JV Football - Dillon Peterson scores twice vs Mt. Vernon

At Mt. Vernon HS, Dillon Peterson scored twice, with Jason Curles adding another, but it wasn't enough, as the turnover bug bit hard, with the Wildcats giving the ball away 6 times, twice inside the 20 during a 37-20 loss to the Bulldogs.

OH got on the board first, with a nice pass reception by Peterson. The ball was spotted on the Mt. Vernon 47, and the pass over the middle went just over the defender's hand and into Peterson's hands at the MV 32. From there he ran into the end zone untouched, but the PAT kick failed.

Things were looking up as the 'Cats put pressure on the MV quarterback, causing a less-than-perfect throw that Ian Sinchak intercepted at his own 32 and returned it 10 yards.

On the first play after the turnover, the handoff was fumbled, with Mt. Vernon recovering on the Oak Harbor 31. From there the Bulldogs needed only one play to tie the score at 6, the MV kick also failing.

After punting on their next possession, the 'Cats defense held, forcing a MV punt from the MV 37. The punt was partially blocked and rolled dead after only 7 yards.

On the next play, the OH QB was under pressure and on the verge of being sacked when he threw the ball up for grabs. Unfortunately, it was a Bulldog that did the grabbing. 7 plays later it was MV 12, OH 0, after another missed PAT attempt.

Ian Sinchak had a great run around the right side from his own 20, reached the sideline, and sprinted along it for the apparent TD. A flag on OH, however, brought the ball back to the 40, wiping the points off the board. After a couple of plays, including a penalty and a tackle for loss, Oak Harbor fumbled the ball again, giving MV a first down on the OH 45. The Wildcats were able to hold and force a turnover on downs, but just 4 plays later, another fumble put MV back at the OH 45. The team was able to stop this drive just inside the OH 10 yard line, pushing the MV receiver out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker.

On the 2nd play of the drive, an overthrown pass was intercepted by MV. Looking at the tape, it was probably trapped, but the ball was given to the Bulldogs inside the OH 30. The 'Cats were able to stop MV, forcing 4 straight incompletions.

OH started another drive deep inside their own territory, but were not able to move it much before time expired in the first half. At the half, the score was MV 12, OH 6.

The 2nd half was all Mt. Vernon. Two interceptions in the 3rd were both turned into touchdowns, but the Wildcats were able to get their second score on a 40 yard pass play to Curles. Again the PAT failed.

At the end of 3, the score was not MV 24, OH 12.

Mt. Vernon scored again with 8:59 left in the game to increase their lead to 30-12. OH came back in just over a minute, scoring their own pass touchdown to Peterson. The 2 point conversion was good, closing the gap to 30-20.

Oak Harbor then attempted an onside kick. It started off good, with a nice bounce and the Bulldogs bobbling the ball, but they were able to down the ball and work it downfield for another score with 4:47 left in the game. Oak Harbor was able to return the kickoff out to midfield, but could not do anything with the ball.

Coach Nurvic did have several good things to say about the game. First and foremost was that even though the team lost, the players enjoy playing the game, and as a result, many are showing marked improvement from the beginning of the season. Coach Nurvic takes the "player development" role as JV coach very seriously, and works hard to prepare his players for the next level.

68 images from the game are posted HERE.