Fort Recovery earned its second win

Thirty years ago this week, some nasty weather couldn’t stop the Indians from having a day to celebrate.

The Sept. 27, 1993, edition of The Commercial Review featured coverage of the Fort Recovery High School football team’s 14-8 victory over Danbury. It was the second win in school history for the football program that launched a year earlier.

The Indians’ second victory of the season after a winless 1992 came on a day marred by steady rain, temperatures in the 50s and a bone-chilling wind out of the east.

FRHS held on with a goal-line stand after Danbury got the ball inside the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter. The home team was able to stand strong, stopping a quarterback sneak on fourth down.

“Our kids played very solidly,” said Fort Recovery coach Jim Hay. “We dug down and did the little things well. We really rose up and got it done.”

The Indians scored all of their points with bookend touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came just four seconds into the period on a 1-yard run by Ken Jutte. (Kyle Wehrkamp made it 8-0 with a run for the 2-point conversion. The second came with just one second remaining on a 41-yard interception return by Wehrkamp.

Danbury got its only points in the third quarter when Tony Puckett reached the end zone on a 49-yard run. Brian Lesley caught a 2-point conversion pass to pull his team within two points.

Brian Wehrkamp led the offensive attack for Fort Recovery, picking up 118 yards on two dozen carries. Ken Jutte added 38 yards on the ground.

Cliff Wendel completed half of his six passing attempts for 51 yards.

The victory evened the Indians’ record at 2-2 as they prepared for their first night game in school history against Lima Central Catholic’s junior varsity.