Varsity football @ Monroe 2010-11-04

Sorry for the delay but here it is.

On Thursday, November 4th the Varsity football team traveled to Monroe for a non-league, non-playoff "just because" game. The week before the Wildcats were bounced out of the playoff picture by Meadowdale and Monroe went from playing for 1st place in WESCO North to the outside of the playoff picture. Both teams were still smarting from the losses.

However, Oak Harbor recovered well and proceeded to dismantle the Bearcat defense, scoring 55 points while holding Monroe to just 6.

The Wildcat scoring started with Sam Wolfe running the ball 34 yards into Bearcat territory on the opening play of the game and 8 plays later Jon Lanningham drove in from 1 yard out. 8:44 1st, OH 7, Monroe 0.

The OH defense forced a Monroe punt after they gained just 18 yards in 8 plays, 10 of them on OH penalties.

Starting at their own 29, Oak Harbor again put together a nice 10-play drive ending with Zack Ayer finding the end zone from 3 yards out. 0:35 1st, OH 14, Monroe 0.

The first quarter ended with Monroe losing 16 yards after Aaron Boesch sacked the Monroe QB. 3 plays later it was another Bearcat punt which Josiah Miller returned 47 yards for another Wildcat touchdown. 10:54 2nd OH 21-0.

Monroe had a better possession, keeping the ball for 9 plays and gaining 38 yards before failing to convert a 4th down attempt from the OH 39.

Four plays later it was OH in the end zone again. The drive started with a 7-yard run, continued with a 31-yard pass completion to Connor Meyer and a 12-yard Lanningham run, then Miller ran it in from the 10 yard line. 6:07 28-0.

Monroe did not punt on their next possession because a Bearcat pass was intercepted by Denzel Massey at the the 40 and returned to the Monroe 16. Four plays later Lanningham made it 34-0 after the PAT kick failed.

After than OH score, Monroe put together their only scoring drive. They started at their own 35 and used 9 plays to score with 0:15 left in the half. The kick failed and the half ended with the score OH 34, Monroe 6.

Monroe received the 2nd half kickoff and drove 8 yards in 4 plays before turning the ball over to OH at the Monroe 45. This time it was Isaiah Trower who scored from 14 yards out. 40-6 with 9:59 to go in the 3rd.

Monroe went 5-out on their next series and this time the Wildcats needed only 3 plays to get Trower a score, this one from 3 yards out after Miller set it up with a 38-yard run. 7:24 3rd 46-6.

The next OH drive lasted only 3 plays at the Jordan Oliver was hit just as he threw the ball and it fell into the hands of a Bearcat defender, but on the next play Brent Ryan and Lanningham teamed up for a 7-yard sack. The two were joined by Boesch 2 plays later to drive the Bearcats back another 12 yards, forcing a punt from the Monroe 6 yard line. It looked like the kick would be great for the Wildcats as it bounced at the 28 yard line, but the ball took some nice rolls and hops, finally stopping on the OH 45.

No matter, as Ayer brought the ball back into Bearcat territory on his first carry. The 3rd quarter ended with Ayer driving the pile forward on a 4th-and-1 run. On the next play, the first of the 4th quarter, Peter Franssen took the handoff and ran untouched for 23 yards, then kicked the PAT to make it 53-6 for Oak Harbor with 11:53 left in the game.

With that score, the mercy rule was invoked and the rest of the game was played with a running clock.

Monroe started their next possession at their own 23 and 3 plays later lined up to punt from their on 21. The punt didn't get off as Boesch got through the line and got a hand on the ball, sending it in and out of the end zone for a safety. 9:07 left, OH 55, Monroe 6.

Oak Harbor took the free kick at the Monroe 30 and went back and forth a couple of times - running forward 5 yards then backing up 5 yards. After 9 snaps the Willdcats were looking at 4th-and-10 at the Monroe 15 with 57 seconds left. There, instead of throwing the ball or running around the end, the Oak Harbor coaches put Sam Wolfe in as quarterback with instructions to take a knee and turn the ball over.

2 Monroe run attempts later, the final horn sounded. Oak Harbor 55, Monroe 6. It was a great way to end a season that started out rather slowly.

On Wednesday, November 10th, the team held their annual awards banquet and recognized the departing seniors: Sam Wolfe, Justin Counts, Paul Kirk, Ian Sinchak, Marcus Jordan, Denzel Massey, Zack Ayer, Kyle Mellow, Judd Ford, Kyle Frank, Robert Beadles and Aaron Boesch.

It was a fun ride, guys. Thanks for all your efforts!

Video highlights from the game are posted HERE.