Yellow Jackets grind out a victory over Trojans

PERRYSBURG – Perrysburg is playing football like there's no tomorrow.Worst case scenario for the Yellow Jackets, there might not be one anyway.Perrysburg turned a long drive and a turnover into two touchdowns in a 12-second span late in the second quarter, came up with enough clutch defensive stops to snuff two Findlay drives in the final 9½ minutes and held off the Trojans 14-10 on Friday in a Northern Lake League Buckeye Division thriller at Steinecker Stadium."We're going to celebrate the heck out of this one," said Perrysburg coach Dirk Conner."We have more things coming down the road, but this is going to help us in the future."It's that future may be in question.At a Sept. 22 school board meeting, it was announced that unless Perrysburg passed an operating levy in November, drastic cuts would have to be made, including all athletics. While that will not affect this season, it could be a concern for a Perrysburg program that has 34 juniors and 28 sophomores on its 80-man roster.Conner would not use the school's current financial situation – pardon the pun but appreciate the ironic analogy — as a political football."That's not necessarily a motivator. We're not using that as a rallying call to play football," Conner said."We're just at a place in our program where we expect to come out and grind out wins, anyway."The win was the fifth straight for Perrysburg, which is 6-1 overall, 2-0 in NLL-Buckeye Division play, and tied with Toledo Whitmer atop the Buckeye Division standings. The Yellow Jackets are at Oregon Clay next week, host Anthony Wayne on Oct. 17 and travel to Whitmer on Oct. 24 for a Week 10 showdown.Findlay, which had a five-game winning streak halted and is 5-2 overall, 1-1 in the NLL Buckeye Division, is at Whitmer next Friday."This one is going to hurt a little bit, but you grow and you learn," said FHS coach Stefan Adams."The kids fought hard. We knew this was going to be a battle of wills, but we don't have time to sulk. We have to turn this page real quick and get ready for next week."Findlay led 3-0 on Greyson Geiser's 23-yard field goal two minutes into the second quarter. The way the Trojans' defense was playing, it looked like that might be the score at the half.Everything changed in a stunning 12-second blitz, though.It started when Perrysburg quarterback Brady Maxwell plunged into the end zone from a yard out with 1:35 left in the half. The touchdown capped a 77-yard, 13-play drive that was all Maxwell and running back Liam Nowakowski.Maxwell, a 6-2, 190-pound junior, got a key first down on a keeper early in the drive, hit Braylon Foster with a 25-yard pass to move into Findlay territory then had 9- and 15-yard gains.Nowakowski, a 185-pound junior back, had gains of 8, 7 and 4 yards, setting up Maxwell TD burst.Then disaster struck,Usually a sure-handed team – the Trojans entered the game a plus-8 in the take-way department – Findlay fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return and Malik Beck, a demon on the defensive side of the ball all night (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 recovery) pounced on the ball at the Trojans 20.On first down, Maxwell threaded a dart to Ethan Devries for the score and a 14-3 lead."Us losing the game had more to do with us than anything else. We had some self-inflicted wounds," Adams said."In the first half we had two trips into the red zone and came away with only three points."It wasn't lack of effort. We just came up short. We have to find ways to finish and as we grow, we will."Perrysburg missed a field goal that would padded its lead, but an interception stalled another Findlay drive.Shawn Hines III then stepped up and put a charge into the Trojans that revitalized the rest of the game.After downing a punt at their own 36, the Trojan had it first-and-10. On the first snap, quarterback Miles Bailey spotted Hines, the second man through on a clear-out pass play, open in the left flat and lofted him the ball. Hines caught the pass at the Perrysburg 45, hip-faked a defender out of position, then cut left and raced up the sideline for the score."He's a playmaker for us," Adams said."He's a difference maker out in space. We have to find ways to keep him on the field."Jed Scott then got the ball right back, making a diving interception of a tipped pass. Findlay drove to the Yellow Jackets 17, but Bailey was stripped of the ball going for extra yardage on a fourth-and-2 and Perrysburg's Reed Gerken, a 6-5, 285-pound junior lineman, recovered. Findlay's defense got another stop, and forced a punt with 2:28 to play.On a second-and 14 play, Carter Imke made a leaping fingertip catch for a first down on at the Findlay 46.To more receptions by Imke gave Findlay another first down, but Gerken came up with a sack on second and short. A third down pass was incomplete and a fourth-down throw was batted away, Findlay's final chance with no time outs left and just 16 seconds on the clock."Two good football teams, kids battling like crazy …. Tonight was everything good about Friday Night Lights," Conner said.Maxwell completed 10-of-16 passes for 199 yards, ran for 49 yards and accounted for both Perrysburg TDs with his legs and his arm.Bailey completed 16-of-25 passes for 218 yards and was Findlay's leading rusher with 46 yards on 19 carries.Defensively, Caleb Kanney led Findlay with 12 tackles. Hudson Yeager had seven tackles and Sebastian Brankamp had six. Findlay 0 3 0 7—10Perrysburg 0 14 0 0—14 Second QuarterFIN – Geiser, FG, 23 yardsPER – Maxwel, 1 run (Heitmeyer kick)PER – Devries, 20 pass from Maxwel (Heitmeyer kick) Fourth QuarterFIN – Hines 64 pass from Bailey (Geiser kick) FIN OCFirst Downs 15 14Rushes-yards 33-92 34-115Passing Yards 219 119Comp-Att-Int 16-25-1 10-16-1Punts-Avg. 2-31.5 3-39.7Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-1Penalties-Yards 2-15 1-5INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING – Findlay, Williams 9-34, Hines 5-12, Bailey 19-467. Perrysburg, Nowakowski 18-49, Maxwell 18-49, Devries 1-(-1).PASSING – Findlay, Bailey 16-25-1, 218 yards. Perrysburg, Maxwell 10-16-1, 119 yards.RECEIVING – Findlay, Imke 9-58, Hines 7-73, Geiser 3-51, Scott 1-5, Yeager 2-31. Perrysburg, Devries 4-62. Graham 3-22, Foster 2-31.