WBL downs MAC/NWC in all-star game

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Western Buckeye League team had no trouble beating a squad of mostly Northwest Conference players in the 14th edition of the Van Wert County Hospital All-Star Football Game played at Eggerss Stadium in Van Wert. The WBL team scored first and led 17-3 at the half en route to a lopsided 38-10 victory. The Midwest Athletic Conference/NWC team still leads the series, 8-6, but has lost five of the last seven games, including two in a row.

The WBL dominated the stats, with 340 yards of total offense to 148 for the MAC/NWC team. The WBL had 134 yards rushing on 42 carries and 206 yards on 16 of 25 passing and no interceptions. The MAC/NWC team rushed for 74 yards on 21 carries and was 13 of 27 for 74 yards passing. The WBL had 23 first downs to 10 for the MAC/NWC squad.

Both teams were even on penalties, with the WBL committing five penalties for 60 yards, while the MAC/NWC team had eight penalties for 61 yards. The MAC/NWC team fumbled the ball three times, losing it twice, while also having one interception, while the WBL team had one fumble, which it lost, and no interceptions.

The scoring began at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter when Celina’s Braden Billger found Elida’s Nick Pauff in the open for a 17-yard touchdown strike. Caleb Siefker of Ottawa-Glandorf kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The WBL scored again in the second quarter when Zach Hembree of Celina ran 24 yards for a score with 9:50 remaining in the quarter. Siekfer again kicked the extra point and it was 14-0, WBL.

The MAC/NWC team got on the scoreboard next with a 38-yard field goal by Matthew Deter of Bluffton at 7:06 in the second period, but Siefker negated that score when he booted a 27-yard field goal with no time remaining in the first half.

The WBL had the only score of the third quarter when Billger again found Pauff open for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 8:50 remaining in the quarter. Siefker again kicked the extra point for a 24-3 WBL lead.

The WBL squad began the final stanza with a drive that was capped by a 24-yard scoring run by O-G’s Tristan Parker. Siefker kicked the PAT to make the score 31-3.

The MAC/NWC squad then got the ball on its own 15-yard-line, but Casey Mulcahy of Lima Shawnee recovered a MAC/NWC fumble and ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown. The run crushed the old series record for fumble runbacks of 47 yards set in 2001 by Delphos St. John’s Randy Grothaus.

Siekfer kicked the PAT for a 38-3 WBL lead.

The final score came at the 7:26 mark of the fourth quarter when Kellen Decker of Ada ran the ball in from the 5-yard line for a MAC/NWC touchdown. Deter kicked the extra point for the final 38-10 score.

Several Van Wert County players participated in the game, with Van Wert’s Logan Ray making several stellar tackles in the game.

Individual leaders included Parker, the top rusher in the game with 65 yards on 17 rushes and a TD, while Doug Sanders of Bath had eight rushes for 57 yards for the WBL team. The MAC/NWC team was led by Decker, who had seven rushes for 40 yards and one touchdown.

Billger was the game’s top passer with 15 completions in 22 attempts for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Acheson of Ada led the MAC/NWC squad with nine completions on 15 attempts for 59 yards and an interception.

Leading receivers include Pauff for the WBL with six catches for 94 yards, and Jacob Ansley of Ada with two catches for 21 yards.