Whitmer uses passing game to stifle Trojans

Traditionally, Toledo Whitmer has been known as a ground-and-pound kind of football team. But the Panthers have added some panache this season, and they aren't afraid to use it. Toledo Whitmer's first three touchdown all came on passes – two of the bombs – on Friday when the Panthers rolled to a 38-14 win over Findlay in a Three Rivers Athletic Conference game at Donnell Stadium. "Obviously with Brady (Ford) we have more of a passing threat," said Whitmer coach Ken Winters. "Going into the season we were saying we were going to do more passing, but you know you always want to run the ball first." Whitmer did that pretty well, too. Motoring behind a big, physical offensive line, senior running back Taron Crawford carried 29 times for 244 yards. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound scatback had 85 yards rushing at the half, then broke off a 75-yard touchdown dash in the third quarter. Findlay went three-and-out on its first two possessions and Whitmer took advantage. Capitalizing on good field position and aided by costly encroachment penalties on Findlay (three in Whitmer's first nine plays) the Panthers went 57 yards in four plays and then 35 yards in just five snaps to open 14-0 lead. With Findlay geared up to stop Crawford, Ford found Devin Morgan on a 44-yard touchdown strike four minutes into the game and Corvell Morgan from 11 yards out four minutes later. Findlay had good defensive coverage on Corvell Morgan, but the 6-2 senior made a highlight-reel one-handed grab for the score. "I think they saw we wanted to stop the run first," said Findlay High coach Stefan Adams. "We made that our emphasis but hats off to them for seeing that and adjusting and connecting on those plays." Findlay answered with its best drive of the night, marching 86 yards in 16 plays with sophomore quarterback Ryan Montgomery scooting left for the final 2 yards. In a game that got a bit chippy at times, Findlay benefitted from some calls as well, including a face-mask flag on a third-and-10 from the Trojans' own 37 and two encroachment calls. The second encroachment call came on a fourth-and-4 after Findlay had sent Owen Clevenger on to try a 24-yard field goal. Winters wasn't surprised by Findlay's comeback drive. In fact, he expected it. "We knew they were a desperate team and needed a win," Winters said. "Just like last week against (Toledo) Central Catholic when they were hitting and they were physical. I knew we were going to get the same treatment. So I told the kids, don't just weather the storm, be the storm, and I think we did that." Findlay seemed to generating momentum with two defensive stops in the second quarter. Two twists of the game took the winds from the Trojans' sails though. The first was a 66-yard bomb from Ford to Corvell Morgan, who appeared to be in the grasp of Findlay defenders but shrugged them off as he raced up the near sideline. The second was the loss of Montgomery, who went down in a heap of players after getting off a pass late in the second quarter. A four-star recruit who has already received offers from many of the top college programs in the country, Montgomery went to the bench, then to the locker room and never returned to the game. Senior Brady Allen replaced Montgomery and led Findlay on its second scoring drive. Following a nifty over-the-shoulder interception and solid return by Antwon Murphy, Allen rifled a 10-yard pass to Reece Little, then found Austin Hasselbach on a curl pattern in the right flat. Hasselbach lost his defender with a quick spin move and went 37 yards for the score. Allen completed 9-of-13 passes for 92 yards. Montgomery was 14-of-24 passing for 96 yards before being injured. "We never want to be in that situation, but we prepare for that and, honestly, hats off to Brady for stepping in and answering the call like that," Adams said. With Findlay trailing 31-14 and time winding down, Whitmer added a bit of a bizarre touchdown with just over a minute left. Rayan Farhan, who had kicked a 33-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter, came on to try a 24-yarder. Findlay blocked it, but Whitmer's Dante Moore caught the ball and rumbled 21 yards to the end zone. Whitmer (3-2, 2-0 TRAC), which faces Toledo St. John's next week, did the job defensively as well. Findlay running Dallas DeLaCruz was coming off back-to-back 100-yard games, but was held to 26 yards on 14 attempts. The Trojans had 61 total yards rushing. Findlay fell to 1-4 overall, 0-2 in the TRAC, The Trojans will look to rebound next week when they travel to Fremont Ross to face the Little Giants (5-0-, 2-0 TRAC) in the 100th meeting between the two schools. Toledo Whitmer 14 7 7 10 — 38 Findlay 7 0 0 7 — 14 FIRST QUARTER TW – D. Morgen 44 pass from Ford (Farhan kick) TW – C. Morgen 11 pass from Ford (Farhan kick) FIN – Montgomery 2 rubn (Clevenger kick) SECOND QUARTER TW – C. Morgen 66 pass from Ford (Farhan kick) THIRD QUARTER TW – Crawford 75 run (Farhan kick) FOURTH QUARTER TW – Field goal, Farhan, 33 yards FIN – Hsselbach 37 pass from Allen (Clevenger kick) TW – Moore 21 blocked kick return (Frahan) TW FIN First Downs 17 16 Rushes-yards 36-273 21-61 Passing Yards 179 193 Comp-Att-Int 9-14-1 24-38-0 Punts-Avg. 2-40.0 6-33.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 11-104 7-72 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING — Toledo Whitmer, Crawford 29-244, Bowman 3-18, Ford 1-4, Faulkner 3-7. Findlay, DeLaCruz 14-265, Montgomery 2-14, Allen 2-12, Lane 2-8, Klotz 1-1. PASSING — Toledo Whitmer, 9-14-1, 179 yards. Findlay, Montgomery 14-24-0, 96 yards; Allen 9-13-1, 92 yards; Huston 1-1-0, 1 yard. RECEIVING — Toledo Whitmer, C. Morgan 4-107, D. Morgan 4-67, Frank 1-5. Findlay, Harris 4-17, Hill 8-55, DeLaCruz 2-14, Little 4-35, Hasslebach 3-51, Allen 1-9.