Bears football team looking to secure high seed for the playoffs

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Usually a football team with two losses wouldn’t be ranked in the top 10 in the state of Ohio, but that is the case with Gibsonburg.
The Golden Bears, who are 5-2 and 3-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, are easily one of the best teams in Division VII.
They’ve outscored their last three opponents — Lakota, Woodmore and Calvert — by a combined 99-7, which followed tough losses to Hopewell-Loudon (27-14) and Edison (12-7).
The Chieftains, the top team in the River Division, are 7-0 and ranked third in Division VI. They’re also No. 1 in the Region 22 standings with 13.55 points.
As for the Chargers, they’re ranked fifth in Division V and are atop the Region 18 standings with 15.62 points after beating Perkins, who is ranked second in Division IV, by the score of 15-14.
The loss to Edison saw the Bears lead 7-6 until the Chargers scored late in the first half to take a 12-7 lead, and Gibsonburg had its chances to take back control, but it fell short of doing so.
Losing to H-L was just as tough to digest considering the Bears had a 14-0 lead at the half before the Chieftains rallied to score 27 unanswered points to claim victory.
“I’m really happy with where we are, considering the two games we lost were to really good teams. We think we’re playing good ball right now,” said Gibsonburg coach Joe Wyant. “Mostly, in both losses, the defense played really well. We struggled at times on offense, (but) I think we’re getting a little sharper in what we’re doing offensively and what we can do and what we can’t do.
Gibsonburg is currently third in the Division VII, Region 26 standings with 10.82 points, just behind Edon, which has 10.86 points.
Quarterback Reese Walby has been terrific, completing 8-of-15 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown while rushing 63 times for 527 yards and 10 scores. Camden Mooney has also seen action at quarterback and has completed 6-of-10 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
Two running backs, Grant Smith and Grant Dawson have also played well. Smith has 128 carries for 764 yards and seven touchdowns while Dawson has 20 carries for 267 yards and three scores. Aiden Morant has caught four passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Middle linebacker Antonio Salazar leads the team in tackles by a wide margin with 68. Fellow linebacker Luke Foster has 44 tackles and three sacks, and Walby, a free safety, also has 44 tackles to go with five interceptions. Spencer Waugaman, a defensive end, has 35 tackles and five sacks.
“Antonio Salazar has been really good and learned the position. He’s learned how to play middle linebacker, and the other middle linebacker is Luke Foster, who’s done a really good job,” said Wyant. “All of our defensive backs have at least one interception. Chuy Rodriguez has two interceptions.”
The Bears are two years removed from their best season in program history, one that saw them advance to the Division VII regional semifinals. Last season was a rebuilding year, but Gibsonburg is back and ready to make another run, a testament to the job Wyant has done.
“I think we’ve got a good mixture of players – seniors, juniors and sophomores who start and play. It’s about equal with the three classes. I think we have to be very solid the last three weeks on defense. We played really well on defense, and we have all year, basically. That’s been our forte, I guess,” said Wyant. “We’re about plus-15 in turnovers. I think we’ve got 11 or 12 interceptions. Walby has five of them, and I think we have a good, solid team, but we have to contribute blocking-wise, and we are open to seeing how far we can go in the playoffs.”
Perhaps the most impressive victory was the 26-7 win over Ottawa Hills in week one. Walby rushed 15 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, Smith had 92 rushing yards while Salazar rushed for a 23-yard touchdown and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Mooney.
It is the only loss for Ottawa Hills.
Another win, a 56-34 victory over Seneca East, came in week two and saw Walby rush 13 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns while intercepting two passes on defense.
The Bears finish the season with games against Margaretta and Cory-Rawson, who are a combined 3-11.