Prep Football Roundup: Week 10

Logan Routson’s 75-yard kickoff return with just under four minutes left in the first half helped propel the Genoa football team to a 42-27 win over Eastwood on Jim Firestone Field at GenoaBank Stadium on Oct. 10.

“It was amazing,” Genoa coach Bill Fisher said. “(I’d like to give a) big shout out to our front five for allowing pushes, and then obviously the guys with the ball in their hands are very special players as well, being able to maximize their opportunities, maybe even get a little extra when the situation called for it. Our game planning is top notch, and the preparation throughout the week is where it should be. We’re in a really good place right now. We’re excited, and we’ve got a lot of momentum behind us.”

With the victory, the Comets (7-1, 5-0 NBC) moved into sole possession of first place in the NBC standings, just ahead of Eastwood (6-2, 4-1) and Maumee (5-3, 4-1), with two games left. Should they defeat Fostoria and Lake in those matchups, they would secure the program’s first league title since 2018. The win also bumped them up to second in the region in playoff computer rankings, just behind Liberty Center.

Routson’s return didn’t just give Genoa a 21-14 lead, but it provided a big momentum boost in a game that had seen both offenses exchange touchdowns on the first four drives. It was also a chance for Eastwood’s defense to potentially swing the game with a stop, as they were slated to have the ball first in the second half.

It wasn’t just Routson’s return that was key, though.

On Eastwood’s ensuing possession after the return, quarterback Drew Luidhardt lost control of the ball while dropping back to attempt a pass, and Genoa’s Carter Miller recovered it in the redzone.

With less than 30 seconds left in the half, Jaxon Magnone plunged four yards into the endzone for a 28-14 halftime lead.

“We shot ourselves in the foot, and we weren’t able to recover,” Eastwood coach Sam Cotterman said. “You take away those 14 points, and it’s a ball game, and we get the ball coming out the second half. They didn’t stop us. We stopped ourselves every time, and that’s not something that we’ve done often.

“Unfortunately, in a game like this, in this atmosphere, you can’t do it. And kudos to Genoa, they came out to play, and they beat us up up front. The guys were always leaning forward, and they ran over us. We’re going to have a reality check next week, and we’ll see what the kids are made out of.”

The Comets had produced rushing touchdowns from Myles Mollenhauer and Alex Materni over their first two drives, while Eastwood’s Cam Schumaker had a rushing and receiving touchdown to do the same for his team.

Genoa’s offense was highly efficient, scoring on every drive except the final one, where they ran out the clock in victory formation. They finished with 204 yards rushing, including 107 yards on 22 carries from Materni. Mollenhauer and Routson each added touchdown runs in the second half.

“They weren’t doing anything we hadn’t seen,” Cotterman said. “They just were hitting the creases, and we weren’t getting them going backwards. We were doing a lot of arm tackling, and that’s not going to work against their big backs. And we said it. We just didn’t accomplish it. So that’s on us as coaches. Obviously, we didn’t get that across to the kids, and that’s on us.”

After the tough finish to the first half, Eastwood saw Drew Luidhardt find Brayden Luidhardt for a 14-yard touchdown pass to open the second half, pulling the Eagles within one score. Routson, however, answered with a rushing touchdown, the defense forced a turnover on downs, and Mollenhauer ran one in from one-yard out for a 42-21 lead.

“We talk about it all the time, our 1/11th,” Genoa’s Ryan Routson said. “You do your job throughout the game, and we’re going to take care of business. The line, quarterback, receivers, running backs, everyone did their job perfectly.”

Eastwood actually outgained Genoa 327-311 in total yards, highlighted by a 185-107 advantage in passing yards. The Eagles got 13 carries for 107 yards from Brayden Brown, while Drew Luidhardt made several key scrambles for 39 yards.

Genoa’s defense put an emphasis on containing Brayden Luidhardt after two big games receiving, often putting two guys on him out wide. He finished with just two receptions for 24 yards, and one was the early third quarter touchdown.

Schumaker led the Eagles in receiving with nine receptions for 75 yards, while Opfer finished with six receptions and 54 yards. That duo had 24 of Eastwood’s 34 targets in the passing game as the Comets took Luidhardt away.

“From the start of the season, the whole program, we’ve been bought in, fully bought in,” Ryan Routson said. “And not just the team; the community’s been completely bought in. We’ve had huge crowds at every game. When we look up in the stands and we see that support, that’s what motivates us. And it was a fantastic atmosphere. Eastwood’s a great team. They brought a lot of people.”

Defensively, Landen Simon led Eastwood with nine tackles, while Brady Ramlow and Opfer had five apiece. Conversely, Genoa produced nine tackles from Gavin Grigson and eight more from Ryan Routson. Tyler Abbey (7), Logan Routson (6), Materni (5), and Evan Millner (5) also had at least five each.

WOODMORE 61, NORTHWOOD 34

Woodmore (6-2, 3-2 SBC) exploded for five touchdowns in the second half, which included 34 points in the second quarter, to produce a big win over Northwood on the road in an historic performance from Landon Rich.

The senior running back had a school-record 465 yards on 35 carries while tallying a school-record seven touchdowns. Those seven runs totaled 249 yards alone, as he scored on runs of 70, 63, 49, 29, 25, 11, and 2. He had 291 yards in the second half alone.

Woodmore pushed a one score lead into a 27-7 advantage with two touchdowns over the first three minutes of the second half. They added three more scores late in the quarter and outgained Northwood 610-388 in total yardage.

With his performance, Rich established new single-season school records (and counting): points in a season (162), touchdowns in a season (27), touchdowns in a career (50), and rushing yards in a career (4,380).

The two teams combined for nine touchdowns of 25 yards or more.

Northwood (3-5, 1-4) got 112 yards and one touchdown passing from Tyler Osley. Skyler Rita added 14 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown, while Osley, Jason St. Claire, and Aaron Torres also had one rushing score each. Rita added an 80-yard touchdown reception, as well.

GIBSONBURG 34, LAKOTA 13

Gibsonburg (6-2, 4-1 SBC) got big performances from Grant Smith and Reece Walby to pull away in the second half for a win over Lakota.

Walby found Luke Foster for a touchdown just over midway through the second quarter, which gave Gibsonburg a 12-6 lead at the break.

However, Walby added a two-yard score in the third, and Smith scored on a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth for the three-score win.

Smith finished with 184 yards on 26 carries, while Walby needed just four completions to produce 110 yards and a touchdown. Smith caught one of those for a 60-yard gain, and Chuy Rodriguez had two catches for 36 yards.

The Golden Bears trounced Lakota in total yardage – 426 to 149.

Smith (6), Luke Foster, Walby, and Tristan Pacak each had at least five tackles for Gibsonburg. Smith and Walby each had 1.5 tackles for loss.

PERRYSBURG 48, CLAY 7

Clay’s Landon Echelberry found Max Morrison for a touchdown pass late in the second quarter, but Perrysburg defense stifled them otherwise in an NLL contest.

Echelberry finished 15-of-22 for 124 yards through the air, while carrying 17 times for 63 yards. Bryce Besgrove added 29 yards on the ground for Clay (4-4, 1-2 NLL), and Collin Greenawalt added 15 more. Morrison led the team in receiving with 62 yards over four receptions, while Jimmy Derr added 35 yards.

OAK HARBOR 42, LAKE 8

Blake Nickel produced 109 yards on 16 carries along with three touchdowns to lead Oak Harbor to a win over Lake.

The Rockets (6-2, 3-2 NBC) out-rushed Lake 323-205 as four players had at least 50 yards rushing, including Nickel, Micah Miller (63), Preston Bickelhaupt (55), and Brennan Butzin (53). Breydan Porath went 4-of-7 passing for 50 yards and a touchdown, which went to Wyatt Augsburger, who caught four passes for 50 yards.

The Flyers (2-6, 2-3 NBC) were led offensively by Julian Rodriguez, who had 134 yards on nine carries. Xavier Scott added 52 yards on eight carries. KJ Magers finished 11-of-24 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown strike to Scott, who totaled four receptions for 59 yards.

        The Rockets blanked the Flyers 20-0 in the first half. Lake’s lone score came a little over midway through the third quarter.

WAITE 26, SCOTT 14

Waite (4-4, 4-1 City League) pushed its winning streak to three straight and four of the past five. Dayveon Holman opened the scoring with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Prior to that, and in the closing seconds of the first half, the Indians produced key fourth-down stops at the goal line.

 ST. MARY CENTRAL CATHOLIC 32, STRITCH 8

Stritch fell to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in Northern 8 play. Stats weren’t reported.