Victory escapes FRHS at Anna

ANNA, Ohio — The opening play went 65 yards for an Indian touchdown.

They led by two scores at the end of the first quarter.

The advantage lasted for more than 44 minutes, but the visitors could not hold on.

A chance for a second consecutive Midwest Athletic Conference road victory slipped away for the Division VII No. 8 Fort Recovery High School football team Friday night as the Division VI No. 4 Anna Rockets got the game-winning touchdown with just 3:04 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 28-24 victory.

After their third interception of the game, the Indians (5-4, 3-4 Midwest Athletic Conference) gave the ball back to Anna (6-3, 4-3 MAC) when Alex Gaerke tossed a pick that gave the home team the ball at the 16-yard line. Six plays later, Logan Ziegenbusch connected with Brody Murray on a 3-yard touchdown pass that gave the Rockets their first lead of the game.

Fort Recovery moved the ball 22 yards on its final possession before turning it over on downs, allowing Anna to go into victory formation.

The Indians started strong when Reece Wendel took the first play of the game 65 yards for a touchdown. By the 3:33 mark of the first quarter, they were up 14-0 after a Breaker Jutte 2-yard rushing TD. FRHS took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break and was up 24-14 after a 26-yard Wendel TD run — he finished with 125 rushing yards — at the 7:10 mark of the third quarter.

But the Rockets, led by Logan Ziegenbusch’s 140 yards passing, did the remainder of the scoring. Zebadiah Pleiman caught six passes for 103 yards. 

The final three Tribe drives ended on a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs.

Fort Recovery will close the regular season at home Friday against Division VII No. 5 Minster (5-4, 4-3 MAC).