Local Sports

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Prep Football: Panthers' defense shuts down Devils

Interstate Court Plaza - Findlay - I-75 Exit #159

By JAMIE BAKER

Staff Writer

McCOMB -- If McComb coach Kris Alge hands out game balls after Friday night's 28-7 Blanchard Valley Conference win over Arlington he'd better order about 11 to cover his entire defense.

The Panthers built a 14-7 first-half lead and shut down a talented Arlington offense in the second half to stay in the playoff hunt on a chilly night at Doc Miller Field.

"I'm proud of our defense and our defensive coaches. They made some adjustments at halftime and the kids stepped it up," Alge said. "We bent a little bit but we didn't break. I'll tell you what, Arlington is a very good football team. That (Cam) Brown kid is a load."

Brown, the BVC's leading rusher, got his yards. He carried 24 times for 136 yards to increase his unofficial season total to 916 yards. But the Red Devils were just not able to string enough offense together to make a game of it.

The Red Devils (5-3, 4-3 BVC) only picked up 67 yards on the ground and 14 through air in the entire second half.

"We hung with them in the first half. Their defense played well," said Arlington coach Dick Leonard. "We couldn't get people open in the secondary and they controlled the line of scrimmage, especially in the second half. When teams dominate the line of scrimmage, they normally win."

The Red Devils were also victimized by a handful of big plays, two of which came courtesy of McComb senior Jesse Cramer in the first half.

The first was with 8:52 remaining in the first quarter when he got behind the Arlington secondary and hauled in a 62-yard scoring strike from Mason Roth.

Arlington sophomore Matt Cheney returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to McComb's 29 yard line. Six straight running plays produced Arlington's only score when Brown went three yards for the score.

Cramer, who caught a pair of passes for 93 yards, gathered in the kickoff after the Red Devil touchdown, found a seam and rolled down the sidelines for a 90-yard TD return. It marked the second straight week Cramer returned a kick for a score.

Cramer's touchdown gave the Panthers the lead for good at 14-7.

"Jesse's leading the league in receiving and we want to try and get the ball in his hands. We've been expecting him to step up," said Alge, whose team improved to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the BVC.

"He's like a lot of our seniors who know their season is close to being over. And if they want to move, now they have to perform."

McComb's other big play came in the second half. Taylor Hanes, who also had a pair of interceptions on defense, turned a screen pass from quarterback Andrew Dee into a 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Hanes' second pick set up Corey Fry's 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Both teams' playoff hopes are still alive entering Week 9.

Heading into the game, McComb was No.12 in Division VI, Region 22 rankings and could leapfrog a few teams after Friday's win.

The Panthers still have Arcadia (2-6) and Pandora-Gilboa (5-3) remaining on their schedule.

Arlington, meanwhile, was ranked seventh in Region 22 and has games against Hardin Northern (2-6) and Vanlue (1-7) remaining.

"They were just better than us tonight. We have to get better and continue to improve," Leonard said. "We have to do a better job of coaching and we have to do a better job of playing. It's about giving full effort on every single play."

Arlington 7 0 0 0 -- 7

McComb 14 0 7 7 -- 28

First Quarter

McC -- Cramer 62 pass from Roth (Cramer kick)

ARL -- Brown 3 run (Fennell kick)

McC -- Cramer 90 kickoff return

Third Quarter

McC -- Hanes 40 pass from Dee (Cramer kick)

Fourth Quarter

McC -- Fry 10 run (Cramer kick)

Arl McC

First Downs 12 11

Rushes-yards 39-175 26-98

Passing Yards 63 149

Comp-Att-Int 5-16-2 9-14-1

Punts-Avg. 5-33.2 5-30.4

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 12-82 4-55

individual statistics

RUSHIng -- Arlington, Brown 24-136, Glick 8-38, J. Leonard 3-8, Z. Leonard 3-(minus-12). McComb, Frey 10-55, DeLaCerda 5-11, Lilly 5-20, Roth 2-6, Dee 3-6, Hanes 1-0.

PASSing -- Arlington, Z. Leonard 5-16-2, 63 yards. McComb, Dee 8-12-0, 87; Roth 1-2-1, 62.

receiving -- Arlington, Inniger, 1-33, Morehart 1-7, Recker 2-18, J. Leonard 1-6. McComb, Cramer 2-93, Morse 3-17, Roth 2-(minus-6), Hanes 2-45.

Baker: 419-427-8409,

Send an e-mail to Jamie Baker

Subscribe to The Courier.

Comment on This Story

NOTE: Comment moderation has been enabled. If you see a comment that violates our Electronic User Agreement, please e-mail webmaster@thecourier.com . Thank you. If you are having problems viewing this Web page, please contact our Internet Department to help us diagnose and correct the problem. We may contact you for more information. Thanks in advance.

Name:

E-mail:

Your e-mail address will not be displayed on this website or shared with anyone. It is used by our online editor for contacting purposes.

Confirm E-mail:

Subject:

Comments:

Verification:

Confirmation Code:

Comments are moderated by The Courier according to its Electronic User Agreement within one business day. Comments that slander others or include language that violates the agreement will be rejected. All comments that impart opinion and information are welcome.

SPORTS VIDEO

Talkin' football

Fostoria Review Times sports editor Scott Cottos joined Courier sports reporters Jamie Baker and Dave Hanneman to talk about four key games coming up in Week 2.

FULL-SIZED VIDEO

SPECIAL SECTIONS

AREA SPORTS

Local Sports
Duffel Bag

The Courier's Sports Duffel Bag carries local sports announcements like camps, clinics and coaching vacancies.

Dig through Duffel Bag

LATEST COMMENTS Last 10 comments submitted by our readers...

just sayin wrote in article "31 charged in Hardin drug probe":

drugs

sick of the whiners...kenton has more drugs than findlay ?how would you know that unless your involved in the drug scene?I love...

9/2/2010 12:08:35 PM

tired of this wrote in article "Shooting video":

benton ridge shooting

Well leave it to the courier to keep sterring the pot. The video that the courier itself posted clearly shows the suspect jump o...

9/2/2010 12:03:53 PM

just sayin wrote in article "Heroin outbreak":

the courier

what good does it do to blog on the couriers web site when the courier only post the blogs they want you to read how about posti...

9/2/2010 12:02:38 PM

retired OH cop in MT wrote in article "Shooting video released":

shooting

Nate.....after reading your comments, you wouldn't live long on the street as a police officer. I was involved in two shootings...

9/2/2010 11:30:30 AM

SICK OF THE WHINERS wrote in article "31 charged in Hardin drug probe":

DRUG BUST

Kenton has alot more drugs than Findlay!!! To those of you who don't like Hancock county, LEAVE! Everytime law enforcement in...

9/2/2010 11:19:09 AM

The Layman wrote in article "Parole denied in murder case":

Out of control

I'm sorry but there are way too many personal attacks allowed on this forum. You invalidate your point when you stray from the f...

9/2/2010 11:08:44 AM

j wrote in article "Many winners named as Hancock Fair opens":

Good but little expensive

The fair was interesting, but at $5 for the more popular rides on the expensive side, same with the food, many people commented...

9/2/2010 10:37:10 AM

JM wrote in article "McComb couple is serious about fair competition":

Very nice!

What a lovely article. Will have to check out their goods at the fair.

9/2/2010 10:21:42 AM

Ed wrote in article "Shooting video released":

Dirt bag...

A head shot would have put an end to the both dirt bag's chance of getting more money. NATE: could it be that you have some fir...

9/2/2010 9:53:26 AM

Yfkm wrote in article "Heroin outbreak":

Denial

To Tony and TL Every good citizen, parent and public official advocates the eradication of drugs from our communities; you are n...

9/2/2010 9:08:20 AM

LOCAL HEADLINES

NATIONAL SPORTS

The Courier Electronic Edition

Local Sports

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Talkin' football

Local SportsDuffel Bag

Local Sports
Duffel Bag