Bermudian's West rumbles for 5 touchdowns
Ashton West lost two fumbles in the first half, but the Bermudian Springs senior running back more than atoned for it.
He scored five touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 42-26 season-opening victory against visiting New Oxford at Alumni Field.
West, who was fourth in the YAIAA with 965 rushing yards a year ago, carried 17 times for 68 yards and the quintet of scores.
"I was upset and apologized to my teammates for the fumbles. That's not me," West said. "I tried to do what I could to make up for it."
Bermudian (1-0) trailed 14-6 midway through the second quarter after Isaac Siegman's touchdown, but Bermudian's Devon Hodgen put his side in business with a 67-yard kickoff return that started a drive at New Oxford's 18-yard line.
West capped the drive when he plowed in from 1-yard out. Ryan Curfman's 2-yard scoring run with 26 seconds to go until the half put the Eagles ahead for the first time.
In the third quarter, West sandwiched a pair of touchdowns around Brennan Romanoff's score for the visitors, and Berm led 35-20 heading for the fourth quarter.
Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, West put the game away for the Eagles with a 6-yard scoring run.
"When things got tough, the old mentality crept back in," New Oxford head coach Greg Bowman said. "We didn't believe that we could win when we fell behind. It's a process, and we have to learn how to win."
The Eagles tallied 426 yards of total offense, 271 of it on the ground, and 19 first downs.
Also of note for Berm was the return of sophomore quarterback Chase Dull, who tore his left ACL in Week 8 last season. Dull was 9-of-13 passing for 155 yards.
Despite the win, Bermudian head coach Jon DeFoe was not overly thrilled with how his team played.
"It's a positive that we won that game. But that's about it," DeFoe said. "We were very sloppy, and we have to get better at tackling."
New Oxford (0-1) was led on the ground by Brock Crawford, who carried 10 times for 142 of the Colonials' 250 rushing yards.
New Oxford _7_7_6_6 - _26
Bermudian Springs _6_14_15_7 - _42
First Quarter
NO — Darrick Rudisill 49 fumble return (Manny Banda kick) 8:57
BeS — Ashton West 21 run (kick blocked) 1:09
Second Quarter
NO — Isaac Siegman 1 run (Banda kick) 7:16
BeS — West 1 run (Quinton Nace pass from Ben Egenrieder) 4:12
BeS — Ryan Curfman 2 run (kick failed) 0:26
Third Quarter
BeS — West 5 run (Noah Aeppli kick) 11:11
NO — Brennan Romanoff 1 run (kick failed) 9:52
BeS — West 4 run (Egenrieder run) 4:03
Fourth Quarter
BeS — West 6 run (Aeppli kick) 10:27
NO — Brandon Scott 1 run (kick blocked) 5:44
Team Statistics
_NO_BeS
First Downs _17_19
Rushes-Yards _46-250_40-251
Passing _3-16-1_9-13-0
Passing Yards _23_155
Totals Yards _273_406
Punts _2-31.5_1-28.0
Fumbles-Lost _1-1_3-3
Penalties _5-42_4-30
Individual Statistics
Rushing — New Oxford, Brock Crawford 10-142, Tanner Miller 15-79, Siegman 9-26, Scott 7-19, Romanoff 4-11, Banda 1-(-27). Bermudian, Devon Hodgen 6-82, West 17-68, Brenton Krebs 5-39, Addison Wheeler 4-21, Curfman 4-21, Darren Beall 4-20.
Passing — New Oxford, Miller 3-16-23-1. Bermudian, Chase Dull 9-13-155-0.
Receiving — New Oxford, Eric Alt 2-17, Rudisill 1-6. Bermudian, Curfman 3-49, Hodgen 2-38, Trevor Grim 1-33, Egenrieder 1-21, Nace 1-8, West 1-6.