October 31, 2015 at 8:08 a.m.
VERSAILLES, Ohio — Win the second half.
That was the message from Fort Recovery High School football coach Brent Niekamp to his team at halftime.
The Indians were tied with the Versailles Tigers 6-6, and were having trouble moving the football, punting on each of their first four drives.
The Tribe came out for the second half a different team than what entered at the intermission.
Division VII No. 9 Fort Recovery scored two touchdowns on fourth-and-short en route to a 21-point second half in a 27-13 victory Friday over the Versailles Tigers.
“Those are huge,” said Niekamp, whose team set a new program record for wins in a season, both overall (eight) and in the Midwest Athletic Conference (six). The victory also secured his team a home playoff game for the first time in school history. “A few weeks ago when we were playing at Marion (Local), those were the kinds of plays they were making. We said, ‘Those are the kinds of plays that if we want to be that kind of team, we need to make.’
“I was really proud that our guys stepped up and made those.”
The first came midway through the third quarter. Facing fourth-and-1 from the Versailles 16-yard line, junior quarterback Caleb Martin dropped back and heaved a ball into the right corner of the end zone. Senior wide receiver Wes Wenning beat his defender and hauled in the touchdown near the pylon, giving Fort Recovery a 13-6 lead.
Martin also hit Wenning on the same play late in the first quarter after Versailles (4-6, 3-5 MAC) took a 6-0 lead on a Jared Niekamp touchdown pass to Alex Wendel.
Wenning’s second touchdown reception — he had seven catches for 125 yards — came after a first half during which the Indians didn’t look particularly sound on offense. Martin had thrown for 135 yards, and Fort Recovery only had two rushing yards.
“He responded nicely,” Niekamp said of Martin, who finished 16-of-22 for 248 yards and accounted for all four Tribe scores. “You could tell a little bit in the first half he was getting frustrated.”
The second such play, again by Martin, was also on fourth-and-1, this time late in the fourth quarter from the Versailles 29-yard line. FRHS sophomore Will Homan ran between the tackles on each of the Indians’ six plays of the drive, and after he was stopped for no gain on third-and-1, Versailles used its second timeout with 1:54 remaining in the game and trailing 20-13.
On the ensuing play, Martin called his own number. He faked the handoff to Homan, who finished with 59 yards on 15 carries, then ran around the left end along the Indians’ sideline untouched to the end zone.
“They didn’t really make any adjustments in the third quarter, but late in the fourth quarter they went and switched to a three-man front which really helped out with our running game,” Martin said. “That’s why we started running it a lot more in the fourth quarter.”
Fort Recovery’s aerial assault — six different players caught Martin passes, including a 30-yard touchdown by Darien Sheffer with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter — helped set up the run in the fourth quarter.
The Indians’ defense was just as effective, holding the Tigers to 113 yards in the first half, 73 of which were on the ground. Versailles totaled 160 yards in the second half, but quarterback Jared Niekamp was sacked three times for 25 yards. Ross Homan, Andrew Stocker and Adam LeFevre each brought down Niekamp in the backfield.
“I thought they did pretty well again,” Brent Niekamp said, pleased with the fact the Tribe also held Peters to 75 yards rushing on 26 carries. “That is pretty good against that kid, who is one of the better running backs in the MAC.
“I’m pretty happy with it.”
Roessner led the Indians with 17 tackles, and Ross Homan added 13 stops with a team-high 1 1/2 tackles for loss.
That was the message from Fort Recovery High School football coach Brent Niekamp to his team at halftime.
The Indians were tied with the Versailles Tigers 6-6, and were having trouble moving the football, punting on each of their first four drives.
The Tribe came out for the second half a different team than what entered at the intermission.
Division VII No. 9 Fort Recovery scored two touchdowns on fourth-and-short en route to a 21-point second half in a 27-13 victory Friday over the Versailles Tigers.
“Those are huge,” said Niekamp, whose team set a new program record for wins in a season, both overall (eight) and in the Midwest Athletic Conference (six). The victory also secured his team a home playoff game for the first time in school history. “A few weeks ago when we were playing at Marion (Local), those were the kinds of plays they were making. We said, ‘Those are the kinds of plays that if we want to be that kind of team, we need to make.’
“I was really proud that our guys stepped up and made those.”
The first came midway through the third quarter. Facing fourth-and-1 from the Versailles 16-yard line, junior quarterback Caleb Martin dropped back and heaved a ball into the right corner of the end zone. Senior wide receiver Wes Wenning beat his defender and hauled in the touchdown near the pylon, giving Fort Recovery a 13-6 lead.
Martin also hit Wenning on the same play late in the first quarter after Versailles (4-6, 3-5 MAC) took a 6-0 lead on a Jared Niekamp touchdown pass to Alex Wendel.
Wenning’s second touchdown reception — he had seven catches for 125 yards — came after a first half during which the Indians didn’t look particularly sound on offense. Martin had thrown for 135 yards, and Fort Recovery only had two rushing yards.
“He responded nicely,” Niekamp said of Martin, who finished 16-of-22 for 248 yards and accounted for all four Tribe scores. “You could tell a little bit in the first half he was getting frustrated.”
The second such play, again by Martin, was also on fourth-and-1, this time late in the fourth quarter from the Versailles 29-yard line. FRHS sophomore Will Homan ran between the tackles on each of the Indians’ six plays of the drive, and after he was stopped for no gain on third-and-1, Versailles used its second timeout with 1:54 remaining in the game and trailing 20-13.
On the ensuing play, Martin called his own number. He faked the handoff to Homan, who finished with 59 yards on 15 carries, then ran around the left end along the Indians’ sideline untouched to the end zone.
“They didn’t really make any adjustments in the third quarter, but late in the fourth quarter they went and switched to a three-man front which really helped out with our running game,” Martin said. “That’s why we started running it a lot more in the fourth quarter.”
Fort Recovery’s aerial assault — six different players caught Martin passes, including a 30-yard touchdown by Darien Sheffer with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter — helped set up the run in the fourth quarter.
The Indians’ defense was just as effective, holding the Tigers to 113 yards in the first half, 73 of which were on the ground. Versailles totaled 160 yards in the second half, but quarterback Jared Niekamp was sacked three times for 25 yards. Ross Homan, Andrew Stocker and Adam LeFevre each brought down Niekamp in the backfield.
“I thought they did pretty well again,” Brent Niekamp said, pleased with the fact the Tribe also held Peters to 75 yards rushing on 26 carries. “That is pretty good against that kid, who is one of the better running backs in the MAC.
“I’m pretty happy with it.”
Roessner led the Indians with 17 tackles, and Ross Homan added 13 stops with a team-high 1 1/2 tackles for loss.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
250 X 250 AD