Whitmer inches past Trojans in slugfest

TOLEDO – Stefan Adams said Toledo Whitmer would probably want to get into a slugfest with his Findlay High football team.That's pretty much how it played out on Friday, and the haymakers were coming from both sides and all angles in Whitmer's 35-33 win over the Trojans."The first half we had our way, other than maybe leaving three points out there just before the half," said first-year head coach but long-time Whitmer assistant Justin Keller."But credit them, too. Coach Adams does a great job there and those guys played extremely tough."Capitalizing on big breaks and big plays, Whitmer led 28-0 six minutes into the second quarter and 35-14 six minutes into the third.The mistakes – two interceptions, a fumble – that hurt Findlay early evened out bit when Whitmer botched two punts and Findlay scored off both. Greyson Geiser, filling in at quarterback when Miles Bailey was a bit shaken up, rifled an 11-yard TD pass to Carter Imke early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 35-27, and when Bailey connected with Jed Scott on a 17-yard scoring strike with 8:29 left, the Trojans had erased all but two points of that huge deficit.A blocked PAT kick forced Findlay to go for two to after Scott's TD reception, but Whitmer's Harold Glover broke up that play.Findlay did get one last chance, taking over at its own 25 with 3:12 on the clock.Bailey and Imke hooked up for a 12-yard gain and a first down at the 43.A 6-yard pass to Imke and Bailey's scramble for 6 yards on a fourth-and-four with 2:03 to play produced a pivotal first down.On a second-and-10 from the Whitmer 45, Bailey's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and Glover picked it off. Findlay had two time-outs left, but when Whitmer converted a first down, the Panthers could run out the clock in the victory formation."We put our defense in some horrible situations," Keller said."Obviously, we're banged up a little bit. But we were able to run the ball at the end when it counted most. We've not been really challenged like that much lately. It was really good for us to handle that adversity."Picked to finish third in the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division in a preseason poll, Keller instead has the Panthers, 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the NLL tied for first with Perrysburg, which is also 7-1 overall and 3-0in the league after Friday's 48-7 win over Oregon Clay.Whitmer is at Clay next week, then hosts Perrysburg in a Week 10 showdown with the outright NLL title likely on the table.Findlay was picked to finish fifth among the six teams in the NLL Buckeye Division. But the Trojans have held their own against the best in the league, falling just 14-10 to Perrysburg last week and 35-33 to Whitmer on Friday."A total of six points," Adams said of the total point differential in losses to both league leaders."The guys kept battling and battling. They never quit. I think that shows a lot about this group."They fought, and they were resilient."Both teams had just one possession in the first quarter, but the outcome of those possessions seemed a harbinger of things to come.Findlay went 51 yards in eight plays, but had to punt. Whitmer answered with an 11-ply – all on the ground – drive that covered 91 yards and put the first points on the board.Many of Findlay's wounds were self-inflicted. Whitmer's Dominic would make a lunging interception to set up one touchdown, and recover a fumble at the Findlay 14 to set up another. Whitmer's Jayliek Thompson eliminated the middle man altogether, anticipating a quick out pass, reading the platy perfecting and picking off the throw and returning it 53 yards to put the Panthers up 28-0.Findlay had taken all the punches in the fist half. In the third quarter, the Trojans started delivering a few of their own.Spurred by the defense, Jack Young's sack helped stall Whitmer's first possession of the second half. On then punt, the snap sailed over Anthony Leroux's head. Leroux chased it down and got off a kick, but it went out of bounds at the Panthers 6.Baley covered that distance on one playWhitmer answered with an 80 yard drive very similar to hits first of the game – 80 yards, all but two plays on the ground. Born did hit Christopher Winlock with a 38-yard gain but 10 of the other 11 plays were runs, including Holmes 2-yard burst that put Whitmer on top 35- 14.Whitmer's punting woes continued when, after another defensive stop Leroux was again back to punt. Again the snap as over his head, and instead of covering the free ball in the end zone, Young raced in and did that just that for a TD.Findlay was back on the move after another defensive stop and, aided by pass interference and personal foul calls, went 65 yards in seven plays. Carter Imke caught 7- and 16-yards strikes from Bailey and an 11-yard TD pass from Greyson Geiser when Bailey was a bit shaken up, the last trimming the deficit to 35-27 with 10:14 to play.A minute later the Trojans were back in business after Alex Gonzalez recovered a Whitmer fumble at the 32.Bailey, who was 18-of-28 passing for 169 yards and two TDs, found Jed Scott in the left flat and Scott, with a nifty spin move, lost the defensive back and raced in to the end zone.Findlay trailed just 35-33 and had to go for two, but Whitmer's Harold Glover chased Bailey down as he scrambled looking for an open receiver."What got us in the first half, we were able to flip in the second," Adams said."We almost came out on the other side of it, but we fell just short."Findlay, 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the NLL, wraps up the regular season with home games against Sylvania Northview (Oct. 17) and Anthony Wayne (Oct. 24). Considering their current position in the Harbin Computer Rankings, the Trojans will also likely host a Region 2 playoff game, either on Oct. 31 of Nov. 7. Findlay 0 7 14 12—33Whitmer 7 21 7 0—35 First QuarterWHIT – Holmes 2 run (Leroux kick) Second QuarterWHIT – Potts 5 pass from Born (Leroux kick)WHIT – Thompson 53 interception return (Leroux kick)WHIT – Winlock 9 pass from Born (Leroux kick)FIN – Hines 3 pass from Bailey ( Geiser kick) Third QuarterFIN – Bailey 6 run (Geiser kick)WHIT – Holmes 3 run (Leroux kick)FIN – Young recovered fumble in end zone (Geiser kick) Fourth QuarterFIN – Imke 11 pass from Geier (kick failed)FIN – Scott 17 pass from Bailey (pass failed) FIN OCFirst Downs 21 17Rushes-yards 26-76 45-233Passing Yards 180 125Comp-Att-Int 19-32-3 10-17-1Punts-Avg. 1-54.0 4-11.8Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2Penalties-Yards 4-30 10-123INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING – Findlay, Williams 3-8, Hines 1-0, Bailey 22-68. Toledo Whitmer, Jones 15-60, Morales 7-67, Holmes 16-80, Born 3-21.PASSING – Findlay, Bailey 18-29-3, 169 yards; Geiser 1-3-0, 11 yards. Toledo Whitmer, Born 10-17-1, 125 yards.RECEIVING – Findlay, Imke 10-107, Hines 4-31, Geiser 1-7, Scott 2-21 Montgomery 2-12. Toldo Whitmer, Waddell 2-20, Hayes 2-34, Potts 2-11, Winlock 3-54.