ARCHBOLD WEATHER

Archbold Trumps Aces 43-37 In OT





Defensive back Evan Wyse (10) fights for position in Archbold's game at Hicksville, Friday, Aug. 26.– photo by Scott Schultz

Defensive back Evan Wyse (10) fights for position in Archbold’s game at Hicksville, Friday, Aug. 26.– photo by Scott Schultz

The high school football season got in full swing last week as teams squared off on the gridiron.

Archbold made the long trek to Hicksville to face a very talented Aces squad, Friday, Aug. 26, in a nonleague contest.

It looked as if the Streaks would be in for a long ride home as they fell behind 17-0 just minutes into the second quarter. But Archbold capitalized on special teams play and the desire to win, dealing the Aces a 43-37 overtime loss.

“Nobody on the team gave up and quit. I am so proud of them,” said Bryan Miller, AHS head coach.

“When you have two teams that are evenly matched and it came down to just a few plays, Archbold came out on the receiving end,” said Lucas Smith, HHS head coach.

Hicksville Leads 24-14

Archbold took the opening kickoff but could not put together any offense.

The Aces went right to work on their opening possession. Driving down the field in eight plays, senior quarterback Justin Miller crossed the goal line from 5 yards out with 6:56 left in the first quarter.

The Aces had a few cards up their sleeves and pulled no punches. Following a successful point-after-touchdown kick by Seth Klepper, Klepper laid down a squib kick that Archbold mishandled, and the Aces took over on the Archbold 34-yard line.

Seven plays later, Klepper nailed a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead after one quarter.

Klepper put the Aces up 17-0 in the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown run following a stalled Archbold drive.

Archbold finally got on the scoreboard at the 5:34 mark of the second when Tyson Dietrich crossed the goal line from five yards out.

The much-needed score boosted the morale of the Streaks’ sideline, but the Aces quieted the Archbold faithful when they scored with 48 seconds left in the half for a 24-7 lead.

But the Aces were not the only ones with something up their sleeves.

On the ensuing kickoff, senior Danny Young breathed new life into the struggling Blue and Gold. Taking off from his own 15-yard line, Young darted past would-be tacklers and 85 yards later crossed the goal line.

Lincoln Parsley’s PAT was good, and AHS went into the locker room trailing 24-14.

Young’s kickoff return ties him for third with Aaron Zavala for the longest kickoff return in school history. Zavala’s 85-yard kickoff return occurred in 2000 against Montpelier.

Tim Grieser holds the AHS record. In 1970, Grieser ran 93 yards for a score against Swanton.

Tied At 37 After Four

Archbold carried the momentum into the second half. With Parsley kicking off, he laid down a perfect squib kick, which Archbold recovered.

“The kid made a great kick,” said Smith.

Dietrich crossed the goal line with 10:04 left in the third and with the PAT the gap was narrowed to 24-21.

“Special teams did a great job tonight,” said Miller. “Danny’s run back, Gabe (Rodriguez) recovered our dribble kick, and we didn’t miss an extra point.”

The Archbold defense forced the first Hicksville punt of the night, but AHS couldn’t capitalize. Just three plays later, Dietrich was intercepted by Klepper.

A 15-yard dead ball personal foul was tacked onto the end of the play, putting the Aces on the Streaks’ 19- yard line.

J. Miller connected with Connor Yoder two plays later on a 15-yard pass for a touchdown, but Klepper missed the PAT.

J. Miller upped the score to 37-21 with a one-yard touchdown run with 3:11 left in the third, and it looked like the Aces finally had all the right cards to send the Streaks back to Fulton County with a loss.

But the Streaks breathed new life, holding Hicksville scoreless the rest of the way.

Dietrich scored on a 7- yard run and converted the two-point conversion at the 7:48 mark of the fourth, closing the difference to 37-29.

Archbold scored again with 2:19 left in regulation on a 31-yard toss from Dietrich to Tanner Wyse. The Streaks again converted the two-point conversion to knot the score at 37.

Kaleb Johns coughed up the ball on Hicksville’s final possession in regulation.

Overtime

Starting on the 20-yard line, Hicksville took the first possession in overtime but couldn’t muster a first down.

The Streaks wasted no time. Dietrich ran for five yards, and Young ran four. Dietrich muscled his way for 11 more yards and the gamewinning score.

“I told our guys this game was going to be a dog fight,” said Smith. “Archbold had two big plays in the first half and they were both for scores.

“We had a bonehead move when we missed our PAT. Archbold goes for two at the end to tie it up instead of us having a one-point lead.

“It shows that special teams are so important.”

“There were several times during the course of the game I thought this wasn’t going to be our night,” said Miller. “All the credit goes to our kids. They could have thought like that and quit, and they didn’t.”

AHS 0 14 7 16 6 43
HHS 10 14 13 0 0 37

HHS-Miller 5-yard run (PATKlepper kick)

HHS-Klepper 22-yard field goal

HHS-Klepper 18-yard run (PATKlepper kick)

AHS-Dietrich 5-yard run (PATParsley kick)

HHS-Klepper 5-yard run (PATKlepper kick)

AHS-Young 85-yard kick return (PAT-Parsley kick)

AHS-Dietrich 1-yard run (PATParsley kick)

HHS-Yoder 15-yard pass from Miller (PAT-Klepper kick)

HHS-Miller 1-yard run (PAT-kick failed)

AHS-Dietrich 7-yard run (Dietrich 2-point conversion)

AHS-Wyse 31-yard pass from Dietrich (Wyse 2-point conversion)

AHS-Dietrich 11-yard run


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *