On the first play from scrimmage, a designed keeper, London’s Colt Hughes found himself all alone behind the Alder defense, pursued only by the back judge as he rambled 65 yards for a TD. London would never trail in the game, dominating the Route 42 rivalry for the 6th straight year. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
With a 34-7 victory, the Red Raiders beat the Pioneers for the sixth consecutive time and moved another step closer to adding to their run of winning at least a share of five league titles in a row.
Plain City, OH – The passion between Madison County-rivals London and Jonathan Alder burned as brightly as ever Friday night, despite a matchup that again proved lackluster from a competitive standpoint.
Throughout a contest marred by a consistent barrage of unsportsmanlike conduct and personal foul penalties on both sides, the Red Raiders dominated the passionate matchup from the onset—just as they’ve done each of the last two seasons.
London has won at least a share of five consecutive Central Buckeye Conference-Kenton Trail Division championships, and it took a big step toward adding to that number with a 34-7 victory over the Pioneers.
It marks the sixth consecutive win in the series for London, which includes winning 49-0 in 2024 at Jonathan Alder and 38-0 a year ago at home.
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“We got off to a good start, and that’s key to any matchup or any rivalry,” said London coach Kyle Cutler, who is a 2003 Jonathan Alder graduate. “Lot of respect to (Pioneers) coach (Brett) Glass and the program he runs, and a lot of respect to this community. We had a couple more plays than they did tonight.
“It’s another game. I love those guys. I’ve got a lot of respect for them, but it’s about focusing on us. We take it a day at a time. In this profession, you can’t really do anything other than that.”
London, which improved to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the league while the Pioneers dropped to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in CBC action, was in control almost from the onset—similarly to the past two matchups between the programs.
On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Colt Hughes found a hole and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown.
Then on the third play of Jonathan Alder’s first drive, London sophomore Parker Clawson picked off a pass from sophomore quarterback Drew Hughes and ran 33 yards to set up another score.
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Three plays later, London junior Isaiah Near broke a tackle just past the line of scrimmage and ran for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Red Raiders a 13-0 lead with 8 minutes, 31 seconds still left in the opening quarter.
Isaiah Near gives Caleb Wiltshire the business, then weaves and evades the rest of the Alder defense for London’s second score of the opening quarter.
“We definitely knew coming into this game that it was going to be chippy, that it was going to be a hard-fought battle, and we knew if we didn’t set the tone early that they would,” Near said. “So we did what we did all week in practice and tried to set the tone.
“I like where we’re at. We’re coming off a big win, and we’re feeling good.”
Before losing to New Albany 17-14 in its Aug. 21 opener and 10-7 on Sept. 18 at St. Paris Graham, the Red Raiders hadn’t lost a regular-season game since 2022.
A big-play defense has been a part of the equation regarding why London has won its last three.
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With 3:12 left in the opening quarter, Red Raiders junior JC Clark grabbed a tipped pass for an interception to set his team up at the Jonathan Alder 11. Three plays later, senior Dreux Prince ran for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 20-0.
London sophomore Terell Butts also had an interception late in the third quarter, and Near had an interception early in the fourth quarter get negated because of a penalty.
Isaiah Near comes up with a spectacular interception on a pass intended for Alder’s Parker Bates but his effort was thwarted when the yellow laundry rained down and the Red Raiders were charged with defensive pass interference.
“Honestly we spent a lot of time watching film, so we got their whole route scheme and whatever formation they were in,” senior linebacker Jaydon Cooper said. “We were just there in the right place at the right time. I guess we’re pretty good at tackling.
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“A couple weeks ago against Graham, we didn’t do the best, but every week we’re doing more and more. We stay late every night to find out how we can put our defense into the best places possible. Everybody is putting in the work. We learned (from the Graham loss that) we need to get set quicker, need a fast pace, that we need to come in prepared, and that we can’t take anybody lightly.”
Danny Bentley hauls in a Drew Hughes pass across the goal line but London’s Terrell Butts makes sure that he is pushed out of the end zone before he landed.
Jonathan Alder put together its only scoring drive beginning late in the opening quarter when it drove 80 yards on 11 plays, with Drew Hughes running in from 2 yards with 8:48 left in the first half to cut it to 20-7. His 47-yard pass play to junior Danny Bentley helped set up the score.
The Pioneers, however, had just three plays the rest of the game go for more than 10 yards.
Jonathan Alder controls its playoff destiny in Division III, Region 11 but looks to be in for another stiff challenge next Friday when it plays host to Kenton Ridge, which is 7-1 overall and tied with the Red Raiders for first in the league at 3-0.
“(London is) just really physical on defense, and offensively they are what they are,” Glass said. “We got our butt kicked. That’s it. The way they were able to control the football, and the turnovers we had at different times … defensively they’re not real big, but they fly around and hit and tackle. They’ve got a very good defense, and offensively they’ve got speed at the back. They’re big up front.
Parker Bates elevates and extends to try to haul in a pass late in the 2nd half, but the London defense hurried Alder quarterback Drew Hughes all night long, causing multiple overthrows that frequently were just inches out of reach.
“There’s nothing else you can do other than put it behind you and get better for next week.”
Near gave London a 27-7 lead with 4:56 left in the first half on a 9-yard run, and the Red Raiders closed out the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run by junior Bryston Toronto with 5:56 to go in the third period.
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London’s offense, as usual, was efficient and effective—despite Colt Hughes attempting just one pass, which went incomplete. He rushed for 84 yards and was part of a ground game which finished with 318 yards.
Christian Amman tries to get something going through the air by leaping over defenders in search of the first down marker.
“We put in a lot of work this week and trust the coaches,” Colt Hughes said. “Size-wise, we’ve always been undersized, but we hit the weight room, and with our speed and just playing together, we trust one another to get their job done. It makes for a perfect formula.”
London plays host next Friday to Tecumseh, which is just 1-7 overall and 0-3 in the league, and could be battling to wrap up another league title in its regular-season finale Oct. 23 when it travels to Kenton Ridge.
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If the Red Raiders continue to play defense as they did while holding Jonathan Alder to just 22 yards, they could be on their way to another league title and a home playoff game in Division IV, Region 16.
“We knew coming in that whoever had the better defense was going to win the game,” Near said. “Our mindset all week was kill, kill, kill. That’s all we’ve done. It sucks being hit over and over and over again. Nobody likes it. That’s why we win.”
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