Varsity football details and video clips from the Monroe game.

The Oak Harbor varsity football team faced off against the Monroe Bearcats in a league game at Wildcat Memorial Stadium on September 11^th, and if you weren’t there, you missed an exciting game, especially the 2^nd half.

Monroe received the opening kickoff and returned the ball to their own 23. They mounted a nice drive and were facing a 4^th and 6 at the OH 10 when the Monroe pass was intercepted by Clarence LaMont at the OH 1 yard line and returned to the Monroe 47. Oak Harbor ran 3 plays and punted. Monroe started on their own 20, drove to the OH 43, then completed a long pass to the Oak Harbor 2 yard line. The Wildcat defense dug in and stopped Monroe on 4 straight plays.

With the ball on the OH 1 yard line, the offense had a ways to go. The first play was a short pass to Donovan Hunt, who barely got out of the end zone. Mike Washington, Jr., who was to play a large role in the 4^th quarter, caught a pass at the OH 10 for a little breathing room, then another pass, this one to Rashaad Smith brought the ball out to the OH 22. The next plays gained little, and the 1^st quarter ended with the score 0-0. On the 2^nd play of the 2^nd quarter, Oak Harbor was looking at 4^th down on the OH 32 with less than a yard to go. QB Clarence LaMont kept the ball and snuck through for a first down to the OH 36. The drive stalled, and the Wildcats punted from their own 41 yard line. Monroe muffed the punt but was able to recover at their own 31.

The defense again stepped up and held Monroe to a 3-and-out series, including an acrobatic deflected pass attempt by Derrick Clarit.

Oak Harbor also went 3-and-out, but on the punt, the snap was a bit low, and the punter put his knee down to get the ball and was ruled down at the Wildcat 28 yard line.

Monroe then drove into the end zone, but Oak Harbor blocked the kick attempt, making the score 6-0 with 5:22 left in the first half.

Oak Harbor started their next possession on the 16 yard line, and punted on 4^th down after gaining only one yard. Monroe started at their own 47, but three plays later the Bearcats scored on a 40-yard pass play. The defense stopped the two point conversion and the score was 12-0 with 3:14 left.

On their next possession, Oak Harbor fumbled the ball on their own 40. With the ball at the 50 yard line, Monroe completed a long pass down to the OH 16, with a certain touchdown stopped by a great open field tackle by Clarit. Clarit also figured in the last play of the half, deflecting a 4^th and 10 pass attempt with just 4 seconds left.

At the half, the score stood at 12-0 in favor of Monroe.

The Wildcats got the 2^nd half kickoff, but a LaMont pass was tipped, intercepted at the OH 45 and returned to the OH 17. Monroe lost 14 yards over the next 5 plays, and a pass attempt from the OH 31 on 4^th and 24 fell incomplete.

On their next possession, the Oak Harbor coaching staff put Luke Felkner in as quarterback. The first play, from the OH 31, was a pass to Josh Higbee, who took it all the way to the Monroe 25 yard line, but that was it as a 4^th down pass attempt was incomplete.

Monroe got the ball at the OH 26 and used up 4 minutes of game time in a 10-play drive for a touchdown to increase their lead to 19-0 with 4:02 left in the 3^rd.

At this point the Oak Harbor offense came alive. After returning the kickoff to the OH 25, three straight passes in the direction of 6-3 sophomore Michael Washington, Jr. got the ball out to the OH 45. Another long pass to Aaron Boesch at the OH 47 was ruled a completion after some discussion among the officials, giving the Wildcats a first down. The drive later stalled, but the ‘Cats ran a total of 14 plays and got across midfield. The 3^rd period ran out during the drive with the score still 19-0.

The Oak Harbor punt went to the Monroe 16, and the defense only let the Bearcats get to midfield before forcing a punt.

With 9:01 left in the game, trailing 19-0 and a first down on the 20 yard line, Felkner handed the ball off to Pat Higbee for a gain to the OH 37, the two plays later, from the OH 39 yard line, launched a bomb to Washington for the Wildcat’s first touchdown of the season. The drive took less than a minute and the score was now Monroe 19, OH 7.

An onside kick was attempted went out of bounds at the Monroe 35. The defense held Monroe to just 2 yards forcing a punt which Hunt returned to nearly midfield. Josh Higbee ran the ball into Monroe territory, then another Felkner pass found its way to Washington for another Oak Harbor touchdown. Now with 5:52 left in the game it was Monroe 19, OH 14.

Monroe could only get to their own 24 yard line, but knocked over two minutes off the clock. Oak Harbor got the ball on the Monroe 38 after another nice return by Hunt and with 3:34 on the clock. The first play was an incomplete pass, then Felkner scrambled down to the 16. A pass to Washington made it first and goal at the 4 for OH, then Felkner tossed a fade to the far corner where it was pulled in by Washington for his 3^rd TD of the night. The drive put Oak Harbor in the lead, 21-19, but used only 42 seconds, leaving 2:56 for Monroe to use.

The Bearcats fielded the kickoff deep in their own territory, but returned it all the way to the Oak Harbor 29 yard line. The first play was a 2 yard run, stopped by Nick Rouser who got through the Monroe line, then a pass that was incomplete at the 2. On 3^rd down Monroe jumped early, backing them up to the 32. The 3^rd and 13 pass play was almost intercepted by OH, but dropped at the 3. Instead of attempting a field goal, Monroe went for it on 4^th and 13. The pass sailed high over the receiver’s head, but an official pulled out his yellow flag and called Oak Harbor for defensive pass interference. Now with a new set of downs at the Oak Harbor 11 yard line, Monroe was able to punch it in and regain the lead 26-21 with 1:01 left in the game.

Oak Harbor started their final drive on the 34 after the kickoff return and 56 seconds to score. A short pass put the ball in the OH 42 with 46 seconds left then Boesch pulled in a long pass and got out of bounds at the Monroe 42 with 35 seconds left. Felkner’s next pass was just little short, and went into the hands of a Monroe defender at the Monroe 31. The Bearcats took a knee to end the game, winning 26-21.

6 video clips from the game are posted HERE. Feel free to embed on your Facebook page.