‘He’s that guy’

ROCKFORD, Ohio — The Panthers refused to go away.

They fought back after giving up two quick scores, getting two of their own bridging the halftime break.

A scoop and score on a fumble pulled them to within eight points midway through the fourth quarter.

And they were knocking on the door for a touchdown that would have given them a chance at a desperation onside kick in the final minute.

Each time Parkway pressured, the Indians turned to 26.

Reece Wendel earned all but 11 penalty yards on one fourth-quarter touchdown drive, broke a 58-yard TD run two possessions later and picked off Panther quarterback Jacoby Triplett in the end zone in the final minute to seal the Division VII No. 6 Fort Recovery High School football team’s 41-27 victory over its homecoming hosts.

“I think we all played hard, them and us,” said Wendel, who racked up 275 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. “That was probably the most fun game I've ever played in. It's like this every year with them. They're a good team, no matter what their record shows. They like to play physical. We have to play physical. That's what that's pretty much what kept them in the game and what kept us fighting.”

Holding on to a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Indians (5-3, 3-3 Midwest Athletic Conference) turned to Wendel. With the exception of the penalty, he gained every positive yard on a 66-yard scoring drive that he capped with a 3-yard push up the middle.

The Panthers’ next drive stalled, but they took advantage of a Fort Recovery mistake. A high snap to Breaker Jutte on a third-down play resulted in a fumble that Luke Booher scooped up before scampering 45 yards to the end zone. His 2-point conversion run closed the gap to eight points.

On the ensuing drive, Wendel took the ball around the right end on second-and-10 and outran the Parkway defense for a 58-yard touchdown.

The game was most likely already decided with Parkway (0-8, 0-6 MAC) edging toward the goal line down by 14 in the final minute. But Wendel wasn’t taking any chances. When Triplett tossed the ball into the end zone in an attempt to pull his team within one score, Wendel snagged the pass for an interception.

“You know, when your back's against a wall, you know, you have those guys you can lean on and go to,” said FRHS coach Wes Wenning. “And 26 is definitely. Reece Wendel, he's that guy.”

Early on, the Indians looked like they might force a running clock, scoring two touchdowns in the first six minutes. They pushed ahead 28-6 when Brody Barga hauled in a 13-yard TD pass from Alex Gaerke midway through the second quarter. But there was no panic from Parkway, which first got its offense going via Booher in the ground game, closed the gap to 28-13 with a touchdown in the final minute of the first half and then put together a 10-play, 67-yard scoring drive to start the third quarter.

While Fort Recovery never punted, the Panthers forced three fumbles for turnovers that helped keep them in the game.

“We have only had three turnovers all year and 13 stops,” said an emotional Parkway coach Brian Schmidt. “We had three turnovers tonight … They fought.”

He expressed pride in his team but some frustration with what he referred to as the 15% of fans who bring a negative attitude.

“We had a couple errors that we made … we’ll continue to work clean up. But let's start giving these young men some credit … They’re young and they're growing up in one of the best leagues in Ohio, if not one of the best in the country. Let's start giving them some opportunity to grow and stop degrading our program …”

Booher finished with 93 yards on 19 carries. Triplett completed 12 passes for 162 yards had success avoiding the Fort Recovery rush.

“We were just tested in a way that I don't think we've seen yet,” said Wenning of the game that was also marred by 24 penalties — 11 against Fort Recovery for 97 yards and 13 against Parkway for 106. “You know, with a quarterback that can extend plays. Triplett is impressive … the way he can extend plays. And that’s tiresome on a defense when you D-line’s chasing him around. It gases them out, and then DB’s have got to chase guys forever. … To see that attack, it was a new experience for our guys. Hats off to them, because they executed that well.”

In addition to Wendel’s rollicking running, quarterback Alex Gaerke picked up 115 yards on a dozen carries as the Indians gained 400 yards on the ground. He tossed a 22-yard TD pass to Troy Post for the opening score of the game and added a 47-yard TD to give FRHS its early 14-0 lead.

Fort Recovery has now won three of its last four as it heads in to a pair of games that will determine if it finishes in the top or bottom half of the conference. It will go on the road next week to take on an Anna squad that nearly ended Marion Local’s 71-game winning streak Friday before falling in double overtime and then host Minster for its regular-season finale.