Whitmer plays 'lights out' in win over Findlay

FINDLAY – Due to an electrical problem, Friday's game between Findlay and Toledo Whitmer started a bit late.Electricians eventually did get the lights to come on at Donnell Stadium. Findlay's offense, though, never did get the juice turned on against the Panthers.Spearheaded by a quick, aggressive defense, capitalizing on minor Findlay mistakes and hitting just enough game-breaking big plays, Whitmer jumped ahead 21-0 in the first quarter, led 37-0 at the half and rolled to a 37-6 Northern Lakes League win over the Trojans."Defensively, we got embarrassed at Anthony Wayne," Whitmer coach Ken Winters said of a 27-3 loss to the unbeaten Generals, the Panthers only loss in NLL Buckeye Division games."They took it personal. Ever since then they've been playing lights out."Winters was referring to Whitmer's defense giving up just three touchdowns in three games since that league loss, and limiting Findlay to just 4 yards rushing and 74 yards total offense in a dominating first half.But his comment was a perfect analogy to a strange night as well.The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but as dusk turned more and more to dark, the stadium lights remained off. Officials and technicians finally got the bulbs to come on around 7:15 and the glow continued to grow until kickoff at 7:35.Findlay's offense was not as punctual.The Trojans went three-and-out on their first drive.Whitmer responded with a 55-yard scoring drive in three plays, the big one a 47-yard pass from Brady Ford to TJ Hutchen that put the ball on the 3-yard line.On Findlay's second drive, a bad snap turned a third-and-1 from the 29-yard line into a fourth-and-15 from the 15. Whitmer then blitzed in, blocked Jediah Scott's punt, and recovered it at the 20. Ford then found Jaden Jones wide open in the right flat for a touchdown.Four minutes into the game, Findlay had run six plays and had zero points. Whitmer had run four plays and had 14.That margin would climb to 21-0 when Whitmer, pinned at its own 7 by Scott's punt, covered 93 yards in nine plays, including 28-yard passes to Kevion Lee and Hutchen, and a 30-yarder to Isaiah Hayward for the score.Whitmer seemed on a mission … and it showed."When we left Whitmer – and I know it's cliché – but I said it's a business trip," Winters said."Our business is to keep ourselves alive in the hunt (for an NLL title) and prove ourselves in the playoff hunt, too."As for the delay, you always wonder if you going to come out flat after something like that. There's nothing you can do, though. You just keep reminding them how important the game is."We just said, "Let's go take care of business,' and that's what they did."Whitmer used a fumble recovery and another big pass play – 54 yards to Hayward – to go up 28-0 two minutes into the second quarter.Another high snap led to a safety that made it 30-0, and Jones second TD made it 37-0 at the half."Obviously their momentum was really high for them going for the league and all," said FHS coach Stefan Adams."They're a really good team and they took care of business."Ford, a three-year starter at quarterback, threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. He finished the game completing 11-of-23 passes for 251 yards.Hayward caught three passes for 130 yards. Jones had 67 yards rushing as Whitmer generated 346 yards total offense. Of that total, 304 yards came in the first half.Findlay quarterback Landon Echelberry was 8-of-15 passing for 70 yards. Riley Korkos also saw action during a running-clock second half. He completed 4-of-6 passes for 83 yards and a TD, that coming on a 47-yard catch-and-run reception by senior end Jacob Ragland.It was a tenth touchdown catch of the season for Ragland, who had eight receptions for 132 yards in the game."We couldn't get untracked," Adams said after Findlay managed just 22 yards rushing on 18 attempts and 175 yards total offense."We were not performing is high-pressure situations. We have to figure out a way to do that, because that's when good things happen. We've got one (regular-season) game left to do that and see where we go from there."Findlay, 3-6 overall and 1-3 in NLL Buckeye Division games, wraps up the regular season Friday at Sylvania Northview (0-9, 0-4 NLL).Toledo Whitmer kept alive its hopes of sharing the NLLL Buckeye Division title. The Panthers, 7-2 overall, are 3-1 are in the league but will need a little outside help. Perrysburg (8-1, 3-1 NLL) is at Anthony Wayne (9-0, 4-0 NLL) on Friday. Anthony Wayne will win the championship outright with a win, but a Perrysburg victory would divide the crown three ways.Whitmer 21 16 0 0—37Findlay 0 0 6 0—6 First QuarterTW – Morales 4 run (Farhan kick)TW – Jones 20 pass from Ford (Farhan kick)TW – Hayward 30 pass from Ford (Farhan kick) Second QuarterTW – Hutchen 4 pass from Ford (Farhan kick)TW – SafetyTW – Jones 8 run (Farhan kick) Third QuarterFIN – Ragland 47 pass from Korkos (pass failed)FIN TWFirst Downs 11 14Rushes-yards 18-22 24-95Passing Yards 153 251Comp-Att-Int 12-21-1 11-23-0Punts-Avg. 5-16.8 2-22.0Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-1Penalties-Yards 3-29 11-89INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING —Findlay, Lane 6-17, Echelberry 3-(-17), Williams 3-11 Coffman 4-11. Toledo Whitmer, Ford 6-5, Morales 6-19, Jones 9-67, Small 3-4.PASSING —Findlay, Echelberry 8-15-0, 70 yards; Korkos 4-6-1, 83 yards. Toledo Whitmer, Ford 11-23-0, 251 yardsRECEIVING — Findlay, Ragland 8-132, Little 2-25. Toledo Whitmer, Hutchen 2-32, Hayward 3-130, Morales 1-10, Jones 2-20, Lyons 1-28, Lee 2-19, Waddell 1-12.