This game was worth the wait
Fliers tromp
over Tigers,
26-7
By SCOTT BLACK
Enterprise sports writer
clydenews@bizwoh.rr.com
The Fliers made their fans and the Huron Tigers wait and wait Friday night before they took the field, but in the end the game was worth the wait.
The Fliers downed the Tigers, 26-7, to take control of the driver's seat in the Sandusky Bay Conference.
The Fliers were so late taking the field that Huron was already lined up for the kickoff and many people expected a penalty flag at any moment. When the Fliers finally did run onto the field they had to run through the lined up Tigers. The Tigers stood their ground and hurdled a few words at the Fliers running by, the least of which was that the Fliers had no idea of what they were in for during the game.
"I think that this is the biggest win of the season so far for us," Coach Marc Gibson said.
"You want to win your opener, and you want to win all your non-league games," he said.
"In reality, they don't mean a thing when it comes to winning a league championship. This game could be a turning point is our season and in our program," Gibson said.
"We didn't want to have to rely on somebody else helping us to get into the playoff or winning a league title. I think that we are playing very well right now, and we're ready to go on a nice run.
"I'm very proud of the kids. They came out and executed and played the way that we hoped they would," he added.
Fortunately, it was the Tigers who didn't know what they were in for as the Fliers hit them early and hard to take the fight out of the Tigers.
This Friday, the Fliers will take on the 2-4 Margaretta Polar Bears at the "Duck Pond". The Polar Bears lost to Clearview 37-14, Western Reserve 28-7, Wynford 28-0 and Perkins 14-0. They then defeated St. Marys 21-14 and Oak Harbor 42-7 last Friday to bring a two-game win streak against the Fliers.
Friday night on the game's first possession, the Fliers defense forced the Tiger offense to go 3-and-out. The Fliers then started at their own 34-yard line and drove 66 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown.
Alex Gillett ran it in from one yard out and Jordan Colson kicked the point after for a 7-0 Flier lead.
The Flier defense then forced the Tigers into another 3-and-out and they took over the ball at their own 25 yard line. Six plays later Gillett ran it in from the Huron 24 and with Colson's kick the Fliers led 14-0 nine seconds into the second quarter.
Gillett was the leading ball carrier in the game with 133 yards. Kade Kramer added 113 yards as the Fliers out rushed the Tigers 273 yards to 90. Craig Thorne led the Tigers with 61 yards. The Fliers also got 18 yards from Tyler Ludrowsky, 5 from Drew Beebe and 4 from Tyler Rex.
The Fliers made it 20-0 on a 2-yard run by Kramer with 1:23 remaining in the first half. Colson's kick was blocked. Huron did advance to the Fliers' 39, but the first half ended with the Fliers up 20-0.
In the third quarter the Fliers took over the ball at their own 20-yard line and drove 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown as Gillett hit Jeremy Hohenstein for a 45-yard touchdown reception. The extra point was again blocked, but the Fliers led 26-0 with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter.
"We lost a lot of kids from last year's team," Gibson said.
"You can look at your team on paper and in practice, but you never really know what you have until they get some game experience," he added.
"We're not the same team that we were at the start of the season. We're evolving and getting better. We're finding out who can play where, and we're making adjustments. We are a better team now, and we will continue to get better.
"We're not worried about stats; we'll just continue to do what works."
Gillett was 9-of-10 passing for 138 yards. Hohenstein and Tyler Rex each caught three passes. Kramer caught two and Ludrowsky caught one. Huron's Matt Acierto was 3-of-22 for 60 yards with an interception by Ludrowsky.
Huron got on the scoreboard with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Acierto and the kick made it 26-7 but the Flier defense stiffened again and shut the Tigers out the rest of the way.
"We knew that they would try to run to the weak side so we knew that we had to come out and establish a good defensive line up front," Jarad Branski said.
"We had to show them that the Clyde Fliers know how to hit. We had to establish the tone up there, and we did a very good job of that and that's why we were able to shut them down.
"It feels great to be able to take down a big opponent," Branski added. "They have a lot of tradition in that program. They are a winning team. It will help us in the SBC and the playoffs."
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