ALBION – The Central Noble Cougars used an impressive running game to dial up a 56-8 win over the visiting Whitko Wildcats Friday night in Class 2A Sectional 34 action.
In the opening round of the football state tournament, Central Noble’s Braxton Dial rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries, while teammate Nathan McDonald added 78 yards and a pair of scores on five carries.
As a team, the Cougars tallied 383 rushing yards on 35 carries and finished the night with 455 yards of total offense.
The Wildcats dominated the time of possession, controlling 29 minutes of the 48-minute game, and finished the contest with 184 yards of offense – 98 on the ground and 86 through the air.
Hunter Reed led Whitko with 12 carries for 30 yards, while Dominick Mosely added 26 yards on four carries and Kaleb Busz chipped in with 23 yards on seven touches.
Reed also led Whitko in receiving with two catches for 47 yards, while Isaiah Pierce chipped in with two catches for 34 yards.
Mosely completed 5 of 14 passes for Whitko, including a five-yard scoring strike to Colin Loe with 6:33 remaining in the game.
Central Noble led 28-0 after the first quarter, 42-0 at halftime and 56-0 at the end of the third.
Whitko finished the season with an 0-10 record, while Central Noble improved to 7-3 with its first postseason win in nearly a decade.
The Cougars will play Bluffton, a 27-19 winner over Bremen, in the sectional semifinals.
