Van Wert “D” stymies Elida Bulldogs

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

When it counted, Van Wert’s defense rose to the occasion in the Western Buckeye League opener against Elida Friday night.

Clinging to a 21-14 third quarter lead, the Cougars (2-0, 1-0 WBL) had to punt the ball away and Elida took over at its own 21-yard line. The Bulldogs promptly drove to the Van Wert 11-yard line, only to be turned away on downs, which preserved the one touchdown lead.

“They stepped up,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said of his defense. “They were looking rough late second quarter on. We had to tighten things up, move some linebackers and the guys responded to that real well. They stepped up in big situations and didn’t let the moment bother them.”

Van Wert went three-and-out on its next possession and again, the Cougars stopped Elida (1-1, 0-1 WBL), this time on fourth and inches at the Bulldog 47-yard line. With the aid of a personal foul penalty on the Bulldogs, Van Wert then made it to the Elida 17-yard line but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Alex Benner, who boomed it through the uprights for his first varsity field goal to make it 24-14.

“You could feel it on the sidelines, kind of like a sigh of relief, we’re going be okay, we have a two-score lead,” Recker said of Benner’s field goal. “Coach (Bryce) Crea always wants to go for it – he’ll go for it on fourth and 30 – but Alex has been doing a really good job of kicking and I’m really happy for him to get that, it was awesome.”

Elida’s ensuing possession was over in four plays, all incompletions due in part to a ferocious pass rush by Van Wert. Starting at the 40, the Cougars put together a drive that ended with Xavier Kelly’s fourth touchdown of the night, a 9-yard run.

“He doesn’t mind putting his shoulder down at all and running through guys,” Recker said. “It kind of makes me nervous sometimes that he’s willing to be so physical but his game has really evolved and he can do everything from catching balls to running around people or running through people.”

Kelly’s run was his fourth touchdown of the game, marking the second straight game the junior running back accounted for four scores.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and marched downfield and scored on a 3-yard run by Kelly, who scored again in the first quarter on a 13-yard run. The opening drive was highlighted by a 33-yard pass on a reverse from Easton Putman to Micah Cowan. In the second quarter, Kelly took a 5-yard swing pass from Zach Crummey and turned it into a 60-yard touchdown grab, making it 21-0. Van Wert seemingly went up 28-0 late in the opening period when Caden Collins intercepted a Jonan Snyder pass and raced down the home sideline for a touchdown, but it was called back for a block in the back penalty. The Cougars then lost the ball via a fumble.

Even so, it looked as though Van Wert might run away with the game but Elida fought back and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with just 35 seconds left until halftime. On the drive, Snyder went 5-for-5 for 46 yards.

The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and put together a 10-play 70-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run on a toss sweep by Joseph Reddick. That, coupled with the extra point by Hunter Lawson, closed the gap to 21-14.

Snyder finished the game 24-of-42 for 286 yards and a touchdown, a 43-yard pass to Larry Smith with under a minute left in the game. Smith caught eight passes for 157 yards, while Jayden Siefker had nine receptions for 82 yards.

Crummey finished 17-of-27 for 173 yards and a touchdown. Cowan had seven receptions for 68 yards, while Kelly had three grabs for 69 yards. Keaten Welch hauled in four passes for 44 yards. Kelly rushed for 67 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries while Crummey added 64 yards on 12 totes.

Van Wert will play its first road game of the season on Friday at Bath. The Wildcats (0-2, 0-1 WBL) lost to St. Marys Memorial 35-14.

“They’re well coached, they do a great job with their offense spreading the ball around,” Recker said. “It’ll be a little different game but we’ll be ready to go.”

Scoring summary

First quarter

VW – Xavier Kelly 3-yard run (Alex Benner kick)

VW – Xavier Kelly 13-yard run (Alex Benner kick)

Second quarter

VW – Zach Crummey 60-yard pass to Xavier Kelly (Alex Benner kick)

E – 17-yard touchdown run (Hunter Lawson kick)

Third quarter

E – Joseph Reddick 3-yard run (Hunter Lawson kick)

Fourth quarter

VW – Alex Benner 24-yard field goal

VW – Xavier Kelly 9-yard run

E – Jonan Snyder 43-yard pass to Larry Smith (Hunter Lawson kick)