have to come play. We can't let it be a distraction." Clyde 0 0 0 0 — 0 Bellevue 2 12 14 14 — 42 B — Safety B — Konner Dauch 12 pass from Ike Brown (kick failed) B — Justin Bucher 36 interception return (kick blocked) B — Evan Bova 16 run (Caden Cramer pass from Brown) B — Brown 32 run (pass failed) B — Bova 10 run (Devin Bischoff kick) B — Landon Sartor 32 run (Bischoff kick)