BELVIDERE – If Belvidere thought it could expose some weaknesses in Boylan, which played without starting quarterback Zach Lane on Friday, the Titans needed just one quarter to change that.
After a close first half, the Titans scored five touchdowns in the third quarter enroute to a 49-9 NIC-10 football victory against the Bucs at Funderburg Stadium.
Will Sahlstrom started things for the Titans in the second half when he scored on a 48-yard run to make it 21-7.
The Titans (6-0) received the ball right back after a Belvidere three-and-out and Paul Barmore needed just one play to take it 56 yards to the endzone for the touchdown score.
“We got fired up and we knew we wanted to get at it,” said Boylan junior quarterback Michael Morman.
Morman replaced Lane, who is sidelined with a sprained ACL. Morman, who started at quarterback as a sophomore on the fresh-soph team last season, went 5-for-7 for 41 yards in his starting debut.
“It’s exciting anytime you get to start,” Morman said. “I had a good time.”
The good times didn’t stop for the Titans as Matt McCrudden added a 7-yard TD run, Barmore followed with a 53-yard score and Lucas Schumaker scored on a 29-yard touchdown run to make it 49-7 with 1:06 left in the third quarter.
“It was a disappointing third quarter,” Belvidere fullback Matt Safranek said.
The Bucs (1-5) seemed poised for an upset in the first half.
Belvidere’s opening drive stalled on the Boylan 43, and the Bucs punted. But when the ball bounced off the leg of one of Boylan’s blockers, the Bucs recovered the fumbled ball.
Belvidere took advantage of the miscue when Tiras Harris scored on a 3-yard run to make it 7-0 midway the first quarter.
The Titans answered when Justin Janicke scored on a 34-yard run to make it 7-6.
“That first quarter, we played well,” Safranek said. “We kept up with them and gave them a hard time.”
Boylan pulled ahead when Barmore scored on a 20-yard touchdown reception from Morman to make it 12-7. Sahlstrom’s PAT run gave the Tiitans a 14-7 lead with 1:12 left in the first quarter.
- Brenda Young, rrstar.com
