Ohio State commit St. Clair takes back seat as Bellefontaine runs past Licking Heights
PATASKALA — Licking Heights probably entered Friday’s football game against visiting Bellefontaine figuring to key on quarterback Tavien St. Clair. After all, the 6-foot-4, 219-pound St. Clair is ranked as a national top-50 prospect in the 2025 class and has committed to play at Ohio State.
But it was Bellefontaine running back Chris Fogan who stole the show. The senior carried 21 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns as the Chieftains got out to an early 31-7 lead and cruised to a 45-14 win.
“Early on for us, it was a long ride on the bus and I don’t think we were locked in,” said Bellefontaine coach Jason Brown, whose team traveled 75 miles from Logan County. “Once we got locked in and played to our standard, we started to make plays, get some stops and score some points. We felt good about our guys’ execution.”
Bellefontaine (2-1) rolled up 315 yards rushing and had a 404-353 advantage in total yardage. St. Clair, who had thrown for 660 yards and eight touchdowns in his team’s first two games, made his share of plays as he hit on 12 of 17 passes for 89 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and also carried four times for 25 yards and a score.
“We knew this was going to be a good fight,” St. Clair said. “We had a loss last week (to Coldwater), and we wanted to get that taste out of our mouths. Passing wasn’t really clicking for us, but the running game was good for us.”
Heights (1-2) moved the ball well at times but had only two touchdowns to show for it. Quarterback Michael Landry completed 14 of 23 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
Running back Jake Lopinto had six carries for 42 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 88 yards and a score. Receiver Jackson Brewer caught five passes for 55 yards, and Josiah Ayers had two grabs for 51 yards.
“They are obviously a very talented team,” Heights coach Austin Drewyor said. “We wanted to come out and be as aggressive as we could. It paid off early for us with the lead. But I think we were out of position a few times. I don’t question the effort. We just didn’t execute all of the time."
The Hornets got on the scoreboard first as Chris Harvey recovered a Bellefontaine fumble. On the next play, Landry recovered an errant snap and threw 42 yards to Ayers.
Landry then capped the drive by throwing it up for grabs to Lopinto, who skied over a Bellefontaine defender to haul in the 38-yard TD pass that put Heights up 7-0.
Bellefontaine came right back with St. Clair completing a fourth-down pass to Riley Neer for a 2-yard TD pass to tie it at 7-7. The Chieftains got a defensive stop and took the lead at 15-7 after a 64-yard TD run by Fogan.
“We knew the running back (Fogan) was really good and they put him all over," Drewyor said. "We were hoping to make them throw it a little bit more.”
Things unraveled for Heights as an errant punt snap led to a Bellefontaine safety. Bellefontaine then took advantage of a short field and went up 24-7 as St. Clair completed a fourth-down 5-yard TD pass to C.J. Wilson, and the lead went to 31-7 with 5:01 left in the first half as St. Clair pulled the ball down and scrambled for a 9-yard score
Heights came back with a nine-play, 71-yard scoring march with Landry running for a 19-yard gain and completing three passes for 29 yards, setting up Lopinto’s 4-yard TD run that cut the halftime deficit to 31-14.
The Hornets threatened again late in the half and early in the third quarter, but could not find the end zone.
Bellefontaine extended the lead to 45-14 late in the third quarter after Fogan had TD runs of 7 and 13 yards.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair, Bellefontaine beat Licking Heights
