Tribe tops Cards

FORT RECOVERY — With the score tied in the second quarter the Indians gave the ball away twice, including once deep in their own territory. But both times, their defense stood strong.
After stopping the New Bremen Cardinals, the Division VII No. 8 Fort Recovery High School football team tacked on two of Cole Hull’s four touchdown runs and then opened the second half with a safety to spark a 47-3 victory.
Fort Recovery has won three consecutive Midwest Athletic Conference games and is 5-1 for the first time in school history.
“It feels great,” said FRHS coach Brent Niekamp. “I’m really excited for our players, because of the work that they’ve put in to put themselves in this position. We all understand that we’ve got a tough stretch here and these games are going to be important to taking another step toward (the playoffs). We’re thrilled to be where we are and we’re excited to take that next step, and we know it’s going to take a lot of hard work.”
The Cardinals (0-6, 0-4 MAC) got the ball with the game tied 7-7 after a Fort Recovery fumble, but went three-and-out. An interception gave New Bremen the ball again at the Tribe 29-yard line early in the second quarter, but the FRHS defense forced a turnover on downs.
“Those guys understood it. They knew what happened in that first drive,” said Niekamp, referencing the Cardinals’ lone TD on a 7-yard Trey Naylor run. “We just needed to finish a play. We were in position several times on that drive. They did a great job of stepping up.”
The Indians immediately marched down the field with Hull carrying the load as he ran the ball eight times on the nine-play drive. He finished it off with a 4-yard TD run for a 14-7 lead.
FRHS got the ball again with just 1:09 left and took to the air. Following a 17-yard connection with Wes Wenning, sophomore quarterback Caleb Martin fired a pass deep over the middle. Mitch Stammen pulled in the high throw, got key comeback block from Wenning and scampered all the way to the New Bremen 7-yard line.
“That really illustrates what these guys have been about all year,” said Niekamp of the Wenning block. “Nobody is really concerned who scores the touchdown. Nobody is concerned who gets the yards. Everybody is concerned that we get the win.”
Hull lunged across the goal line three plays later to put the Indians up 21-7 at the half.
Fort Recovery got two more points when Tristin Hoffmaster lost track of where he was on the kickoff return to open the second half, backed into the end zone and got tackled for a safety. The Indians capitalized on the opportunity, as Kyle Schroer scored on a 3-yard run to cap the ensuing drive to turn the game into a blowout.
Hull, who broke a 60-yard TD run in the first quarter and added a 21-yarder in the fourth, dominated the Cardinals to the tune of 218 yards on 31 carries. Schroer added another 42 yards on just four carries, including a 30-yard scoring scurry in the third quarter.
“He’s becoming a very physical, resilient runner,” said Niekamp of Hull. “Cole gets a lot of the yards and the headlines and stuff, but Kyle is a very capable runner too.
“Our offensive line started to play better in the second half. And that made a big difference for both of those guys.”
Martin added a 6-of-11 effort through the air as he totaled 153 yards. Wenning hauled in three passes for 63 yards.
Alex Schoen led the defense, which held an opponent to 20 or fewer points for the fifth time this year, with 10 tackles. Tanner Koch added eight tackles and an interception.
Naylor, the quarterback, was responsible for most of the New Bremen offense as he ran 18 times for 80 yards and completed seven passes for 60 yards. Tristin Hoffmaster caught four passes for 37 yards.
The Indians, who were second in computer points in Division VII Region 26 and are seeking their first playoff berth in school history, will play Friday against Minster.