Huber Heights Wayne ends Trojans' season

FINDLAY – Findlay and Huber Heights Wayne traded a couple of haymakers on Friday.But it was the little jabs here and there and the body blows that knocked the breath out of the Trojans that earned Wayne a 34-10 victory in a Division I Region 2 playoff game at Donnell Stadium."That a good team, good athletes and multiple guys that can hurt you," FHS coach Stefan Adams said after Findlay completed a 6-5 season with a second-round playoff loss."We just didn't have enough to last with them four quarters."Findlay landed the first haymaker.Trailing 14-3, the Trojans drove 98 yards with the second half kickoff. Miles Bailey, who split time at quarterback with Riley Korkos, got Findlay some breathing room with 6- and 8-yard keepers, then hit Sonny Hines with a 22-yard pass and Greyson Geiser for 30 yards.Bailey gained 15 yards on a fourth-and-1 call from the 23, and later dove over from yard out for the score.Wayne's lead had been cut to 14-10. When Maysen Hetrick picked off a Kye Graham pass and returned it to the Huber Heights 39, the Trojans were right back in business.Not for long, though.Wayne's defense forced a quick three-and-out and even Bailey's pooch-kick punt that was downed on the 11-yard line could not stop Wayne's quick and devastating counter punch.After a quick pop pass to Jamier Averett-Brown, one of the top-rated receivers in the country in the class of 2027, 220-pound running back Isaiah Thompson pounded out two short gains. On a second-and-8 call from the 25, Graham, a talented sophomore drawing considerable Division I interest, showed his maturity and mobility, avoiding pressure by rolling to his left inside a rolling pocket. The move bought enough time for someone to get open deep and that someone was James Dyer III, a 5-6, 145-pound sophomore who hauled in Graham's throw and took it 75 yards for a score.Findlay would mount other drives, but all would be short-lived because of turnovers. Wayne's Sean Heisle intercepted two passes, Aaden Curtis picked off another and Marvin Williams recovered a Findlay fumble."We knew we had to win the turnover battle and we did not do that," Adams said."That's hard to overcome. It put us in a position where we had to press."Graham, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore who goes by the nickname "Superman," completed 12-of-24 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He was picked off twice and held to 38 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Findlay applied plenty of defensive pressure, but Graham was not sacked once. "We felt if we could take away his first read we were good. If he got outside the pocket, we were in trouble," said Adams, who tweaked his defense a bit by playing Bailey more at middle linebacker and moving 6-3, 225-pound senior Hudson Yeager from linebacker to noseguard"We went into the game knowing we had to have all our horses on defense," Adams said."It was a personnel move to try and create a little more athletic movement up front to get at their quarterback, who's pretty darn good."Graham – and Wayne – may have been at its collective best late in the second quarter. Findlay had just trimmed the deficit to 7-3 on a 34-yard field goal by Greyson Geiser with 5:51 left in the half. That was just enough time for Graham and the Warriors. Graham kept the drive alive by hitting Dyer with an 8-yard pass on a fourth-and-3 call from the 27. After getting backed up by a personal foul penalty, Graham found Dyer (6 catches, 108 yards) again, good for 26 yards on a fourth-and-23 from the 32.Graham also hit Dyer with a short TD pass with 42 seconds on the clock."It's having confidence in your kids," said Wayne coach Roosevelt Mukes, Jr. who will prepare his 8-4 Warriors to take on No. 2-seeded Troy (9-2) in Friday's Region 2 regional final."At this point of the season, you don't want to have any regrets."Bailey had 82 yards rushing and 93 passing on 11-of-19 completions. Korkos was 6-of-12 for 37 yards.Defensively, Caleb Kanney led the Trojans with 10 tackles, Sebastian Brankamp had seven and Alex Gonzalez had six tackles and an interception.Picked to finish fifth among the six teams in the Northern Lakes League's Buckeye Division, Findlay instead took both NLL co-champions – Perrysburg (14-10) and Toledo Whitmer (35-3) – to the wire in close games and went 6-5 overall."We'll reflect on all of that later," Adams said."This one hurts right now. I thought we were good enough to win this game. That doesn't make me any less proud of these guys. Our seniors have taken the bull by the horns and restored the feeling of how good of football we can play."It's hard now, in this moment. But I'm proud of our staff and I'm proud of our kids and we'll still hold our heads high."Wayne 7 7 7 13—34Findlay 0 3 7 0—10First QuarterHHW – Thompson 1 run (Heinrich kick) Second QuarterFIN – Geiser, field goal, 34 yardsHHW – Averett-Brown 5 pass from Graham (Heinrich kick) Third QuarterFIN – Bailey 1 run (Geiser kick)HHW – Dyer 75 pass from Graham (Heinrich kick) Fourth QuarterHHW – Thompson 35 run (Heinrich kick)HHW – Curits 22 pass from Graham (Heinrich kick) HHW FINFirst Downs 21 11Rushes-yards 41-129 23-91Passing Yards 243 130Comp-Att-Int 12-24-2 17-31-3Punts-Avg. 1-41.0 3-35.0Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1Penalties-Yards 5-71 5-45INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING – Findlay, Bailey 18-82, Lane 1-1, Williams 2-2, Korkops 1-1. Huber Heights Wayne, Graham 16-38, Thompson 19-89, Sroufe 1-3, Averett-Brown 1-(-9), Shabazz 2-9.PASSING – Findlay, Bailey 11-19-1, 97 yards; Korkos 6-12-2, 37 yards. Huber Heights Wayne, Graham 12-24-2, 243 yards.RECEIVING – Findlay, Imke 4-22, Geiser 3-40, Hines 5-48, Yeager 3-19, SCptt 1-(-1), Emans 1-2. Huber Heights Wayne, Sroufe 3-48, Dyer 3-108, Averette-Brown 5-65, Curtis 1-22.