Bey, Tigers pull away

VERSAILLES, Ohio — When the Tigers scored in the first half, the Tribe answered.

But it could only keep up with Carson Bey for so long.

Fort Recovery High School’s football team was outscored 28-7 in the second half Friday night as Bey racked up five total touchdowns to lead the Versailles Tigers to a 49-28 victory.

The game was tied at halftime, but the Indians (2-3) were unable to continue matching Bey’s brilliance. The quarterback tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jack Osborne 5:07 into the third quarter to put his team up for good, then scored on the ground to push the advantage to 14 points. He notched another TD pass, this time 17 yards to Eli McEldowney, midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Bey also had a 51-yard TD pass to Titus Gehret in the first half and a 1-yard scoring run. He led the Tigers (4-1) in rushing with 139 yards on 20 carries and completed 11 of his 21 pass attempts for 185 yards.

Osborne added another 73 rushing yards and a touchdown as Versailles totaled 476 yards of total offense.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair after Titus Gehret put Tigers on top with a 2-yard TD run to cap the opening drive of the game. FRHS quarterback Clay Schmitz responded with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Thobe to tie the score, only to have Versailles go ahead again on Bey’s first TD pass.

Schmitz then found Regan Martin for a 40-yard touchdown before Bey again gave the Tigers the lead on his first rushing touchdown. Derek Jutte’s 3-yard scoring run tied the game at 21 with 3:11 left in the first half.

While Bey was a dual threat for Versailles, Schmitz torched the Tigers through the air to the tune of 307 yards on 19-of-27 passing. Jutte ran 10 times for 52 yards.

Thobe, who also had a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, paced the Tribe defense with 15 tackles.

The Indians will close their shortened regular season Friday when they host St. Henry (3-2).