BHS football season is underway

Friday marked the first home game for the Pirates. Their opponent was Ayersville, a school I'd never heard of. Turns out Ayersville is a small school located in the Defiance area. I imagine there is an interesting back story about how Ayersville came to appear on the Bluffton schedule as a non-conference opponent, but I don't know what it is. Enrollment at Ayersville is only 346, but Bluffton's is only 353, so quite similar numbers of students to draw from.

The Pirates are coming off of an awesome year in 2023, when they went 12-2, the only losses coming to nearby rival Columbus Grove. They started out the season 9-0, shutting out seven of their first nine oppenents, before losing to Grove 14-7. In the post-season playoffs, they defeated their first three opponents by a combined score of 135-6, before again falling to Grove 17-10, in a game I was able to watch on the big screen at the local bowling alley.

The weather Friday was rainy, cloudy, and blustery, putting my plans to attend the game in doubt. But it cleared up somewhat by the 7:00 P.M. game time, and the weather waqs almost ideal for football. A few random drops of rain were felt, but no real drizzle. And the sun even peaked through for awhile toward the end of the first half. In the first half Bluffton scored every time it had the ball (I think), and the halftime score was 49-0. I left and went home, finding out later that the final was 63-7, with the second string (presumably) playing the second half.

So the season is off to a great start. The Pirates have defeated their first three oponents by a combined score of 155-10, beating each opponent by a greater margin than last year. The future looks bright!