Future Buckeye QB Tavien St. Clair and Bellefontaine roll by Licking Heights 45-14

Photo by John Suchan

The Bellefontaine Chieftains and their star quarterback Tavien St. Clair came into Licking Heights and after a few bumps in the road early, went on to win 45-14 going away.

The future Ohio State Buckeye quarterback commit, who’s still only a junior, played well overall, while his team’s running game dominated from start to finish. St. Clair finished by throwing two touchdown passes and running for a nice scamper up the middle for six.

The start of the game started a bit shaky for Chieftains. They drove down the field against the Hornets of Licking Heights but fumbled the ball at the Hornet’s 25-yard line. Licking Heights was inspired by this and connected on a couple of nice plays. The last play in the sequence was a beautiful 33-yard jump ball from Hornets quarterback, Michael Landry to their running back Jake Lopinto who took the ball into the endzone.

The early 7-0 lead excited the home crowd for the potential upset. However, the Chieftains, behind St. Clair’s patience, and their sturdy run game started to take control in the next few possessions on offense.

The Chieftains were able to take the ball down to the goal line on their next possession and on a 4th and 2 at the goal line and a big moment early in the game, St. Clair was able to connect with his wide receiver Riley Neer for the six points.

The next time the Chieftains had the ball in offense, they got a big 64-yard touchdown run by Chris Fogan. Fogan finished the game with three touchdowns and 218 rushing yards.

Bellefontaine then locked down on defense and forced the Hornets into a safety as the snapped ball sailed over the Hornet quarterback’s head and through the endzone. That gave Bellefontaine a 17-7 lead.

From there The Chieftains continue to pull away from the Hornets. One of the touchdowns included a nice 13-yard bolt up the middle from St. Clair, as he went untouched for six to extend the lead to 31-7.

Licking Heights did fight to get back in the game before halftime as they did score a touchdown and make it 31-14 but those efforts stalled as the Chieftain’s defense continued to deny any sort of momentum by the Hornets.

Midway through the third quarter Bellefontaine’s hometown hero and future Buckeye quarterback, St. Clair had probably the best pass on the night when he rolled to the left, eyes down the field, and threw away from his body to connect on a dart to one of his wide receivers. It went for 20 yards and really showed why the 6’3 standing quarterback has a bright future with the Buckeyes.

All eyes are on St. Clair these days and while the pressure grows with the anticipation of his becoming a Buckeye, he is still only a junior.