CENTERBURG – East Knox’s undefeated season didn’t come by narrow margins, and that unbeaten streak didn’t end by them either.
The Bulldogs surged to 3-0 with an 86-14 point differential, yet they were the lesser team at Centerburg, spearheaded by Florida commitment Jackson Ballinger.
Centerburg handed East Knox its first loss of the season 21-9 on Friday night. It was all Trojans from the start, in no small part to their biggest and best.
Ballinger stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds. The senior is the 20th-ranked tight end nationally and the 20th-rated player in Ohio by 247 Sports. He didn’t put up big receiving numbers against East Knox, but the impact goes further.
“He’s a difference maker in all phases of the game,” Centerburg coach Andy Colella said. “You have teams that are game-planning for him on offense, but he had some great plays on defense today.”
Ballinger even sandwiched mistakes with positive impact.
Before throwing an interception on a trick play in the second quarter, he got to East Knox quarterback Rush Beatty to force an interception in the back of the end zone, then set up big runs with blocking on the next offensive drive.
The Trojans came into the game 1-2, suffering back-to-back losses, including a 50-0 vanquishing at the hands of Johnstown-Monroe.
The win over East Knox was a needed bounce-back, especially at home. The Trojans lost 31-13 to Worthington Christian on the same field in their last outing.
It wasn’t a single-man effort, either. Though Ballinger dominated, the Centerburg defense stuffed the Bulldogs. Senior defensive lineman Angelo Nichols provided big tackles for loss to give the Trojan sideline palpable energy.
Long East Knox passes never felt safe due to the collective efforts of the Centerburg secondary.
Even with penalties on would-be interceptions or red-zone trips, the Centerburg defense remained steady.
“You’ve got to keep rolling with it, regardless of the phase of the game,” Colella said. “I thought the defense played an excellent football game today.
“(East Knox) has a potent offense, and they kept them in check pretty well.”
One of the Bulldogs’ best threats was snuffed on a goal-to-go situation. Ballinger got into the quarterback’s face twice, forcing an incompletion on the third down pass, then getting a stop on the fourth-down quarterback keeper.
East Knox marched to a touchdown on its first drive of the third quarter. The Bulldogs were moving again on their second. Centerburg was able to force third-and-7, and it only took a blink for Ballinger to appear in the backfield, bringing down junior quarterback Rush Beatty and forcing the punt.
Late in the game, he did the same, forcing an intentional grounding penalty as he brought Beatty to the ground, deep in Bulldogs territory, again. The play effectively sealed the game, forcing fourth-and-17 from the 2-yard line.
“Coming from a Division VI school, all of us take huge pride in playing both sides of the ball,” Ballinger said. “If they’re shutting me down or if the plays are going somewhere else on offense, I know my time to shine is on defense.
“I can be just as effective on either side of the ball, and I know all the guys on the team have that same mentality … You have to take us off the field for us to not make plays.”
Ballinger is the big name as the team’s nationally ranked Southeastern Conference recruit, and his impact was felt. It wasn’t always the downfield passes that earned him 28 Division I offers, but the plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Quarterback pressures, run blocking and everything in-between.
“I never want to come off as arrogant, but I think that speaks to how (little it) matters what situation you’re in,” Ballinger said. “You’ve got to work as hard as you can, and there’s always an opportunity for you out there somewhere, no matter what shape or form.
“There’s plenty of guys on my team that could do it, too.”
East Knox fell to 3-1 and will be at Loudonville next week.
Centerburg improves to 2-2 and will host Northmor on Friday night.
