Friday Flashback: WBL All-Stars win

This week’s Friday Flashback goes back to early June, 2012 and a gridiron All-Star football clash featuring players from the Western Buckeye League, the Northwest Conference and the Midwest Athletic Conference. Below is the game story as it appeared on the VW independent Sports page.

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports writer

The Western Buckeye League All Stars used a balanced offense and also overcame a record-setting passing performance by Ada’s Konnor Baker to win 36-25 and avenge last year’s 38-0 whitewashing by the All Stars from the Northwest and Midwest Athletic conferences.

The WBL compiled 345 yards of offense — 147 of that on the ground and 198 through the air — with the Lima Bath tandem of running back Aaron Smith and quarterback Brad Davis doing most of the damage. Smith rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, while Davis was 11 of 22 passing, with a touchdown and no interceptions. Nick Lopez of Defiance rushed 14 times for 63 yards, while Brice Fackler of Kenton caught two passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Elida’s Austin Etzler was the top receiver for the WBL with six catches for 101 yards.

For the MAC/NWC team, Baker was pretty much the whole show, completing 28 of 38 passes for 390 yards, three TDs and one interception. Unfortunately, for the small-school team, it had minus-41 yards rushing, mostly because of bad snaps from center while in the shotgun formation, forcing Baker to cover the ball to avoid a turnover.

Lima Central Catholic’s Corey Stump was the MAC/NWC’s top receiver, pulling down 11 catches for 151 yards and two TDs. Ada’s Cole Simon had six catches for 94 yards, while RJ Stratton of Bluffton caught four passes for 87 yards and a touchdown and Versailles’ Mitch Campbell had three catches for 69 yards. Crestview’s Matt Holden also had two receptions for 11 yards.

The WBL struck first when Smith ran the ball in from the 1-yard line for a touchdown. Davis legged it into the end zone for a two-point conversion and it was 8-0, WBL, with 5:05 remaining.

Four minutes later and the WBL was back on the scoreboard when Shawnee’s Keenan Newland made a record-setting 32-yard fumble return run for a touchdown with 1:06 left on the first-quarter clock.

But the MAC/NWC team didn’t wilt, scoring twice in the second quarter on a 1-yd run by Baker just 45 seconds into the period and a 22-yard pass from Baker to favorite target Corey Stump with 8:51 remaining in the first half. Neither point-after attempt was good, making it 16-12.

The WBL also got in a score (barely) before the half ended when Davis connected with Fackler on a 17-yard scoring strike with 15 seconds left on the clock. Davis then hit Fackler for a two-point PAT and it was 24-12, WBL.

The big-school team increased its lead to 18 points with a 1-yard TD run by Davis with 5:12 left in the third quarter. The MAC/NWC team then scored twice, with the first coming on a 37-yard pass from Baker to Stratton (kick was good by Jared Rex) and the second on a 3-yard pass from Baker to Stump, but still trailed 30-25 heading into the final quarter of play.

The WBL then put the icing on the cake with a 1-yard run by Smith with 1:42 remaining in the game. The PAT was no good.

The win gives the WBL five wins in the 13-game series, with the MAC/NWC teams winning the first five games, starting with the series opener in 2000.