JV Football vs Monroe on Sept 15th.

The Oak Harbor JV Football team faced off against the Monroe Bearcats at Wildcat Memorial Stadium on Monday, September 15th, and came away with the victory, 27-6.

Let me start by saying that I don’t know all the players’ names, and don’t have a roster to work from, so some names may be misspelled, or a player may be identified by number or misidentified. If an email is sent to me with the correct/first names and/or spelling, I will correct the article ASAP.

Going into the game, head coach Craig Nurvic’s plan was to run the ball effectively, which the team did, at first. Although it was a nice win, coach felt that penalties, especially on the offense, kept the score lower than it could have been. Coach did like what he saw from the defense, especially with tackling – wrapping up the ball carrier, but there were a couple of times the OH defense should have come up with interceptions rather than incompletions.

To start the game, the Wildcats kicked off deep, but Monroe was able to get a long return and started the game with the ball on the Oak Harbor 34. After two plays the Bearcats were down to the OH 22 with a first down, but a run attempt up the middle was stopped by #80. The next Monroe play was a sweep, but Aaron Boesch was able to slip in the backfield and tackle the runner for a 5 yard loss. Then, on a 4th & 18 play, a combined team of Boesch and Castillo sacked the Monroe QB while he was on a roll out for another 4 yard loss.

The Wildcats took over on their own 34, but went 3-and-out after quarterback Byrne was sacked for a 10 yard loss on a 3rd down play. On the bright side, the Wildcat punt from the OH 27 rolled all the way to the Monroe 20.

On Monroe’s next possession, the first 3 plays went nowhere, then on a 4th & 9, #80 tackled the runner short, and OH now had the ball on the Monroe 28. Nine plays later, 6 of them runs by Higbee, he ran in for the Wildcat touchdown, and with just 26 seconds left in the first, it was Oak Harbor 7, Monroe 0.

On the kickoff, #43 got downfield quickly and tacked the Monroe receiver at his own 25. A nice run by Monroe on the last play of the 1st quarter was stopped short of the first down by Sinchak with a solo tackle.

Starting the 2nd, Monroe had the ball on their own 33 with a 2nd & 2. After a false start flag and two incompletions, the Bearcats punted from their own 43. The kick was partially blocked but rolled to the OH 26. The ‘Cats were not able to move the ball, and after a holding call, were punting from their own 19, but it was solidly blocked giving Monroe the ball 1st & goal on the OH 5. In 4 plays the OH defense pushed the Monroe offense back 6 yards to the 11, and on a 4th down attempt, the Monroe QB was sacked by Ducken at the OH 17. On the first OH play after getting the ball on downs, Carbonne ran the ball out to midfield, but Monroe was able to strip the ball and recover it at the 50. The Wildcat defense again stopped Monroe in 3. On what otherwise was a great punt by Monroe, the downfield man, who was right on the ball, let it roll into the end zone instead of downing it, so OH got the ball on their own 20 rather than their own 1. The ‘Cats again could do nothing with the ball and punted from their own 11. This was just a bad punt, and the net was only 1 yard, so now Monroe had the ball on the OH 11. Monroe’s first play was a sweep to the left, but an OH player was flagged for helmet-to-helmet contact during the tackle, then OH got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which moved the ball to just outside the 2 yard line. It took 3 tries, but Monroe was able to punch it in on 3rd down for the score, but failed to make the 2-pt conversion. With 1:22 left in the half, it was OH 7, Monroe 6. The Wildcats were forced to punt on their next possession, and after the high, short punt was caught, the receiver was immediately tackled by Peterson. Monroe had just over 1 minute to get another score, starting from their own 47, but time ran out during a 4th down attempt from the Wildcat 24, and at halftime it was OH 7, Monroe 6.

OH got the kickoff to open the 2nd half, and Andy Haag caught a well-thrown pass for the TD in a drive that lasted 2 plays and 55 seconds. This TD increased the OH lead to 14-6.

After the OH kickoff, Monroe fumbled the snap on the first play and the Wildcats recovered at the Monroe 36. This drive featured 3 incomplete passes, including a 4th down attempt from the Monroe 35 that dropped at the Monroe 15. Monroe got the ball on their own 35 with 10:16 left in the 3rd, and after a 17 play drive that used up 6 minutes of clock, the Bearcats came away empty. The drive featured two really nice tackles by Peterson and a controversial reception by Monroe. The Monroe receiver caught the ball at the sideline and went out of bounds towards the Wildcat stands. Everyone in the stands except the referee could see that the ball was juggled, so a catch and 1st down was awarded. It didn’t matter, as Monroe, again, could do nothing with a 1st & goal except move backwards from the OH 9 to the OH 14. OH was able to move the ball across midfield before the 3rd quarter ended with the Wildcats leading 14-6.

Starting the final quarter, the JV ‘Cats got the ball down to the Monroe 23 before the drive stalled and turned the ball over on downs. Monroe’s offense was still sputtering, and after a sack by Duncan and a tackle for loss by #51, Monroe punted from their own 22. A high snap and pressure by the Wildcat defense caused the Monroe punter to shank the kick which went out of bounds at the Monroe 26.

Oak Harbor then put together another 2-play touchdown drive, this one lasting only 18 seconds. This drive featured a catch and run by Boesch to the 4, then some 2nd & 3rd effort running by Higbee for the score. OH 21, Monroe 6.

Monroe returned the ensuing kickoff from their own 23 to near midfield, but turned the ball over on 4 straight incompletions. OH punted from their own 45, and the defense kept up the pressure on the Monroe QB, forcing two incompletions and two sacks.

OH now had the ball on the Monroe 22. A really nice run on a broken play by Burgoyne went around the right side down to the 10. It was called back, as just as Burgoyne started running, the ref coughed into his whistle, and the play was ruled dead after a gain of only 1 yard. Runs by Higbee, Carbonne, & #84 moved the ball down to the Monroe 7, but a 4th down run failed to make it to the end zone, giving Monroe a chance to score with 1:52 left in the game.

Monroe ran the ball 5 yards up the middle and called a time out with 1:10 left. The pass by Monroe was snagged by Curles at the 19 and ran it to the end zone. The kick failed, setting the score at 27-6 in favor of OH.

After two runs from the Monroe 33 to the Oak Harbor 32, Monroe had their final pass attempt intercepted at the 15 by #84. OH took a single knee to end the game with the final score of Oak Harbor 27, Monroe 6.

38 photos have been posted HERE

13 Video clips are HERE