On a cool mid-October Friday evening at Gardner Park, the Washington Blue Lions (2-6, 2-1 FAC) hosted the McClain Tigers (1-7, 0-3 FAC) in a Frontier Athletic Conference contest on the gridiron.

Washington controlled the game from start to finish as they took care of business, defeating McClain by a score of 43-19.

The Blue Lions received the opening kickoff and were forced to punt the ball away after three plays.

McClain faced a similar fate after their opening drive, but an errant snap on their fourth down punt allowed Washington to begin their second drive of the game from the Tiger 24-yard line.

On third-and-three of the Blue Lion possession, quarterback Gavin Coffman kept the ball and picked up the first down inside of the 10-yard line but fumbled the ball at the end of the play and it was recovered by McClain.

McClain gained one first down on their ensuing possession before having to punt the ball back to Washington. A nice return from Aden Osborne had the Blue Lions starting the next drive at the McClain 30.

A nine-yard completion from Coffman to freshman Sam Pfeifer began the drive, followed by a run by Coffman to get the ball to the 15.

Coffman later picked up another first down with his legs to make it first-and-goal from the nine. Running back Andrew Young crossed the goal line on the next play to get the Blue Lions on the board. They went for two and were successful on a pass from Coffman to Matthew Colflesh, making it 8-0 with 1:29 remaining in the opening quarter.

On the following possession, Osborne jumped a short route ran by the Tigers and intercepted a pass, taking it 40 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The point after try was no good, leaving the score at 14-0 with 1:09 left in the first quarter.

On the final play of the quarter, Blue Lion defensive end Miguel Utrera recorded a sack to force a McClain punt to begin the second quarter.

Washington faced a third-and-nine on their next possession, and Coffman found senior Jakob Hoosier deep for a 39-yard gain to the McClain 25. On the next play, Coffman connected with Colflesh for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try was no good leaving the score at 20-0 with 10:04 remaining in the half.

After getting a stop on defense, Washington got the ball back looking to extend its lead.

A 14-yard run by Young got the Blue Lions near the red zone early in the drive, and a 13-yard run by Young on the next play had them inside the red zone.

A holding call on Washington on the following play moved them back and they later faced a third-and-24. Coffman found senior Isaac Hood for a 21-yard gain to set up a fourth-and-three.

Coffman kept the ball and ran it down to the one-yard line where Hood punched it in for a touchdown on the very next play. The PAT was good by Coffman to make it 27-0 with 2:25 left in the half.

McClain moved the ball down the field quickly on their next drive and on fourth-and-five, freshman quarterback Hudson Lovett found senior Zane Adams in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good, making the score 27-6 with 45 seconds to go in the half.

Washington ran their two-minute offense on their next drive, looking to get another score before halftime.

They moved the ball down the field and put themselves in position to attempt a 43-yard field goal on the last play of the first half. The kick from Coffman was on target but fell short by a few yards, leaving the score at 27-6 going into the half.

The Tigers began the second half with possession of the ball and needed just 25 seconds to get into the end zone as Lovett found Connor McCune for the touchdown. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 27-12 with 11:35 left in the third quarter.

Both teams would trade punts on the next two drives.

Washington faced a fourth-and-two near midfield on their ensuing drive and converted on a three-yard run by Osborne. On the next play, Coffman found Hoosier wide open down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown. The PAT was good to make it 34-12 with 6:43 to go in the third.

After a McClain punt, the Blue Lions had the ball looking to extend the lead. With the ball in Tiger territory, a pass from Coffman was intercepted to end the drive and give the ball back to McClain.

The Tigers possessed the ball in Washington territory as the clock expired in the third quarter.

A couple negative plays moved them back and they were ultimately forced to punt.

The Blue Lions were pinned inside their own 20 on their next possession, but that didn’t last long as Young took a hand-off and broke through the line of scrimmage, racing 85 yards for a touchdown.

The two-point try was no good, leaving the score at 40-12 with 10:48 left in the contest.

McClain gave the ball right back to Washington on the next drive as a pass was intercepted by Colflesh.

The Blue Lions were able to milk the clock, getting into position for a 28-yard field goal. The kick from Coffman was good to extend the lead and make it 43-12 with 2:50 left in the game.

The final score of the contest came on a 12-yard touchdown run from Lovett with just seconds remaining. The PAT was good to make it 43-19 which was the final.

Washington (3-6, 3-1 FAC) will host county rival Miami Trace (6-3, 2-2 FAC) next Friday night in the annual battle of the black and blue. The Panthers fell 28-25 to Chillicothe on Friday night.

McClain (1-8, 0-4 FAC) will take on Hillsboro (3-6, 1-3 FAC) next Friday night in the Rotary Bowl. The Indians lost to the Jackson Ironmen on Friday by a score of 49-0.