Topic: Football
LaSalle vs. Elder
Skyline Chili Crosstown Battle
Elder High School
Cincinnati, OH
August 28, 2020
© 2020 by Ron Harrison
These last two months have taken a toll on everyone with the corona virus, social unrest, and the economy. I think a lot of football fans have gone stir crazy wondering if there would even be football played this season. I normally cover the state of Kentucky but we are starting hopefully a little later in the season. I spent a lot of time in my earlier years in Cincinnati actually beginning my freshman year in 1960 at Schwab Junior High in the North side of Cincinnati. One of my class mates was a large, talented running back named Clem Turner. Clem starred at the University of Cincinnati and actually played for a while in the NFL. This was where I developed my interest in football. I decided this last Friday that since Kentucky had not kicked off I would look to the North for my football fix. I made the right decision as LaSalle captured a double-overtime 53-52 victory over Elder on the road. The score was tied 38-38 at the end of regulation. Both teams scored in the first overtime to make the score 45-45. Elder got the ball on offense first in the second overtime and scored a touchdown and conversion kick to take a 52-45 lead. LaSalle answered with a 19 yard touchdown on a screen pass from Zach Branham to Gi’Bran Payne. LaSalle never hesitated and went for the win on a two point conversion and Zach Branham ran it in for the score and a thrilling victory between two excellent squads.
LaSalle recorded 442 yards of total offense, was penalized 11 times for 109 yards, and lost two fumbles. Elder recorded 432 yards of total offense, was penalized eight times for 67 yards, and lost a fumble. Elder held a 74-52 advantage in plays run and held a 31:21-16:32 advantage in possession time.
Zach Branham, who was named Game MVP led the LaSalle ground game with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Gi’Bran Payne added 114 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Zach Branham completed 10 of 17 passes for 173 yards with three touchdowns. Cole Schneider caught three passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Gi’Bran Payne added three receptions for 49 yards and two touchdowns. Jaylen Johnson caught one pass for 44 yards.
Drew Ramsey led Elder’s ground game with 87 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Cooper Johnson carried the ball 18 times for 68 yards. Ben Hambleton completed 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Drew Ramsey caught eight passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Scott Neiman added five receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| LaSalle | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 53 |
| Elder | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 52 |
| ELDER | - | Drew Ramsey 2 yard run (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| ELDER | - | Drew Ramsey 10 yard run (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Gi’Bran Payne 35 yard pass from Zach Branham (Mason Luensman kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Zach Branham 20 yard run (Mason Luensman kick) |
| ELDER | - | Marco Sabato 5 yard run (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Cole Schneider 8 yard pass from Zach Branham (Mason Luensman kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Zach Branham 25 yard run (Mason Luensman kick) |
| ELDER | - | Drew Ramsey 5 yard pass from Ben Hambleton (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Gi’Bran Payne 19 yard run (Mason Luensman kick) |
| ELDER | - | Scott Nieman 69 yard pass from Ben Hambleton (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Zach Branham kicks a 28 yard field goal |
| ELDER | - | Andrew Mueller kicks a 22 yard field goal |
| LaSALLE | - | Gi’Bran Payne 20 yard run (Mason Luensman kick) |
| ELDER | - | Drew Ramsey 3 yard run (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| ELDER | - | Scott Nieman 16 yard pass from Ben Hambleton (Andrew Mueller kick) |
| LaSALLE | - | Gi’Bran Payne 19 yard pass from Zach Branham (Zach Branham run) |
Selected Statistics
| LaSalle | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Zach Branham | 21 | 160 | 7.6 | 25 |
| Gi’Bran Payne | 11 | 114 | 10.4 | 20 |
| Cam Cope | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Team | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 |
| Josh Shaw | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Zach Branham | 17-10-0 | 173 | 3 | 47 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Cole Schneider | 3 | 65 | 21.7 | 47 |
| Gi’Bran Payne | 3 | 49 | 16.3 | 35 |
| Ben Seibert | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Jaylen Johnson | 1 | 44 | 44.0 | 44 |
| Joe Marshall | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 |
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| Elder | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Drew Ramsey | 19 | 87 | 4.6 | 15 |
| Cooper Johnson | 18 | 68 | 3.8 | 12 |
| Ben Hambleton | 4 | 17 | 4.3 | 9 |
| Marco Sabato | 3 | 12 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Team | 3 | -5 | -1.7 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Ben Hambleton | 26-19-0 | 253 | 3 | 69 |
| Drew Ramsey | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Drew Ramsey | 8 | 73 | 1 | 22 |
| Scott Nieman | 5 | 129 | 2 | 69 |
| Marco Sabato | 4 | 32 | 0 | 10 |
| David Larkins | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Cooper Johnson | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to everyone who helped me keep up with this wild game and provide updates. Also, a shout out to all the sports writers for the Cincinnati media that report tirelessly and with great enthusiasm on the excellent teams in this area.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.