Indians earn 2nd win

FORT RECOVERY — A flat start for the Indians in the third quarter and some offensive adjustments left a window open for the Panthers.

After an initial three-and-out to start the half, the Panthers found the end zone twice to tie the game.

When Gavin Evers missed the better part of the ball on a kickoff after the Indians took the lead again, sending it a little short of 10 yards forward, there was opportunity for the visitors again. However, one of the Panthers touched the ball, and Evers jumped on his mistake to keep the ball in the home team’s hands. From there, the Tribe ate away at the clock.

A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns nullified Parkway Panthers’ comeback attempt and helped the Fort Recovery High School football team to a 36-24 homecoming victory Friday night.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak, giving the Indians their first victory since they beat Wayne Trace 20-6 in week one. Despite the 48-day gap between triumphs — the losses came to teams with a combined 32-12 record — FRHS coach Brent Niekamp was pleased with the improvements his teams have made during the tough stretch to be in position to beat the Panthers (1-7, 0-6 Midwest Athletic Conference).

“I’m just really, really proud of those kids,” said Niekamp. “The resilience it took to battle through those weeks of really difficult games, to keep getting better, put themselves in a position to make plays in this game and then to get it done and fight through some adversity along the way.

“I say it all the time, I love every day and every second I spend with these guys. Tonight they showed why, they’re just incredible.”

A strong rushing performance from Reece Wendel and Caden Grisez, as well as some work in the air, as Grisez connected with Isaac Roessner and Breaker Jutte, gave the Indians a 24-10 lead heading into the intermission.

The Panthers refused to go away in the second half. Despite only gaining 6 yards on their first drive of the third quarter, the defense showed up early to force a quick three-and-out and a turnover. The first stop led to a 36-yard pass from Brayden Bruns to Wyatt Carpenter and a 7-yard carry for a score by Landon Hamrick that pulled Parkway within a touchdown.

Fort Recovery’s second drive ended with Jaden Green intercepting Grisez to give the Panthers the ball on the 9-yard line. Four plays later, Bruns hit Collin Langenkamp for a 5-yard touchdown pass and the kick by Jacoby Triplett tied the game at 24-24.

“Our kids were hungry,” said PHS coach Brian Schmidt. “We didn’t have a real good second quarter at the end there. … Our kids fought hard and they battled.”

The Indians (2-6, 1-5 MAC) finally got their offense back into rhythm near the end of the quarter. Grisez and Wendel, along with a 5-yard encroachment penalty, moved them 53 yards down the field to end the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, FRHS reclaimed the lead with a 10-yard rush by Wendel.

“It’s all about finding creases,” Wendel said. “Our line did amazing. When we got in close proximity, they were able to square their guys up to make a little bit of a hole for me to get through.”

Following the score, Evers kicked the ball off the side of his foot, sending it into the ground to his right. Only a few yards forward, one of the Panthers touched the ball, but didn’t secure it, allowing the kicker to jump on the ball.

“We were just fortunate there,” Niekamp said. “That swung the whole game. Once we were able to get up two scores, then we could really use the clock to our advantage.”

The following drive ate up six minutes of the game before Grisez pushed a 1-yard rush into the end zone.

The Panthers picked up a first down before sophomore Breaker Jutte picked Bruns off to get the ball back and whittle the clock down to 39 seconds.

The play was one of two interceptions for Jutte. The first came with 20 seconds left in the first half. He then hauled in a 24-yard pass from Wendel before the junior punched the ball in for the score.

“I was just there on the spot doing my job,” Jutte said of the interceptions. “Just doing what coach told me to do and it worked out.”

The other first-half touchdowns for the Indians came from a 58-yard rush by Wendel on the first drive and a 10-yard pass from Grisez to Jutte in the second quarter. Wendel led all rushers with 112 yards and three TDs, while Jutte tied Parkway’s Carpenter with 56 receiving yards.

The Panthers’ scores in the first half came on a 28-yard carry by Luke Booher and a 40-yard field goal by Trey Anderson.