Friday Flashback: All-Stars meet at Eggerss

Editor’s note: The Friday Flashback feature returns to the Sports page of the VW independent until the end of August. Each Friday, the VW independent will turn back the hands of time by featuring a sports story dating back 10 years or longer. This installment goes back to June, 2011 and the annual All-Star football game at Eggerss Stadium. Below is the story as it appeared on the Sports page.

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Western Buckeye League team knew it had its work cut out for it during Friday’s Van Wert County Hospital All-Star Football Game at Eggerss Stadium. After all, the Northwest Ohio team, made up of players from the Midwest Athletic and Northwest conferences, included a full complement of seniors from last fall’s state champion Delphos St. John’s team, as well as a number of other gifted players from other teams in the two conferences.

But a fluke accident to the WBL’s only senior quarterback, Van Wert’s Corey Clifton, turned a battle into a rout as the NW Ohio team pasted a stinging 38-0 defeat on the WBL during this year’s game. The win was the biggest margin of victory ever in the 12-game series, of which eight have now been won by the NW Ohio team, and also avenged a 32-0 victory by the WBL in 2008 – the biggest margin of victory prior to Friday’s game.

Clifton was unable to play in the game after he cut a finger on his throwing hand Wednesday while putting up temporary fencing for the game. The cut required four stitches and left the WBL without a quarterback, since no other WBL team had a senior quarterback this year.

While Shawnee’s Jamill Williams, a wide receiver and running back during the regular season, did his best, completing 11 of 25 passes for 83 yards and no interceptions, but also turned the ball over several times on fumbles that hurt the big-school league.

The Blue Jays got the NW Ohio team on the scoreboard as St. John’s quarterback Jordan Leininger scored a touchdown on a 24-yard run with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter. Ada’s Austin Everhart kicked the first of five extra points and it was 7-0 in favor of the NW Ohio team as the first quarter ended.

Leininger also scored the second TD of the game in the second stanza, this time on a 7-yard run, while Everhart again split the uprights for a 14-0 lead with 10:50 left to play in the first half.

Lima Central Catholic’s Rufus Johnson put a big hurt on the WBL special teams unit when he rambled 70 yards for a punt return touchdown less than a minute and a half later, at 8:26 of the second quarter, for a 21-0 lead, which held up as the first half ended.

The third quarter saw only one score — a 25-yard field goal by Everhart at the 4:51 mark — but the MAC/NWC team added two more scores in the final stanza on a 1-yard run by Blue Jay Evan Burgei at the 4:57 mark and a 27-yard pass play from Leininger to Ada’s Alex Weber with 3:36 left in the game.

Leininger was the leading rusher in the game, compiling 89 yards and two touchdowns on 13 rushing attempts. LCC’s Bubba Krieg had 63 yards on seven carries, while Burgei rushed for 46 yards and a TD on nine attempts.

Kenton’s Max Morrison was the WBL’s top rusher with 23 yards on three carries, while Van Wert’s Donny Sites rushed once for 16 yards.

Top receivers for the MAC/NWC team included Burgei, with two receptions for 58 yards, and Weber with 57 yards and a TD on two carries. Kenton’s Andrew Tillman was the WBL’s top receiver with 37 yards on five receptions, while Morrison caught four passes for 27 yards and the Wildcats’ Dustin Howell had one reception for 22 yards.

The NW Ohio team generated 348 yards of offense — 206 of those on the ground — while holding the WBL to just 110 yards, 83 of those through the air.  Leininger completed 10 passes on 19 attempts for 142 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

The WBL coughed the ball up five times and recovered only one of those, while the MAC/NWC did a great job of taking care of the ball, with no fumbles at all in its stat book.

Both teams were a little penalty prone, with the WBL chalking up 50 yards on four penalties, while the NW Ohio team was flagged for 75 yards on six penalties.

The WBL team punted the ball five times for a 34.6-yard average, while the NW Ohio team’s success offensively allowed it to avoid punting altogether.