Hull, Indians thump Jay

Lightning struck twice for the Indians.
For the second straight week, the Fort Recovery football team was delayed by lightning.
This week, it let the Tribe celebrate early.
FRHS senior Cole Hull scored three second-half touchdowns Friday night as the Indians built a 28-0 lead against the host Jay County Patriots before the game was called because of lightning with 8:15 left in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a heck of a good runner,” said FRHS coach Brent Niekamp of Hull, while praising the offensive line in front of him for creating running lanes. “I’m glad that we found a position where he really fits, and I’m glad he’s healthy. He’s definitely a guy who can do some good things with the ball if we can get it in his hands.”
Hull, who was held to 30 yards in the first half but exploded for 116 after halftime, scored his first touchdown with less than five minutes left in the third quarter and the Indians (2-0) already ahead 7-0.
After forcing Jay County (1-2) to punt for the fourth time, it took Hull and the Tribe four plays to extend the lead to 20-0.
Following an incomplete pass by Caleb Martin — he finished 10-of-16 for 118 yards and two interceptions — Hull ran for all 49 yards on the scoring drive.
He gained 4 and 6 yards respectively on his first two carries before running up the gut on the third straight play to reach the end zone. He was met by a pair of would-be Jay tacklers, but shed them at the 30-yard line and went untouched the rest of the way for his second score.
“As I said before, the skilled kids scared me,” said JCHS coach Tim Millspaugh, whose Patriot team was shut out for the first time since 2011. “What we talked about all week was our run fits. We have to do a good job bottling him up, and I really felt like the first half we didn’t really give him a chance to get going.”
“The second half, I felt like they handled us at the point of attack. We were moving laterally instead of moving downhill and he cuts back and we’re not there.”
Hull didn’t just impact the running game. He did it on special teams too.
With the Patriots pinned at their own 5-yard line, a snap to JCHS punter Thomas Noble sailed over his head and into the back of the endzone for a safety, giving the Indians a 22-0 advantage.
On the ensuing kick, Hull caught Jacob Ferguson’s kickoff while backpedaling to his own 25 yard line, and took it up the middle of the field.
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He got through the kicking team, and with only Ferguson to beat, Hull cut toward the sideline, broke Ferguson’s tackle at the Patriot 25, then dove over the pylon and into the end zone for the final score.
Hull finished with 146 yards on 15 carries, and junior Kyle Schroer added nine rushes for 50 yards.
“I’m glad we have him and Kyle, because Kyle takes the pressure off,” said Niekamp, whose team’s 26-19 victory Aug. 29 over North Union was delayed by lightning midway through the fourth quarter. “Cole doesn’t have to be someone who carries the ball every single down. We feel very confident putting Kyle in there too.”
On the other side of the field, the Jay County offense had a hard time moving the ball. It had only 72 yards of total offense, compared to Fort Recovery’s 316.
Normally an offense that relies on long, time-consuming drives, all seven of Jay County’s possessions were fewer than eight plays.
The Patriots were forced to punt on four of their seven possessions, two of which began after Justin Crouch and Aaron Neal intercepted Martin’s passes. On both occasions, the Patriots started in opposing territory, but weren’t able to capitalize on the favorable field position.
“The second half and at the end of the first half, I was disappointed at how we executed offensively,” Millspaugh said. “We just never got going at all.”
Niekamp praised his defense for shutting down Jay County’s Wing-T offense.
“I think our defense played a really disciplined game,” he said, adding that his linebackers and safeties have to pay attention to the misdirection. “Our kids paid attention to those details, they read the correctly and executed well and that’s really what it comes down to.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Fort Recovery found the end zone on a 12-yard run by Schroer with 14 seconds remaining in the half. The Indians got the ball on their own 31 with 2:19 on the clock after forcing a turnover on downs.
Martin put the interceptions on the previous two possessions behind him to put together a 13-play drive. The sophomore quarterback threw the ball nine times, completing eight of them, on a drive that was set back twice by holding calls.
Wes Wenning caught five of Martin’s passes on the drive for 38 yards, his only receptions in the contest.
One of those penalties — the Indians were flagged eight times for 60 yards — came on a 36-yard screen pass to Schroer that he took down the right sideline for a touchdown.
“I’m proud of Caleb for bouncing back,” Niekamp said. “He had those two interceptions and he knows what he did on those plays. He was able to not dwell on it, pick himself up, complete some balls and orchestrate a nice two-minute drill at the end of the half.
“That was big for us.”
Fort Recovery, which started its season with back-to-back wins for the sixth time in seven years, will travel Friday to Anna to open Midwest Athletic Conference play against the Rockets.
Jay County, meanwhile, will begin Allen County Athletic Conference play against the Adams Central Flying Jets in Monroe.