'Players make plays'

By DAVE HANNEMANStaff WriterStefan Adams told Ben Ireland to go make a play.Ireland went one better.He made two, and sent Findlay High home a winner in the process.Ireland scored the game-tying touchdown in Friday's Three Rivers Athletic Conference game with Toledo St. Francis, with 2:58 on the clock, snaring a tipped pass as he fell to his back in the end zone with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter.He hauled in the game-winner as well, leaping between two Toledo St. Francis to haul in a 41-bomb from Ryan Montgomery with 33 seconds on the clock.Kam Stagnoli's second interception on the final play of the game sealed it as Findlay overcame some costly penalties, some dropped passes, some defensive lapses and some sluggish offensive drives to improve to 4-3 overall and even off at 2-2 in the TRAC. St. Francis, which had matched Findlay win for win and loss for loss each week of the season, fell to 3-4, 1-3."We know we're better than this standard," Adams said."There are things I am not okay with; things I know we can do better. But we showed resolve and we showed grit, and for those things I am extremely happy."St. Francis led 21-7 with four minutes left in the first half and 28-14 three minutes into the third quarter when Knights' quarterback Denim Truss (27-49 passing, 293 yards 4 TDs) hooked up with Trey Talboo (11 receptions, 114 yards, 3 TDs) on touchdown passes covering 6, 6 and 34 yards.Findlay seemed snake bit from the start.The Trojans could not get the handle on a bouncing St. Francis squib kick to open the game, the Knights recovered the ball at the Findlay 31 and seven plays and those 31 yards later Truss and Talboo hooked up on a 6-yard TD strike.Two Findlay penalties would keep another St. Francis scoring drive alive. Another penalty would negate a 56-yard catch and run touchdown by Ireland. Findlay managed just 22 yards rushing the entire first half, missed a field goal and went three-and-out on three of its first six possessions."I thought we were on the rise," said Adams, likely referring to last week's 34-14 win over a Fremont Ross team that was unbeaten, state-ranked and leading the TRAC at the time."We were not as focused as we could be early on, probably most of the game.""We came out flat," Ireland agreed."The first three quarters were, honestly, probably the worst we played this year. But that fourth quarter, we just kept believing, we kept on fighting, we kept on punching."Findlay can match St. Francis with a pretty good passing game of its own, and in the fourth quarter it showed.After a tackle-for-loss by Nate Weihrauch, his third of the game, a sack by Nate Riegle and a short punt gave Findlay excellent field position at the St. Francis 25, Ryan Montgomery fired a 10-yard TD pass to Terrion Ross with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter.Another defensive stand put the ball back in the hands of Montgomery and Findlay's offense. They didn't waste the opportunity, with Montgomery hitting Max Roth for a 14-yard gain, Ireland for 20, then Ireland again for the score. St. Francis defensive back Nate Smith tipped the ball, but Ireland got his hand on it and juggled it for a second before clutching it to his chest."That's concentration," Adams said."Players make plays, and one of our best players made a play when we had to.""Al, I know is the ball was tipped ... it seemed like it was in the air for an hour," Ireland said. "I'm just glad I was able to catch it."Ross was denied an interception on St. Francis' next possession, but the senior defensive back broke up second- and third-down passes, forcing the Knights to punt with 1:58 on the clock.Montgomery could not connect with his receivers on first and second down, but scrambled for a first down on third-and-10 from the Trojans' own 24.A penalty backed Findlay up 5, but Montgomery scrambled for 15 and another first down, then found Donovan Harris for a 9-yard gain to the Knights' 46, and Harris would get a key first down with a 5-yard gain to the 41.After two incompletions on sideline routes, Montgomery went deep over the middle where Ireland went high between two defenders to haul it in."Coach was like, "Hit Ben on the deep post' and I was, like, I knew I had to go make a play," Ireland said."I didn't catch one earlier in the game in the corner of the end zone because I didn't go up and get the ball. I wasn't going to let that happen again, so I went and got it."It wasn't the prettiest, but it doesn't matter if its 42-0 or 35-28 like it was here tonight. A win is a win, that's how it's going to be drawn up."Ireland, who caught a 21-yard TD pass from Montgomery in the first quarter, hauled in six passes for 107 yards and the three TDs. Ross had six catches for 43 yards, Harris five for 20 and Roth three for 33. Montgomery was 22 for 49 for 231 yards and four scores, in addition to his TD run.St. Francis four-man defensive front put consistent pressure on the freshman quarterback, but he was sacked just once and ended up as Findlay's leading rusher with 45 yards.Findlay hits the road for league games at Oregon Clay next Friday and at Toledo St. John's on Oct. 15. The Trojans wrap up the regular season at home against Lima Senior on Oct. 22"There's so much in my brain right now," Adams said."We won, we won a good game. We finished and I'm proud of the guys for that. They believed the whole time, but now we have to get back to work clean some things up." St. Francis 14 7 7 0 — 28Findlay 7 7 0 21 — 35First QuarterTSF — Talboo 6 pass from Truss (Kenner ick)FIN — Ireland 21 pass from R. Montgomery (Robinson kick)TSF — Conner 16 pass from Truss (Kenner ick)Second QuarterTSF — Talboo 6 pass from Truss (Kenner ick)FIN — R. Montgomery 10 run (Robinson kick)Third QuarterTSF — Talboo 34 pass from Truss (Kenner ick)Fourth QuarterFIN — Ross 13 pass from R. Montgomery (Robinson kick)FIN — Ireland 20 pass from R. Montgomery (Robinson kick)FIN — Ireland 41 pass from R. Montgomery (Robinson kick) TSF FINFirst Downs 20 22Rushes-yards 20-74 18-90Passing Yards 293 231Comp-Att-Int 27-49-2 22-49-0Punts-Avg. 5-31.0 6-38.5Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1Penalties-Yards 10-79 8-82INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING — Findlay, R. Montgomery 4-45; James 7-18; Theis 3-(-5); Harris 1-5; M. Roth 3-27. Toledo St. Francis, Truss 3-18; Horton 17-56.PASSING — Findlay, R. Montgomery 22-49-0, 231 yards. Toledo St. Francis, Truss 27-49-2, 293 yards.RECEIVING — Findlay, M. Roth 3-33; Ireland 6-107, Harris 5-20; Robinson 1-8; Ross 6-43; James 1-20. Toledo St. Francis, Smith 4-20; Talboo 11-114; Horton 2-18; Conner 6-102; Parrish 4-39.