Findlay faces Clay in key road contest

Oregon Clay's Ted Federici Stadium hasn't always brought out the best in Findlay High football. So Stefan Adams hopes bringing a little of Donnell Stadium to Friday's Three Rivers Athletic Conference clash at Clay might help. "We need our crowd, our fans, that support," said Adams, current head coach and former FHS assistant who is well aware of the struggles Findlay has had at Clay over the years. "They do play well at home. Speaking from experience, they've given us lots of trouble. We just don't play well when we get up there. "Our fans have been amazing, though. Our band, our cheerleaders, [and] our students our fans—my goal is when we travel, we take what we do at home to away games, too." Two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions will square off Friday. Findlay is 4-3 and riding a two-game winning streak that started with a 34-14 win over an arch-rival Fremont Ross team that at the time was unbeaten, state-ranked, and in first place in the TRAC standings. Findlay followed that with a stirring 35-28 win over Toledo St. Francis last week where the Trojans, after struggling for more than three quarters, scored three touchdowns in the final 6:07 to pull out the win. "I would love to take all the credit and say it was me and my magic that did it but it wasn't," Adams said. "Players make plays. Our guys showed up when it mattered. Our coaches showed up when it mattered. They did a good job of putting our guys in a position to succeed. They found matchups that we liked, they determined formations and alignments. We had a lot of clutch seniors make plays when we needed to. Clutch players make plays, whether it's football, basketball, track, no matter what, and those guys showed up when we needed them to." Ryan Montgomery completed 22 of 49 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in the win. All-Ohio receiver Ben Ireland snared six of those throws, including a 21-yard TD strike that tied the game with 2:58 left, and a game-winning 41-yard reception with 33 seconds on the clock. In five games as a starter, Montgomery has completed 87-of-146 passes for 1,005 yards and 12 touchdowns. Ireland has 39 receptions for 448 yards and six TDs, and Max Roth has 25 receptions for 349 yards and two TDs. Justin Roth (7 rec., 143 yards, 3 TDs) and Terrion Ross (10, 75, 2) have been targeted as well. Leading Findlay's ground game has been Isaac James (57 carries, 360 yards, 2 TDs), Alex Theis (55, 225, 2), and Max Roth (29, 138). Clay has used two quarterbacks this season, senior Luke Kolinski (499 yards passing, 260 rushing in six games) and 6-foot-2, 191-pound sophomore Jackson Schultz (222 yards). Senior Jordan Pettaway (150 yards, 4 TDs) has been Clay's top running back, with Evan Baker, a junior, the Eagles' top receiver. Tasked with containing Clay's offense will be a Findlay defense headed by senior linebacker Sam Weihrauch, who leads the team with 70 total tackles, Brayden Layne (57 tackles), Kam Stagnolia (41 tackles, 2 ints.), and Tucker Oliver (41 tackles, 1 int.). Clay started the 2021 season 2-0, including a 31-24 win over a Sylvania Northview team that is now 5-2. But the Eagles have gone 0-5 since and been outscored 208-34 by a gauntlet of strong programs like Anthony Wayne (5-2), Fremont Ross (6-1), and Toledo Central Catholic (5-2). Adams knows judging Clay by its record alone is risky, and history backs him up. The last time Findlay traveled to Clay, in 2019, the Trojans needed a 21-point third quarter to overcome a two-touchdown halftime deficit and come away with a 28-21 win. Two years before that, Findlay escaped Ted Federici Stadium with a 24-14 win over the Eagles. "The thing that's dangerous about them is that they have nothing to lose and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get success," Adams said. "You don't want to catch yourself easing up looking at the records and other stuff. (Clay) is a quality football program that plays great football against great competition, just like we do." A key, Adams knows, will be avoiding the kind of slow start that has hampered Findlay in past games at Clay, and resurfaced in last week's game with St. Francis. "We had trouble getting started against St. Francis. We were not at our best for three quarters, three quarters and four minutes actually," Adams said. "We showed grit, we showed resolve, we showed some resiliency. But obviously, we have to show we can come out from the first quarter 'til the end of the game and show what we are capable of." Three Rivers Athletic Conference League Overall PF PA Toledo Whitmer 4 0 6 1 276 95 Tol. Cent. Catholic 4 0 5 2 234 75 Fremont Ross 3 1 6 1 255 156 Findlay 2 2 4 3 168 165 Lima Senior 2 2 3 3 127 149 Toledo St. Francis 1 3 3 4 153 183 Toledo St. John's 0 4 2 4 72 157 Oregon Clay 0 4 2 5 107 246 FRIDAY'S GAMES Findlay at Oregon Clay Toledo Whitmer at Toledo Central Catholic Fremont Ross at Toledo Whitmer Toledo St. John's at Toledo St. Francis