Tribe wins shootout (08/26/06)

FORT RECOVERY - The first play of the game was an appropriate beginning for the story to come.

Fortunately for the Fort Recovery Indians, they got to write the ending.

The Indians, debuting their new spread offense Friday at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park, lost all of a big first quarter lead but rallied in the closing period for the go-ahead touchdown for a 33-30 shootout victory.

Fort Recovery, racking up 491 yards in total offense - including 301 passing yards from sophomore quarterback Toby Metzger - took the lead for good with a little more than seven minutes to play when Micahel Trobridge hauled in a 40 yard scoring pass from Metzger to put the Indians up 33-30.

Metzger, also playing defensive back, helped seal the victory with an interception to stop an Ansonia drive deep into Fort Recovery territory.

A 31-yard run from Matt Tobe and a first down on a penalty by the Tigers allowed the Indians to run out the clock and beat Ansonia for the third time in four seasons.

The Indians have finished 1-9 three straight years; two of those years the lone victory has come against the Tigers.

Metzger, who was 17-for-30 passing for 301 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, was just one of the offensive stars on a night full of them for Fort.

Trobridge caught seven passes for 157 yards (22.4 yards per catch) Friday, while Tony Diller had five receptions for 53 yards, including a first-half touchdown.

Tobe led the Indians' rushing attack with 89 yards on 12 carries, while Diller had 69 yards on just four carries as the Indians racked up 191 yards on the ground.

While the ending was just what the Indians were looking for, they weren't feeling that way less than 20 seconds into the game. After a short runback of a short game-opening kickoff, Tigers running back Eric Beisner dashed 50 yards off tackle on the game's opening play for a quick 6-0 lead.

But the Indians answered quickly as well, marching downfield in just five plays to score on a 5-yard run by Tobe - the first of 21 points the Indians would put on the board in the first period.

The visiting Tigers would answer with three consecutive touchdowns (and 22 total points) over the second and third quarters to take a 30-21 lead.

Diller cut the margin to 30-27 with a 15-yard scoring run at 3:47 of the third period, setting up the Metzger-to-Trobridge game-winner.[[In-content Ad]]