{"id":157312,"date":"2022-08-27T00:18:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T05:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=157312"},"modified":"2022-08-27T06:48:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-27T11:48:07","slug":"cougars-start-slow-finish-fast-vs-celina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2022\/08\/27\/cougars-start-slow-finish-fast-vs-celina\/","title":{"rendered":"Cougars start slow, finish fast vs. Celina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CELINA — Night and day \u2013 that best describes the difference between the first half and second half at Celina Stadium on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulldogs kept Van Wert\u2019s powerful offense in check during the first two quarters and led 7-0 at halftime but the Cougars looked like a different team in the second half, scoring 43 unanswered points in a 43-7 win in the Western Buckeye League opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brylen Parker (7) and Aidan Pratt (15) accounted for five touchdowns against Celina. Bob Barnes\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert\u2019s three first quarter possessions ended with a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs at the Celina one yard line. The Bulldogs then drove 99 yards in 17 plays and scored on a 1-yard run by Zander Jones with 5:02 left in the second quarter, followed by the PAT by Carter Alstaetter. The drive featured three fourth down conversions. The two teams traded punts then the Cougars let the clock run out to end the first half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCelina was ready for this one, it was a big one for them,\u201d Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. \u201cI thought the way we practiced (this week) showed up a little bit in the first half \u2013 a little bit complacent in practice. I don\u2019t think it rolls into the game but starting slow was kind of the way we practiced this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe feed off big plays so much so we needed to get a stop and a score,\u201d the coach added. \u201cWe just needed to do what we do, but do it better. We had to sustain blocks, wrap up on tackles and make sure we were covering guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s exactly what the Cougars did to start the third quarter. The defense forced a three-and-out on Celina\u2019s first possession, including 4-yard tackle for loss by Damon McCracken on third down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought Damon did a real nice job at linebacker,\u201d Recker said. \u201cHe had some big stops on crucial downs, third and fourth downs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

On Van Wert\u2019s first offensive play of the second half, Aidan Pratt connected with Garett Gunter for 38 yards and five plays later, Brylen Parker scored on a 3-yard run, followed by the first of five McCracken PATs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars then forced another punt and Parker took it back 65 yards for a touchdown, including a tightrope act down the sideline. A third consecutive Celina three-and-out set up Van Wert\u2019s third touchdown of the quarter \u2013 a 5-yard strike from Pratt to Maddix Crutchfield that made it 21-7. The drive was 14 plays and 83 yards, and Pratt completed eight passes for 68 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert added four more scores in the fourth quarter, with the first being a 52-yard touchdown pass from Pratt to Crutchfield. The ball was tipped by a Celina defender to Crutchfield, who dragged several tacklers the final eight yards into the end zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when you realize how fortunate you are to have Aidan at quarterback and Maddix at receiver,\u201d Recker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jackson Jones (55) rides a Bulldog to the ground while Logan Dotson (54) runs to the play. Bob Barnes photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Parker added a 7-yard touchdown run, then the Cougars were awarded a safety after Celina mishandled the ensuing kickoff, causing the returner to be tackled in the end zone. Briston Wise raced in from 15 yards out with 2:02 left to complete the scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pratt completed 24-of-33 passes for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Crutchfield finished with eight receptions for 121 yards and both scores, while Gunter snagged eight passes for 99 yard. Parker was the leading ground gainer with 11 carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Van Wert finished with 382 yards of total offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zander Jones led the Celina (0-2) with 55 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while Nick Adams completed 11-of-23 passes for 109 yards and an interception by Ashton Baer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert (2-0) will host Defiance on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey do a lot of different formations and shifts and their running back runs real well,\u201d Recker said. \u201cThey got a transfer from Tinora, a big linebacker\/tight end who looks the part of a good player. I think coach (Travis) Cooper is doing a real nice job there and they\u2019ll be much improved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoring summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cougars 0 0 21 22 \u2013 43
Bulldogs 0 7 0 0 \u2013 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second quarter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C \u2013 5:02 \u2013 Zander Jones 1-yard run (Carter Alstaetter kick)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third quarter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VW \u2013 8:44 \u2013 Brylen Parker 3-yard run (Damon McCracken kick)
VW \u2013 7:19 \u2013 Brylen Parker 65-yard punt return (Damon McCracken kick
VW \u2013 1:23 \u2013 Aidan Pratt 5-yard pass to Maddix Crutchfield (Damon McCracken kick)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth quarter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VW \u2013 8:10 – Aidan Pratt 52-yard pass to Maddix Crutchfield (kick failed)
VW \u2013 5:41 \u2013 Brylen Parker 24-yard run (Damon McCracken kick)
VW \u2013 5:39 \u2013 Safety, Celina kick returner tackled in end zone (kick failed)
VW \u2013 2:02 \u2013 Briston Wise 15-yard run (Damon McCracken kick)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor CELINA — Night and day \u2013 that best describes the difference between the first half and second half at Celina Stadium on Friday night. The Bulldogs kept Van Wert\u2019s powerful offense in check during the first two quarters and led 7-0 at halftime but the Cougars looked like a different team in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 02:34:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157312"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157335,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157312\/revisions\/157335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}