Photo by Seth Staskey Barnesville quarterback CJ Hannahs (9) carries several Worthington Christian defenders with him as he runs the ball Friday.

BARNESVILLE — Not every game is going to be a masterpiece.

And, quite honestly, the end result is the most important factor in a game.

Hence why you won’t be hearing any apologies or excuses coming from Barnesville head coach Blake Allen following his team’s 35-20 victory against Worthington Christian Friday night at Shamrock Stadium.

It looked, early on, like the Shamrocks were going to cruise to their sixth win in as many outings, especially after they jumped on the Knights 14-0 in the first quarter. Actually, those touchdowns kept the game from getting really interesting.

“We had a chance to put the game away and really pull away, but we made some sloppy mistakes,” Allen said. “I know we’re playing well, but I keep saying this, and it’s true, we’re young and we made some youthful mistakes. On top of that, give Worthington Christian credit because they’re talented and played hard.”

Worthington Christian’s ability and talent aside, the distraction possibilities this week were plentiful for the Shamrocks. After all, it’s Pumpkin Festival weekend in the village and schools were closed since Tuesday because of it.

“You always worry about those things, but it’s no excuse at all,” Allen said. “Give our kids credit because they were focused all week and it was really one of the better weeks of practice we had during Pumpkin Festival week. Our kids were ready and prepared.”

As it’s done during the majority of the first-half of the season, the Shamrocks set the tone with its running game and two-headed backfield monster of senior quarterback C.J. Hannahs and junior running back Taison Starr.

The duo combined for 218 yards and four of the five Shamrocks’ touchdowns. Actually, they divided those two aforementioned, first-quarter scores.

Starr capped the opening possession of the game from 4 yards out and following an interception by Luke Detling, Barnesvile went right back to work and capped a two-play drive with Hannahs busting in from 13 yards out. The big hit on the drive was a gadget play in which sophomore Casey Carpenter found Starr on a 53-yard hookup.

Detling found Duker Castello for the 2-point conversion.

Barnesville eventually took a 28-13 lead into the locker room at halftime. Starr answered a Worthington Christian touchdown with a 14-yard jaunt and then scored from 4 yards out once again. Following each of those second-quarter scores, sophomore Evan Lough was perfect on the PAT.

The Shamrocks, however, were able to find much traction in the third quarter.

“Give Worthington Christian credit,” Allen said. “They made some adjustments. They’re well coached. The things we were doing (well) in the first half, they adjusted to and it took our kids a little while to kind of figure it out. We were also sloppy with some penalties, dropped passes, bad throws, dropped snaps, etc. It looks great when everyone is doing their job, but I think facing this adversity (in the third quarter) was good for us and can help us grow as a team.”

Worthington Christian’s lone touchdown was a 42-yard punt return by Gibby Wilson, which followed a bizarre occurence. Barnesville punted and the ball hit off a Worthington Christian player and the Shamrocks recovered.

The officials got together and called fair-catch intererence. The Shamrock bench reacted was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct, forcing the second punt from the shadows of their own goal post.

The Franklin Countians, however, were unable to draw any closer despite a couple of opportunities.

Barnesville’s defense answered the bell, limiting Worthington Christian to 188 yards for the game and only 71 on the ground.

“Our defense played outstanding,” Allen said.

The Shamrocks salted the game away with just a couple of minutes to go when rugged sophomore Salvador Almaraz scored from 5 yards out.

Barnesville welcomes Toronto next week.

Barnesville 35, Worthington Christian 20

Worthington Christian 0 13 7 0 — 20

Barnesville 14 14 0 7 — 35

B — Starr 4 run (kick failed).

B — Hannahs 13 run (Castello pass from Detling).

WC — Albert 8 run (kick blocked).

B — Starr 14 run (Lough kick).

WC — Wilson 26 pass from Raikes (St. John kick).

B — Starr 4 run (Lough kick).

WC — Wilson 42 punt return (St. John kick).

B — Almarez 5 run (Lough kick).

RUSHING: Worthington Christian, 23-71-td (Albert, 17-80-td; Zartman, 2-12; Raikes, 3-(-18); Robinson, 1-(-3)). Barnesville, 44-218-5td (Hannahs, 20-124-td; Starr, 18-94-3td; Almarez, 3-19-td; Team, 2-(-19).

PASSING: Worthington Christian, 12-23-117-1td-2x (All by Raikes). Barnesville, 12-19-150 (Hannahs, 11-17-97; Carpenter, 1-1-53; Starr, 0-1).

RECEIVING: Worthington Christian, 12-117-1td (Robinson, 5-57; Albert, 1-0; Hermiz, 1-2; Wilson, 4-48-td; Amsbaugh, 1-10). Barnesville, 12-150 (Starr, 3-56; Castello, 5-41; Detling, 3-35; Wise, 1-18).

First Downs: Worthington Christian, 12; Barnesville, 22.

Fumbles: Worthington Christian, 1-0; Barnesville, 3-1.

Penalties: Worthington Christian, 5-70; Barnesville, 6-65.