October 20, 2020 at 4:53 p.m.
FR rolls over Panthers
Fort Recovery High School football
FR rolls over Panthers
FORT RECOVERY — Gavin Thobe usually runs routes and catches footballs while on offense for the Indians.
The senior torched the Panthers from the backfield Saturday, instead.
Thobe had 256 all-purpose yards and scored four rushing touchdowns in the second quarter as the Fort Recovery High School football team rolled over the Fairbanks Panthers, 63-7, in a Division VI Region 24 second round game.
“I was really pleased,” said FRHS coach Brent Niekamp, whose points scored and margin of victory (56) are the third-highest in program history. “The most complete game we’ve played all year. The score might not indicate it, but that’s a team we were watching on video all week and thought, ‘Man, these guys can play.’
“They had some good athletes. We thought they had the potential to be dangerous.”
Fort Recovery (3-4) advances to the regional quarterfinal against top-ranked and No. 1 seed Coldwater Cavaliers at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cavalier Stadium. The Cavs beat the Indians 51-37 on Sept. 11 in Coldwater.
Saturday was the first playoff game for the Indians since 2017, and their first postseason game at home since their state-championship season of 2015.
First-quarter touchdown runs from Derek Jutte of 9 and 18 yards helped the No. 8 seed Indians to a 14-0 lead over the No. 9 seed Panthers (4-3) when the game rolled into the second quarter.
On the first play of the period, Thobe, who had four first-quarter carries but took over at running back full-time in the second once Jutte exited the game with a hand injury, scampered 40 yards for the first of his career-high four touchdowns.
Fairbanks was forced to punt for the fourth consecutive time on its ensuing possession, and the snap didn’t quite reach punter Cade Ziegler. As Ziegler attempted to grab the loose ball, Logan Homan jumped on it at the Panther 2. Thobe then went around the left side of the line for his second TD to put Fort Recovery on top, 28-0.
The Indians took over at their own 27-yard line following a fourth Fairbanks punt. Thobe took a handoff around the right side of the offensive line and zoomed up the sideline before cutting toward the middle of the field for a 73-yard touchdown.
His fourth TD of the quarter came with 25 ticks left before halftime. He went into intermission with 237 yards of total offense — 150 on the ground and 87 more on four receptions from Clay Schmitz.
“It was pretty easy,” Thobe said. “They couldn’t really tackle us and they couldn’t stop our offense. We just kind of rolled on them.
“I felt like nobody could stop me. Every time I got the ball, I just had a killer mindset — get that ball, I’m going to the end zone. I was super stoked to get the ball again every play.”
Jutte had 80 yards and his two scores on just five carries. His right hand got stepped on during a tackle in the first quarter and he did not return.
So, Thobe picked up right where Jutte left off once he moved to the backfield along Schmitz.
“I loved his performance,” Niekamp said of Thobe. “He always plays with a lot of energy and I think we did a good job of getting him the ball in situations where he’d have a little space and could operate.
“That means we blocked well. We got the ball out on the edge a couple times. The matchup of him against some of the defensive backs was a tough matchup for them.”
Thobe finished with 169 yards on 13 carries. Schmitz was 8-of-11 passing for 156 yards and a touchdown — a 20-yard strike to tight end Dillan Evers.
Riley Hiser (15 yards) and Troy Homan (16 yards) each had second-half scores for the Tribe, which led 42-7 at halftime. Homan’s came on a quarterback dive and was the first TD of the freshman’s career.
Fort Recovery, which gained 506 yards on offense (350 on the ground), held Fairbanks to just 203 total yards. A big chunk of that yardage came on a 47-yard run by Riordin Stauffer, who led the Panthers with 88 yards on 11 carries. The Tribe’s only real blemish on defense was a second-quarter scoring drive, which ended with a Brogan Green 16-yard TD.
“We had a missed alignment and they took advantage of it,” Niekamp said. “(Brogan), he can scoot and he did. They got us on that but overall we did a good job of being sound assignment-wise and being real physical and getting to the ball.”
Homan led the Fort Recovery defense with 11 total tackles, including four stops in the backfield. Regan Martin was second with nine tackles, and Kendrik Wendel added seven tackles.
(For a box score from the game, visit thecr.com.)
The senior torched the Panthers from the backfield Saturday, instead.
Thobe had 256 all-purpose yards and scored four rushing touchdowns in the second quarter as the Fort Recovery High School football team rolled over the Fairbanks Panthers, 63-7, in a Division VI Region 24 second round game.
“I was really pleased,” said FRHS coach Brent Niekamp, whose points scored and margin of victory (56) are the third-highest in program history. “The most complete game we’ve played all year. The score might not indicate it, but that’s a team we were watching on video all week and thought, ‘Man, these guys can play.’
“They had some good athletes. We thought they had the potential to be dangerous.”
Fort Recovery (3-4) advances to the regional quarterfinal against top-ranked and No. 1 seed Coldwater Cavaliers at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cavalier Stadium. The Cavs beat the Indians 51-37 on Sept. 11 in Coldwater.
Saturday was the first playoff game for the Indians since 2017, and their first postseason game at home since their state-championship season of 2015.
First-quarter touchdown runs from Derek Jutte of 9 and 18 yards helped the No. 8 seed Indians to a 14-0 lead over the No. 9 seed Panthers (4-3) when the game rolled into the second quarter.
On the first play of the period, Thobe, who had four first-quarter carries but took over at running back full-time in the second once Jutte exited the game with a hand injury, scampered 40 yards for the first of his career-high four touchdowns.
Fairbanks was forced to punt for the fourth consecutive time on its ensuing possession, and the snap didn’t quite reach punter Cade Ziegler. As Ziegler attempted to grab the loose ball, Logan Homan jumped on it at the Panther 2. Thobe then went around the left side of the line for his second TD to put Fort Recovery on top, 28-0.
The Indians took over at their own 27-yard line following a fourth Fairbanks punt. Thobe took a handoff around the right side of the offensive line and zoomed up the sideline before cutting toward the middle of the field for a 73-yard touchdown.
His fourth TD of the quarter came with 25 ticks left before halftime. He went into intermission with 237 yards of total offense — 150 on the ground and 87 more on four receptions from Clay Schmitz.
“It was pretty easy,” Thobe said. “They couldn’t really tackle us and they couldn’t stop our offense. We just kind of rolled on them.
“I felt like nobody could stop me. Every time I got the ball, I just had a killer mindset — get that ball, I’m going to the end zone. I was super stoked to get the ball again every play.”
Jutte had 80 yards and his two scores on just five carries. His right hand got stepped on during a tackle in the first quarter and he did not return.
So, Thobe picked up right where Jutte left off once he moved to the backfield along Schmitz.
“I loved his performance,” Niekamp said of Thobe. “He always plays with a lot of energy and I think we did a good job of getting him the ball in situations where he’d have a little space and could operate.
“That means we blocked well. We got the ball out on the edge a couple times. The matchup of him against some of the defensive backs was a tough matchup for them.”
Thobe finished with 169 yards on 13 carries. Schmitz was 8-of-11 passing for 156 yards and a touchdown — a 20-yard strike to tight end Dillan Evers.
Riley Hiser (15 yards) and Troy Homan (16 yards) each had second-half scores for the Tribe, which led 42-7 at halftime. Homan’s came on a quarterback dive and was the first TD of the freshman’s career.
Fort Recovery, which gained 506 yards on offense (350 on the ground), held Fairbanks to just 203 total yards. A big chunk of that yardage came on a 47-yard run by Riordin Stauffer, who led the Panthers with 88 yards on 11 carries. The Tribe’s only real blemish on defense was a second-quarter scoring drive, which ended with a Brogan Green 16-yard TD.
“We had a missed alignment and they took advantage of it,” Niekamp said. “(Brogan), he can scoot and he did. They got us on that but overall we did a good job of being sound assignment-wise and being real physical and getting to the ball.”
Homan led the Fort Recovery defense with 11 total tackles, including four stops in the backfield. Regan Martin was second with nine tackles, and Kendrik Wendel added seven tackles.
(For a box score from the game, visit thecr.com.)
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