Indians survive Sidney thriller

SIDNEY, Ohio — The defending Division VII state champions were pushed to the brink.
They trailed 10-0 in the first quarter, saw their four-point lead vanish after halftime and were behind by six in the final frame.
It was their bread and butter that put them over the top, and defense that preserved a season-opening victory.
Junior running back Will Homan punched it in from the 1-yard line, a Jason Roessner extra point put the Tribe on top by one and the Indians’ defense held strong as the Fort Recovery High School football team escaped with a 21-20 victory against the Lehman Catholic Cavaliers on Friday night.
Lehman Catholic (0-1) nabbed a 17-14 led in the third quarter when Elliot Gilardi connected with Daniel Lins for a 24-yard touchdown, giving the host Cavaliers a 17-14 advantage late in the third quarter.
Gilardi was 13-for-21 for 169 yards and one touchdown through the air, and added 125 more yards and another score on 14 carries.
Jacob Earhart racked up 141 yards on the ground as the Cavaliers totaled 274 rushing yards. Lehman out-gained the Indians (1-0) 443-323.
A 24-yard field goal by Michael Denning pushed the Lehman Catholic advantage to 20-14 to put pressure on the defending champs.
Then with 7:06 remaining in the game, Homan, who finished with 122 yards on 21 carries, scored from the 1-yard line to cap an eight-play, 58-yard scoring drive.
Roessner, whose 8-yard touchdown catch from Caleb Martin in the second quarter gave Fort Recovery a 14-10 advantage, kicked the point after attempt that proved to be the game-winner.
Martin, a University of Toledo commit, completed 12 of his 24 passing attempts for 183 yards and two scores. Payton Jutte caught six of those passes for a career-high 100 yards and his first career touchdown.
Andrew Stocker led the Tribe defense with 13 tackles, including two in the backfield.