Community, Sports Zone

Top-ranked Banks ends Billies win streak

PLEASANT HILL – The Pleasant Hill Billies football team has had a magical start to the season, going 3-0 after not winning a game in all of 2021. Last night, however, the Billies hosted the Banks Braves, a team that’s ranked second in all of division 3A. The Braves would prove far too much for the Billies, stopping Pleasant Hill’s perfect start 42-6.

The game started out well for the Billies as they forced a fumble on the opening kickoff return and recovered at the Banks 31-yard line. They would only go backward after that and would end up punting the ball.

Despite not capitalizing on the turnover, Pleasant Hill was able to hold its field position advantage nicely. The Billies would force two consecutive Banks three-and-outs, and would get the ball back on the Banks 39 and on their own 48 for their second and third possessions, respectively.

Pleasant Hill would be unable to capitalize on either of those possessions, however, and on the Braves’ third possession they would drive down and score on a 10-yard pass from senior QB Christian Lyda to senior WR Logan Kind, making the game 7-0 with 2:45 left in the first quarter.

The Billies failed to convert on their next drive, but then forced and recovered another Banks fumble. Pleasant Hill’s failure to take advantage of another turnover would prove to be its downfall, as Banks would get the ball back and go on a 21-0 run in the second quarter.

While Banks junior RB Ashton Crossen would score twice in the quarter, a 1-yard run and a 4-yard run, the true highlights came from QB Christian Lyda and senior WR Jack Lyda. The Lyda cousins would connect on passes of 31, 28, 34, 34, and 30 yards, all in the first half. The 30-yarder would be a touchdown, and Banks would head into half up 28-0.

Christian finished the first half 16-for-20 with 235 yards and 2 TDs, while Jack had 6 catches for 157 yards and 1 TD. Pleasant Hill’s offense was unable to do anything to counter the Banks scoring barrage, and the Billies finished with 1 yard of total offense in the first half.

The second half would be a quick one, as the Braves would score early in the third quarter on a 1-yard Crossen run to make it 35-0 to force a running clock. The Billies as a team did respond well despite the deficit, and they would eventually score on a 9-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Matthew Dutton to senior WR Travis Gielish.

“When you’re down that big teams have a choice. To come out, are we gonna compete, or are we going to give up?” said Jeremiah Heacock, Billies head coach. “So I felt positive about it, we had enough guys that came out and competed.”

Banks would get the ball back and score with its backups as time expired, ending the game with a score of 42-6. Pleasant Hill will look to bounce back next week at Elmira (1-3) and stay undefeated in league play.

Billies Top Performers:
Senior QB Matthew Dutton 8 completions for 71 yards and 1 TD
Freshman WR Jacob Neely 3 catches for 40 yards
Senior WR Travis Gielish 1 catch for 13 yards and 1 TD

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