JV Football 9-28

Disclaimer: There is no separate JV roster, so numbers were taken from the varsity roster. If you are misidentified, send and email and it will be corrected right away.

In a hard-fought, penalty flag-filled game Monday night, the OHHS JV football team picked up the win in their first home game of the season against Mt. Vernon. The game started with a cold wind blowing and ended with some driving rain.

Oak Harbor kicked off to start the game and the defense forced an early turnover with Peter Franssen intercepting the ball at the OH 11. On the very next play he took the ball around the right side for an apparent 89-yard TD run. However, the Wildcats were flagged for an illegal block so the ball was spotted at the MV 33 yard line. The Wildcat drive ended at the MV 26 when the field goal kicked by Franssen went through the uprights. With 8:15 left in the 1st quarter it was Oak Harbor 3, MV 0.

The Wildcat kickoff went into the end zone so the Bulldogs started from the 20 yard line. After a 12 yard run, Zack Wallace and Cody Hernkind teamed up for an 8-yard sack, eventually forcing a Bulldog punt from the 24.

The ‘Cats then used 10 plays to drive the 50 yards to the goal line, where Ian Sinchak caught a Gabe Dye pass for a touchdown from 6 yards out. The key play of the drive was another Sinchak reception for 23 yards. With 3:54 left in the first quarter the score was Wildcats 10, Bulldogs 0.

For the remainder of the first quarter the two teams traded 3-and-outs, but as the clock ran out Mt. Vernon was driving, with the ball on the OH 26. That drive ended on the 2nd play of the 2nd quarter with a big 4th down sack by Wallace.

Oak Harbor’s next drive, starting at their own 30 yard line, was not pretty. Out of a total of 8 plays there were 2 flags, two fumbles and a sack before the Wildcats punted from the 23. The kick was partially blocked and recovered by MV on the Wildcat 10. Three plays later the Bulldogs scored with a 5-yard pass. The 2-point pass attempt was tipped by an Oak Harbor player but caught by a Bulldog in the end zone. With 6:59 left in the half it was OH 10, MV 8.

The next OH drive started at the Wildcat 28 and a run by Josiah Miller made it 2nd and 4 at the 35. One of many MV offsides penalties then gave Oak Harbor a first down at the 40. On 4th and 6 at the 44, Oak Harbor threw an interception, turning the ball over at the MV 37. The defense held, forcing a MV punt after 3 plays, but the punt rolled to the Oak Harbor 1 yard line.

The first Wildcat play was a Dye pass to Franssen, bringing the ball out to the 18, then a Zack Ayer reception moved it to the 33. A short run and 2 incomplete passes later, with a hard rain starting to fall, Oak Harbor punted from their own 36.

Mt. Vernon got the ball at their own 49 but an illegal block flag backed them up to the 34. The Bulldogs broke loose on the next play, moving the ball down to the OH 36, even after another illegal block penalty. With less than a minute to go in the half, Mt. Vernon was looking at a 4th and 1 at the OH 27, but the Wildcat defense stuffed the run to get the ball back.

For their final series of the half the Wildcats first tried a reverse, but the ball carrier was tripped up on the wet turf, and the ‘Cats let the clock run out to end the half with a 10-8 lead.

The Bulldogs kicked off to start the second half, but the snap was fumbled on the 2nd play and MV recovered at the OH 21. Again the defense held, and on a 4th and 7 play at the OH 18, Kyle Frank got in for an 8-yard sack, giving OH the ball at the 29.

There were problems in this series as well, as a backwards pass from the 46 yard line was not completed, the whistle didn’t blow, and the ball was batted around before being recovered by Oak Harbor back at the 25 yard line, forcing an OH punt.

With the rain coming down steadily, Oak Harbor was not the only ones having slippery hands. Mt. Vernon fumbled a 1st down snap and the Wildcats recovered at the 43. The new drive lasted only 1 play before the ball was fumbled back to MV at the end of a long run.

With the ball at their own 23 yard line, Mount Vernon ran 3 plays before lining up to punt. In what had to be the strangest play of the night, the punt snap was low and fumbled by the kicker. He got the ball and started to run around the left side and kicked the ball on the run at the MV 20 and wound up in the arms of Justin Everett at the 32, who ran untouched to the end zone for another Oak Harbor touchdown. The kick failed, but with 6:17 still to go in the 3rd, it was now Oak Harbor 16, MV 8.

The two teams traded possessions for most of the remainder of the 3rd quarter, until a bad snap by Oak Harbor on a punt at the OH 17 led to a Mount Vernon 1st down at the Oak Harbor 1 yard line. The Bulldogs scored with 5 seconds left in the 3rd, but the pass conversion failed, leaving Oak Harbor with a 2-point lead, 16-14.

The JV boys could only get the ball out to their own 31 on the next possession, during which the 3rd quarter ended, but a long punt to the MV 35 was lengthened by a late flag against the Bulldogs, putting the ball on the MV 20.

Mount Vernon lost a yard during their next 3 plays and punted back to OH. The two teams traded a pair of possessions each without really moving the ball much. With just over five and a half minutes left in the game, Oak Harbor was lined up to punt on the OH 45 and the punt was blocked, giving MV the ball at the OH 35. The Bulldog joy only lasted one play, as the 2nd down MV pass attempt was intercepted by Ian Sinchak at the Oak Harbor 17 yard line.

The first play of this possession was a Dye run to the 20, followed by another run to the 21. Then, Gabe heaved a long pass that was caught by Corey Houck at the OH 45 and carried to the end zone for the TD. The kick was good for a 23-14 Oak Harbor lead with only 3:47 left in the game.

On their final drive, MV moved the ball from the 33 out to the 48, then 3 straight sacks by the Wildcats led to a MV punt and Oak Harbor ran the clock out for a 23-14 win.

5 video clips from the game are posted HERE.

34 photos, mostly of the pregame warmup, are posted HERE.