St. Clair Defeats Sullivan In Week 4

St. Clair’s defense recovered four fumbles, the offense piled up 300 yards in the first half and the special teams even chipped in with a touchdown.

It made for another tough night for Sullivan in a 49-14 loss at St. Clair Friday night in a battle between the Four Rivers Conference rivals.

St. Clair scored all seven touchdowns in the first half — five on the ground, one through the air and one on Dalton Thompson’s punt return.

The Bulldogs led Sullivan (1-3) 49-0 at the half. Sullivan got on the board midway through the third quarter on a touchdown run by Lucas Cottrell. Cottrell added another touchdown with three minutes left to play in the game.

For the second straight week, Sullivan struggled with turnovers. The Eagles keyed the first turnover, jarring the ball loose and forcing a fumble from Marcus Kirk on the Sullivan 15. It was a big play for the defense, which had trouble pinning St. Clair back.

But the Eagles gifted the ball back to the home team on a third-and-11. St. Clair took over at the Sullivan 19 and scored three plays later on a 7-yard touchdown by Kirk with 3:26 left in the quarter.

St. Clair scored two more touchdowns before the quarter ended. Sullivan fumbled to end the next drive and it set up a one-play drive — a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tim Hoffman to Chris Scott.

The Eagles punted away on the next drive and Thompson returned it 73 yards for a touchdown with just 23 seconds left. St. Clair opened a 21-0 lead.

Sullivan couldn’t get the punt off on their next drive, giving the Bulldogs possession at the Sullivan 38. Josh Richards stormed ahead for a 37-yard touchdown on the second play.

Even when Sullivan did get a punt off, something went wrong. Will Allen punted deep into St. Clair territory and the ball bounced to the Bulldogs 10. On the first play, Kirk took the ball 89 yards, dragged down at the 1-yard line. Hoffman punched the ball in for another score a 35-0 lead with 6:51 left in the half.

Blaine Blankenship returned the first play of the ensuing drive 60 yards to give Sullivan their first jolt of the night, but it was called back on a holding penalty. On first-and-20, another fumble gave the ball back to St. Clair. Hoffman’s 8-yard touchdown run gave St. Clair a 42-0 lead.

The Eagles lost another fumble on their next drive, which allowed the Bulldogs to take over at the Sullivan 35. Harry Ramos scored on the first play.

Sullivan responded in kind to start the second half. Cottrell scored with 5:44 to play in the third quarter. The Eagles then recovered the onside kick and kept driving. St. Clair aided the drive with personal foul penalties and roughing the passer.

St. Clair didn’t run a single offensive snap in the third quarter and just six in the fourth.