Comets look to recover after loss to Maumee

Press Sports Writer
sports@presspublications.com

It’s safe to say Genoa is at a crossroads.
The Comets, who are 5-2 and 3-1 in the Northern Buckeye Conference, are coming off a 33-13 loss to Maumee and find themselves in a position to secure a home game (or two) with Rossford and Eastwood still on the schedule. Genoa, which faces the Bulldogs this Friday, is ranked fifth in the Division V, Region 18 standings with 11.23 points, but a loss or two to finish the regular season could send them significantly down in the rankings.
“I definitely like where we are, being 5-2 and being ranked in the top five,” said Genoa coach Bill Fisher. “It says something about the competition we’ve played, and we want to keep getting better.”
The Comets have an impressive résumé that features wins over Otsego (28-21) and Huron (17-7).
In the win over the Knights, Genoa held Otsego after it drove to the Comets 18-yard-line to begin the second half, and Alex Spencer took the first play 82 yards for a touchdown to give Genoa the lead for good at 21-14 with 6:18 to play in the third quarter.
The Comets’ next touchdown came when the defense held and a short punt — because of a heavy wind — went just 12 yards and stopped at the Knights 31. On third-and-13 at the 19, Myles Mollenhauer connected with Jaxon Magnone on a short pass before he broke a tackle and scored a touchdown to give Genoa a 28-14 lead late in the second quarter. Otsego cut the deficit to 28-21 when Kaidyn Hutton hit Mason Kramer for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 3:55 remaining in the game.
The Knights forced a punt and took over at the Comets 42 but turned the ball over on downs with 52 seconds to play, and Genoa ran out the clock.
In the loss to the Panthers, Maumee scored the game’s first 24 points as the Comets missed on some early opportunities.
Mollenhauer was 14-of-25, passing for 213 yards and a touchdown while Spencer had five catches for 90 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.
“Maumee is a solid football program. They have plenty of size and speed to go along with it, and they’re a sleeping giant in the conference,” said Fisher. “They should be a force, year in and year out, moving forward. I tip my hat to them and the way they played. We shot ourselves in the foot on two drives, lost the ball on fumbles, missed a field goal, had first-and-goal from the 2 and couldn’t punch it in.”
Thus far, Spencer has 51 carries for 383 yards and eight total touchdowns while Luke Clement has carried the ball 136 times for 894 yards and 10 total scores. Spencer has also caught 15 passes for 259 yards.
Mollenhauer was 62-of-94 for 976 yards and 10 touchdowns and Magnone has caught 26 passes for 468 yards and six scores.
“Skill-wise, our main three are Luke Clement, Alex Spencer and Jaxon Magnone. We feel confident with them being able to make plays,” said Fisher. “Ryan Routson has stepped up and proven he can be a lead blocker and run nice routes and make plays when the ball is in his hands. Our T-formation offense (has) three high-level ball carriers that can make something happen on any play. Jax is a tight end and a heck of a blocker and a good pass catcher.”
Rossford is 1-6 (0-4 NBC), but a win could put them in playoff contention. They are currently 24th in the Division IV, Region 14 standings with 1.79 points. The 16th-place team is Clear Fork, which has 4.49 points.
The Bulldogs’ only victory was over a 21-14 win over Northwood in the opener. Last week, Rossford lost, 17-7, to Lake.
“I know Coach (Todd) Drusback has been around for a long time, and he’ll attempt to put his guys in position to be successful. I know they’ll be coached up well and be prepared for any game,” said Fisher. “I just want to make sure our guys are well-prepared and present a level of toughness that is unmatched.”