Fort falls to No. 10 Cavaliers

FORT RECOVERY — A massive crowd came to Barrenbrugge Athletic Park to see if the Indians could beat Coldwater for the first time.

For a half, it seemed like they had a chance.

Fort Recovery and the Cavaliers were tied deep into the first half, and the home team trailed by just six points at halftime. But the second half belonged to the 10th-ranked high school football team in Division VI as it scored three unanswered TDs on the way to topping the Tribe 33-7.

The Indians (2-2, 1-1 Midwest Athletic Conference), who finished 14th in the Division VI poll voting this week, stopped Coldwater (2-2, 1-1 MAC) on the opening possession of the second half, but turnovers on each of their next two possessions changed the game.

The first fumble came midway through the third quarter, with Derek Albers of Coldwater recovering at his own 48-yard line. Four plays later, Sam Broering connected with Ben Wenning for the third of his four touchdown passes, a 20-yarder, and a 19-7 lead.

Fort Recovery fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff, giving the ball to the Cavaliers just 24 yards away from the end zone.

Another four-play drive ended with a 19-yard scoring pass from Broering to Jacob Wenning to stake the visitors to a 19-point cushion.

The turnovers — the Indians also threw and interception — were a large part of the result as Fort Recovery’s offense (302 yards) nearly kept pace with the Cavaliers (343).

Broering was efficient through the air, completing 14-of-19 passes for 188 yards and the four TDs. Three of those went to Jacob Wenning, who had four receptions for 112 yards.

Ben Wenning added 150 yards on just seven carries to go along with his receiving touchdown.

Will Homan carried the Fort Recovery offense, picking up 176 yards on 20 rushes.

Ethan Schoen had seven tackles for the defense.

The Indians will go on the road Friday to take on Division VII No. 1 Minster Wildcats (3-1, 1-1 MAC), who suffered their first lost of the season Friday to Division VI No. 1 Marion Local. The Wildcats ended the Tribe’s 2016 in the postseason.