Columbus Grove’s Trenton Barraza runs into the end zone after eluding Patrick Henry’s Grant Schwab (12), Grant Smith (5) and Max Johnson (56) on Friday night.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — The “Pack of ‘Dogs” were hungry Friday.
The Columbus Grove public address announcer repeatedly used the moniker Friday to describe a defense that came up big early and often in a 27-13 win against area football powerhouse Patrick Henry in a non-league matchup.
Columbus Grove forced three first-quarter turnovers and converted them into touchdowns to jump out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. They finished with five takeaways in the game.
“We came with emotion, and the crowd was into it. The kids were into it,” Columbus Grove coach Andy Schafer said. “… This night, man, we were there right from the start.”
The fun started barely four minutes into the game for the Bulldogs (3-0), who begin Northwestern Conference play next week at Spencerville.
Columbus Grove’s Sam Groch, who also had a third-quarter touchdown when he dove on a blocked punt, tipped Patrick Henry quarterback Lincoln Creager’s pass straight up into the air. The 6-foot, 270-pound Mayes waited for it to come down before rumbling nearly 20 yards. Four plays later, Columbus Grove running back Trenton Barraza tallied a 10-yard touchdown after trying to go straight ahead before bouncing outside to the right for the early 7-0 lead.
After the ensuing kickoff, Patrick Henry (2-1) fumbled on its first play, with Grove’s Aiden Patrick picking up the ball and returning it to the 3. Two players later, Bulldog quarterback Landon Best ran it in from 1 yard and the early 14-0 lead.
Mayes wasn’t done, as he dove on a fumble near the end of the first quarter, giving Columbus Grove the ball at the 40 and his second takeaway of the quarter. A few plays later, Barraza — who said “Mayes went off today” — had his second TD of the day on a 27-yard sweep on the left side for a 21-0 lead with barely half a minute gone by in the second quarter.
“We were really going at it on all cylinders today,” said Mayes, whose team suffered a demoralizing 40-28 loss in last year’s game at Patrick Henry. “I think we really had something on our mind today and really focused on it today.”
Barraza finished with 147 yards on 28 carries. He had to step in as quarterback in the second half after Best suffered an injury just before halftime. That didn’t slow down his running, as he still had 59 yards in the second half.
Quatman’s quality outing
LIMA — In football, great players often make plays that change a game.
But it isn’t every day that a player dominates a single game from start to finish.
That’s exactly what Matthew Quatman did for Lima Central Catholic in its 25-7 win over Carey at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night.
The 5-10, 175-pound, two-way weapon racked up 196 all-purpose yards and accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns on two runs, a reception and an interception return.
Quatman caught a 20-yard touchdown off a tipped pass from Brady Parker late in the first quarter, and on Carey’s first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Quatman stepped in front of a screen and ran it back for a touchdown from 40 yards out.
“He put it on his shoulders all week to make sure we practiced and we played hard,” LCC coach Scott Palte said of Matthew Quatman. “He came out tonight and was the best football player on the field and he did a great job on both sides of the ball. That’s what you expect your senior captain to do.”
Just like they did last week against Delphos St. John’s, LCC leaned on its running game against Carey and it paid off.
As a team, the T-Birds ran the ball 35 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns, both from Quatman, who finished the night with 176 yards on 24 carries.
“Week after week we’ve been telling ourselves that we’re going to have a breakout game if someone just steps up and makes plays,” Quatman said. “I got the ball a lot tonight and our line blocked great. It was a team effort. We all did our job.”
Lima Senior’s speed wins out
LIMA – Lima Senior dazzled in front of its Senior Night crowd on Friday night.
Marion Harding visited the Spartans for the 31st time in school history and for the first time since 2016, and Lima Senior secured a 49-24 win behind a seven-touchdown performance from Junior quarterback Ja’Niaus Hall.
“We got the win tonight for our Seniors on Senior night. The guys played well even though we had some turnover issues and some things we need to clean up, but we’ll celebrate the win for sure,” Lima Senior coach Bill Lawrence said.
Lima Senior (3-0) spent less than a minute on the field before they etched the first mark on the scoreboard. They trailed 10-8 at the end of the first quarter to Marion Harding (1-2) due to a few turnovers from Hall, but on the first play of the second quarter, the Spartans erased that deficit and never looked back.
Senior Isaiah “Boog” Wilson entered the night with three touchdown receptions in his first two games, and he added three more to his season total on Friday night.
In the early moments of the second quarter, Hall swung a screen pass toward the Lima Senior sideline and Wilson took care of the rest as he bolted 74 yards to the end zone.
Disaster ensued for Marion Harding on the kickoff as Emmanuel Jokinen-Rutz laid the ball sideways on the tee before perfectly deflecting the ball off of a President, giving it back to the Spartans.
Three plays later, Hall found Senior Keyon Smith for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
Hall and the Spartans continued to hit the gas pedal every time they regained possession.
“It’s a good feeling to be 3-0, that’s for sure,” Lawrence said. “We have a lot of work to do and we’ll go back to work in the morning. Our next opponent is tough, and we need to stay focused on our goals.”
Bath’s big players make big plays
Make some big plays then run behind the big guys.
That was part of Bath’s game-winning formula when it beat Shawnee 49-23 on Friday night.
The Wildcats had passing plays of 54, 43, 41, 23, 21 and 18 yards which moved them into scoring position and touchdown runs of 1 yard, 1 yard, 3 yards, 4 yards, 6 yards and 8 yards.
“The biggest thing is they hit big plays and when they got those big plays they went to more of a heavy run package,” Shawnee coach Shane Wireman said after the Indians (2-1, 1-1 Western Buckeye League) lost for the first time in three games this season.
“They have some really nice offensive linemen and they matched up well against us in the trenches. Our biggest thing was we wanted to keep them out of that 20-yard zone because we knew when they got down there they were going to sub in that big package and we don’t match up well against that.
“They took it to us,” he said.
Bath (2-1, 2-0 WBL) got three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Zach Welsch, two from running back Mikey Hale and one from running back James Davenport.
Welsch rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries, completed 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards, threw a touchdown pass to Jaxon Foster, intercepted a pass and had a half dozen tackles. Hall gained 68 yards on 15 carries.
Shawnee quarterback JJ Spyker ran for 107 yards on 13 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 6 yards, 13 yards and 31 yards. He was 17 of 28 for 185 yards passing. Michael Garlock had 9 catches for 93 yards.
Shawnee led 10-0 early in the second quarter before Bath scored touchdowns on seven of its next eight possessions.
“They gave us a little different look on defense than we were expecting. It took us a series to adjust but we came out and scored 21 points in the second quarter,” Bath coach Frank Russell said.
“We talk about playing each play and giving max effort. That’s just our standard and we’re not going to accept anything less. We’re getting better. We’re nowhere close to where we need to be at.”
Wapakoneta leaves no doubt
WAPAKONETA – Wapakoneta football coach Travis Moyer wants to see continual improvement from his team.
In Wapakoneta’s convincing 42-14 Western Buckeye League victory over Ottawa-Glandorf at Harmon Stadium on Friday night, the Redskins made key plays in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams.
With Friday’s win, Wapakoneta improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the WBL. O-G slipped to 1-2 in all games, and 1-1 in league play.
“We were fortunate to get some momentum plays, in terms of a blocked punt and a blocked field goal tonight,” Moyer said. “I thought Jarrett Mullen (running back, kick returner) made some big-time plays in the return game tonight for us and set up some short fields. Anytime our defense and special teams can set us up, offensively, with short fields and we’re able to capitalize, that’s a good thing for us in terms of all three phases.”
Coming out of the backfield, Mullen rushed for 56 yards on six carries and had touchdown runs of 12 and 18 yards.
Wapakoneta quarterback Caleb Moyer was 9 of 13 passing for 130 yards with one touchdown pass.
Moyer also got it done with his legs as he rushed for 79 yards on 11 carries and had two TD runs.
Moyer’s favorite receiver on Friday was Kaden Page, who had four catches for 81 yards and a 32-yard TD pass early in the second quarter that gave the Redskins a 21-7 lead.
Moyer connected with five different receivers on Friday.
“We’re real fortunate. Anytime we’re able to run and throw the ball effectively, we’re going to be tougher to defend,” Coach Moyer said. “We did a good job of getting a lot of people involved tonight, offensively. We’re going to need that. I really credit our guys up front on continuing to take a step forward and getting better every week.”
Top performers
• Bryson Penix of Crestview had five total touchdowns in a 37-16 win over Wayne Trace. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns and ran the ball 10 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
• Hardin Northern’s Nolan Hopson ran the ball 25 times for 272 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-0 win over Cory-Rawson.
• Spencerville’s Kolton Grigsby ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 win over Riverside.
• Minster’s Brogan Stephey went 20 for 24 on passes for 214 yards and ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-14 win over Anna.
• Celina quarterback Bobby Morris finished with 173 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 17 carries in a 42-14 win over Van Wert. Kaiden Wertz caught two passes for 129 yards against the Cougars.
• Briston Wise of Van Wert finished 18 of 24 for 163 yards against Celina with one touchdown and four interceptions. He also rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries. Micah Cowan caught 10 passes for 104 yards.
• Caleb Schmidt of St. Marys registered his first career 100-yard game in a 14-10 loss to Defiance, finishing with 102 yards on 13 carries.
FOOTBALL STANDINGS
Western Buckeye League
`WBL`All
Wapakoneta`2-0`3-0
Bath`2-0`2-1
Shawnee`1-1`2-1
St. Marys`1-1`2-1
Ottawa-Glandorf`1-1`1-2
Celina`1-1`2-1
Defiance`1-1`1-2
Kenton`1-1`1-2
Elida`0-2`1-2
Van Wert`0-2`1-2
Northwest Conference
`NWC`All
Columbus Grove`0-0`3-0
Bluffton`0-0`3-0
Spencerville`0-0`3-0
Allen East`0-0`2-1
Crestview`0-0`2-1
Lima Central Catholic`0-0`2-1
Delphos Jefferson`0-0`1-2
Fort Loramie`0-0`1-2
Midwest Athletic Conference
`MAC`All
Coldwater`1-0`3-0
Marion Local`1-0`3-0
Minster`1-0`3-0
New Bremen`1-0`3-0
Versailles`1-0`3-0
Anna`0-1`2-1
Delphos St. John’s`0-1`1-2
Fort Recovery`0-1`1-2
Parkway`0-1`1-2
St. Henry`0-1`1-2
Blanchard Valley Conference
`BVC`All
Arlington`1-0`3-0
Leipsic`1-0`2-1
Liberty-Benton`1-0`2-1
Pandora-Gilboa`1-0`1-2
Riverdale`1-0`2-1
Ada`0-1`2-1
Arcadia`0-1`0-3
Elmwood`0-1`0-3
McComb`0-1`2-1
Van Buren`0-1`1-2
Northwest Central Conference
`NWCC`All
Upper Scioto Valley`2-0`2-1
Elgin`2-0`2-1
Hardin Northern`2-0`2-1
Ridgemont`2-0`2-1
Waynesfield-Goshen`0-1`2-1
Perry`0-1`2-1
Ridgedale`0-2`1-2
North Baltimore`0-2`1-2
Cory-Rawson`0-2`1-2
Toledo City Athletic League
`TCAL`All
Lima Senior`0-0`3-0
Start`0-0`1-2
Bowsher`0-0`0-3
Rogers`0-0`0-3
Scott`0-0`0-3
Waite`0-0`0-3
Woodward`0-0`0-3
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 6
Arlington 44, Ada 43
Bluffton 63, Ayersville 7
Celina 42, Van Wert 14
Coldwater 55, Ft. Recovery 8
Columbus Grove 27, Patrick Henry 13
Crestview 37, Wayne Trace 16
Defiance 14, St Marys 10
Ft. Loramie 35, Covington 15
Hardin Northern 29, Cory-Rawson 0
Indian Lake 28, Allen East 21
Kenton 37, Elida 0
Leipsic 35, Elmwood 7
Liberty-Benton 31, McComb 6
Marion Local 42, St. Henry 9
Minster 41, Anna 14
New Bremen 30, Parkway 0
Pandora-Gilboa 41, Van Buren 14
Paulding 27, Delphos Jefferson 2
Perry 34, North Central 0
Riverdale 21, Arcadia 7
Ridgemont 14, Ridgedale 8
Spencerville 24, Riverside 21
Upper Scioto Valley 40, Waynesfield-Goshen 38, 3OT
Versailles 17, Delphos St John’s 7
Wapakoneta 42, Ottawa-Glandorf 14
Saturday, Sept. 7
LCC 25, Carey 7
Friday, Sept. 13
Lima Senior at Sylvania Northview, 7 p.m.
LCC at Allen East, 7 p.m.
Columbus Grove at Spencerville, 7 p.m.
Crestview at Fort Loramie, 7 p.m.
Kenton at Bath, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Celina, 7 p.m.
Defiance at Van Wert, 7 p.m.
Elida at Ottawa-Glandorf, 7 p.m.
Wapakoneta at St. Marys, 7 p.m.
Anna at Coldwater, 7 p.m.
Marion Local at Delphos St. John’s, 7 p.m.
Fort Recovery at St. Henry, 7 p.m.
Parkway at Minster, 7 p.m.
Versailles at New Bremen, 7 p.m.
Ada at Elmwood, 7 p.m.
Pandora-Gilboa at Leipsic, 7 p.m.
Hardin Northern at Waynesfield-Goshen, 7 p.m.
Perry at Upper Scioto Valley, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Bluffton at Delphos Jefferson, 1:30 p.m.
