It was the battle of the black and blue on Wednesday evening as the Miami Trace Middle School football teams hosted Washington Middle School in rivalry football action.

The seventh grade teams played first, followed by an eighth grade contest.

In the seventh grade game, Miami Trace was victorious by a score of 38-30.

In the eighth grade game, the Blue Lions defeated the Panthers 42-6.

Miami Trace started with the ball in the seventh grade contest and quickly drove into the red zone. A fumble occurred to end the drive and give the ball to Washington.

The Blue Lions were forced to punt after three plays, but the ball sailed over the punters’ head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety, making it 2-0 in favor of the Panthers.

On the ensuing drive, Bentley Schuler scored for Miami Trace on a 23-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was successful on a pass from Ethan Garrison to Reid Johnson, making it 10-0 late in the opening quarter.

On Washington’s next possession, running back Jason Fitch broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run after reversing field. The two-point try was no good, making the score 10-6 which was the score after the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Drayden Gleason scored from 12 yards out. The two-point try was no good and made the score 16-6.

Fitch answered with another long touchdown run, this one covering 53 yards. The two-point attempt was good on a pass from Max Pfeifer to Corbin Dumford, making it 16-14 in favor of the Panthers.

Miami Trace was driving late in the half and looking to score, but a pass was intercepted on the last play of the second quarter by Chris Bennett and returned all the way into Panther territory. This left the halftime score at 16-14.

Washington started with the ball in the third quarter and fumbled the ball away on the second play of the drive.

The Panthers recorded a fumble of their own to give the ball right back to the Blue Lions on the next series.

Washington would fumble yet again, and this time the Panthers would capitalize. After a long run by Garrison got them inside the 15-yard line, Gleason scored from 13 yards out. The two-point try was no good, making it 22-14 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.

For the third straight possession, the Blue Lion offensive series would end in a fumble. The Panthers recovered the ball just outside of the red zone, looking to add more points as the third quarter expired. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Gleason ran in a 19-yard touchdown, and also ran in the two-point try to make it 30-14.

Fitch would score his third long touchdown of the game on the next drive, a 56-yard scamper. The two-point attempt was good on a pass from Pfeifer to Jamaal Robinson, making it 30-22 with 7:38 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Gleason broke free for his fourth touchdown of the game, this one from 45 yards out. He would also run in the two-point try to make it 38-22 with 5:23 left in the game.

Washington would face a 4th and 12 on the next possession, needing a conversion to keep their chances alive. Pfeifer would find Fitch in the flats, who raced 31 yards for the touchdown. On the two-point try, Pfeifer’s pass was deflected multiple times but fell into the arms of Dumford for the conversion, making the score 38-30 with 2:01 remaining.

The Blue Lions had all of their timeouts and tried to get the ball back, but the Panthers were able to convert a couple of first downs to ice the game and seal the victory.

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In the eighth grade contest, the Panthers started with the ball and were forced to punt.

Washington would score on a 10-yard run from J’vion Gatewood, and the two-point try was good on a run from Gaven Burns to make it 8-0 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers possessed the ball as the first quarter ended, and were ultimately forced to punt the ball away again.

The Blue Lions struck quickly on a deep 76-yard touchdown pass from Trevon Roberts to Gatewood. The two-point attempt was no good, leaving the score 14-0 with 6:43 left in the half.

Another punt from Miami Trace would give the ball back to Washington with 4:55 remaining in the second quarter.

The Blue Lions scored once again, this time a 25-yard pass from Roberts to Champ Johnson. The two-point try was no good, making it 20-0 with 3:21 left in the half.

The Panthers would get on the board with 56 seconds remaining before halftime on a short touchdown pass from Zeller Kirkpatrick to Jarett Phipps. The two-point try was no good, making it 20-6.

The Blue Lions looked to add another score before the half, and after a 42-yard completion from Roberts to Mason Heidler got them inside the Panther 25-yard line, a 20-yard run by Gatewood had them near the goal line. Gatewood would score on the next play from three yards out, and the two-point try was good on a pass from Roberts to Heidler to make it 28-6 with just four seconds left in the half.

The Panthers tried to score on the final play of the half, but the pass was intercepted by Blue Lion Rakhai Kinser.

The Blue Lions fumbled the ball on the opening series of the third quarter to give the ball to Miami Trace with good field position. The Panthers got into the red zone, but a pass was intercepted in the end zone by Dwayne Kinser.

On the next possession, Roberts would find a wide open Walters for a 26-yard touchdown. The two-point try was good on a run by Burns, making it 36-6.

On the first play of the Panthers’ next drive, they fumbled the ball back to Washington. A couple plays later, Heidler found the end zone on a 21-yard run. The two-point attempt was no good, making it 42-6 which was the final score.

Washington will compete again on Wednesday, Sept. 18 as they continue league play at home against Chillicothe.

Miami Trace is back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at home against Unioto.