Wise leads Cougars in rout of Bryan

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Van Wert started slow but finished fast during Friday’s season opener against Bryan at Eggerss Stadium.

The Cougars sputtered offensively on their first two drives and trailed 8-0 late in the first quarter but then scored 48 unanswered points on the way to a 48-8 win, the seventh straight victory over the Golden Bears.

Quarterback Briston Wise was the catalyst for Van Wert. The senior, who mainly played running back last season, ran for four touchdowns and passed for two more. He finished with 252 yards on 21 carries and completed 12-of-17 passes for 170 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I really like his attitude and his evenness as first two drives didn’t go as we had hoped or planned, but he stayed calm and was ready to do whatever he needed to,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said of Wise.

Van Wert first two drives netted a total of seven yards and a shanked punt on the opening drive. Bryan took advantage of the short punt and quickly moved 36 yards and scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cade Carlin to Carter Dominque. The duo then connected on a two-point conversion and an 8-0 with 6:19 left in the opening quarter.

The Cougars got their offense rolling late in the first quarter. Starting at their own 32 yard line, Van Wert rattled off eight plays and scored on a two-yard run by Wise, followed by the first of six Griffin McCracken extra points, making it an 8-7 game with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.

After a short Bryan punt that gave the Cougars the ball at the Golden Bear 17, Van Wert scored in just two plays, when Wise connected with a wide open Keaten Welch for a 14-8 lead with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

Bryan answered with a 14-play drive but turned the ball over on downs at the Van Wert 25. Wise guided the Cougars on a 10-play drive that chewed up more than three minutes and scored on another two-yard run. The drive featured an 18-yard pass to Aaron Reichert and a 25-yard run by Wise.

Leading 21-8 to start the second half, the Cougars turned the ball over twice via interceptions, but the offense kicked into high gear after that. After a Bryan punt, Wise connected on passes of 16 yards to Nate Gearhart and 31 yards to Micah Cowan, then scored on a 23-yard run into increase the lead to 27-8.

“Coach (Bryce) Crea started to figure out where he wanted to attack and how we could attack and I think Briston settled in as well and started getting things going,” Recker said.

That opened the floodgates, as Wise sprinted 84 yards for a score on Van Wert’s next possession, then tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Micah Cowan to increase the lead to 41-8, putting the continuous clock rule in motion with 8:03 left in the game. Cowan finished the game with five receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Xavier Kelly scored Van Wert’s final touchdown of the game on a zig-zag 50-yard run with just 50 seconds left.

The offense finished with 510 total yards, including 340 on the ground, plus 20 first downs. Bryan’s main weapon was running back Dameon Wolfe, who rushed for 149 yards on 18 carries, including a 61-yard run, before going down with an injury in the third quarter.

“I thought we did a good job of getting to the ball and pursuing the ball, which we harp on every day at practice,” Recker said. “We did a good job getting off blocks. We still had a few missed assignments but I thought overall they got stops when they needed to and for the most part we kept plays in front of us.”

Bryan was just 2-of-6 on fourth down conversion attempts.

Van Wert will open WBL play at Bath on Friday. The Wildcats lost to New Bremen 17-14 on Friday. 

“They’re very athletic,” Recker said of the Wildcats. “They have nice size up front, with 270 and 300 pound players. They throw different formations at you and they’re much improved – it’s going to be a battle to go over there.

Scoring summary

First quarter

B 6:19 – Cade Carlin 17-yard pass to Carter Dominque (Carlin to Dominque pass)

VW :38 – Briston Wise 2-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)

Second quarter

VW 9:55 – Briston Wise 15-yard pass to Keaten Welch (Griff McCracken kick)

VW :48 – Briston Wise 2-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)

Third quarter

VW 4:12 – Briston Wise 23-yard run (kick failed)

VW 1:35 – Briston Wise 84-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)

Fourth quarter

VW 8:03 – Briston Wise 40-yard pass to Micah Cowan (Griff McCracken kick)

VW :50 – Xavier Kelly 50-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)