NANKIN – Collin Caley couldn’t help but hear the Mapleton sideline urging its punter to boot the ball away from him in the third quarter Friday at John E. Camp Stadium.
When it sailed his way anyway, the Loudonville junior had to make the Mounties pay. Caley initially dropped the ball, then scooped it up and sprinted 60 yards for a score.
It was one of a variety of splash plays for the running back, who helped the Redbirds pull away for a 41-14 rout at Mapleton.
“I like punt returns,” Caley said when asked if he’d rather have a big return or a big run out of the backfield. “You just get space and I’m kind of elusive, so I feel like I’m best at those.
“Our guys blocked well, so they set that up. I just run; I’m fast, that’s all.”
The victory snapped a 17-game road losing streak for Loudonville and handed first-year head coach Keith Lemke – a 2012 LHS graduate – his first win as well.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Leibolt
Earlier in the third quarter, Caley had a 50-yard punt return to the Mapleton 10 yard-line before running it in a play later to make it 28-14.
The junior added a 54-yard scoring run in the second quarter and finished his night with 164 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
“(Caley) is lightning in a bottle,” Lemke said. “All he needs is a little crease and we think he can run away from anybody.
“At the end of the day, when in doubt, give No. 21 the ball.”
Both teams returned interceptions for touchdowns in the first half.
Loudonville’s Nic Buzzard (10 tackles) posted the game’s first points on a 43-yard pick-6 off Mapleton quarterback Keith Donley in the first quarter.
The Redbirds then went ahead 13-0 in the second on Caley’s 54-yard, one-cut sprint up the right hash.
But the Mounties answered when senior Cameron Nichols took his interception of Loudonville quarterback Chayse Wright 78 yards the other way.
The two-point run from Donley made it 13-8 with 6:14 to play before halftime.
Third-year Mapleton head coach Mitch Young – who got his first career win in the home opener against Loudonville in 2024 – said he felt like Nichols’ big play might get MHS going.
“We have three seniors, and with the leadership, we’re getting there,” Young said. “But it’s a lot of the younger guys that are leaning on Cameron to do things like that.
“The momentum coming off that, we were ready to go and I was confident.”
Loudonville answered with a 2-yard touchdown run from senior Braylon Kauffman to make it 21-8.
But the Mounties took advantage of a fumbled punt return by LHS, covering 43 yards on five plays and cutting it to 21-14 when Donley hit Landon Jenkins on a screen pass for 17 yards. The senior broke three tackles and rumbled into the end zone on the play with less than a minute before halftime.
That was the Mounties’ last bolt.
Loudonville posted 20 points in the third quarter on two Caley scores and a 6-yard touchdown pass from Wright to junior tight end Trenton Gaines (3 catches, 15 yards).
Mapleton, meanwhile, didn’t get a first down in the second half until the game’s final two minutes.
The Mounties managed just 50 yards on 32 carries (36 on 11 totes from Jenkins) and just cleared 100 yards of total offense due to Donley’s 67 yards on 9-of-16 passing.
Despite low roster numbers and a few injuries suffered Friday night, Mapleton had its high points.
Young feels like his squad – which matched Loudonville with at least seven returning starters on both sides of the ball – has the talent to get going this year.
“The last few years we’ve been rebuilding, and these kids have stuck it out through the lowest of lows and some of the highest of highs,” Young said.
“We put some young guys in tonight and moved some guys around and I think we found some dudes that wanna play ball on Friday night. We’ll get back to it next week.”
The Mounties will be back home next Friday when they host Wellington, a 45-7 loser to Western Reserve in their opener.
Lemke and his squad, meanwhile, were soaking up success.
Wright, who was 7-for-12 passing for 31 yards, collected a sack and the Redbirds recovered three fumbles during a balanced defensive onslaught.
Harrison Ross-Patrick had a game-high 16 tackles and scooped up a fumble. Coltin Caley added eight tackles (two for loss) and a fumble recovery, while Kauffman chipped in five tackles (two for loss) and the other fumble recovery.
Lemke said Loudonville mistakes led to all of Mapleton’s points.
“It’s good getting that first one on the road,” he said. “I was a little nervous today about that.”
“We had some momentum there in the first half, then we coughed the ball up and did some uncharacteristic things,” Lemke added. “But I’m really proud of the guys; they were able to overcome that.”
The Redbirds went just 3-7 last season, but in that mix were three one-possession losses to playoff teams.
The speedy Collin Caley, who said he’s been timed at 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash, believes Loudonville’s 2025 record might just have opposing teams looking past it early in the season.
“I think we’ve got a lot of skill and this is our year,” he said. “We’re gonna do some stuff.”
The Redbirds are on the road again next Friday at New London, a 61-7 loser to Woodmore in Week 1.
Photos by Doug Haidet
