Leonardo
By Dave Hanneman
- THE COURIER
LIMA -- Alex Henry says he's not good with interviews. That's OK. His play on the field Friday night said plenty. Henry rushed for 118 tough yards and scored Findlay's last two touchdowns, including a game-clincher with 4:25 left on the clock, as Findlay rallied from a 14-10 deficit to knock off Lima Senior 24-14 in the final Greater Buckeye Conference battle between the I-75 rivals.
"The linemen blocked very well," Henry said. "I just hit the hole and ran hard. That's all I did."
Well, not exactly all. Henry also kicked a 27-yard field goal, recovered a fumble and played every down on defense as Findlay (3-5 overall) climbed to 2-1 in GBC play. It's unknown whether they tossed him the keys for the ride back to Findlay as well.
Lima Senior, coming off an emotional double overtime win over an unbeaten Napoleon team, played inspired football. The Spartans took a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter with the help of a costly Findlay penalty.
On three consecutive plays, after partially blocking a punt, the Spartans got 10- and 11-yard runs from Kiethie Lasenby and a 16-yard pass from Adrian Hutchins to David Desenberg.
Findlay appeared to have the drive stopped when Lasenby fumbled a pitch and lost four yards on a third-and-8 play. Lasenby fell on the ball, stopping the play, then made a move like he was going to get back up and run. That's when defensive lineman Dillon Boes came in and tackled him, drawing a personal foul.
On the next snap, Devon Allen threw a halfback option pass to Desenberg for a 29-yard TD and a Lima Senior lead with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
Findlay responded, however, marching 61 yards for the go-ahead score. The big play was a third-down, 39-yard pass from Matt Spragg to Cody Ramsey on third-and-long from the Lima Senior 42. Henry carried the last five plays of the drive, following nice blocks from Justin McCarroll and Jordan Casati for the score.
"That was big third-down pass and a great drive," said FHS coach Mark Ritzler. "A lot of credit has go to coach (Andy Mangas). We were going to roll out left (on the touchdown) but he saw something from the Lima Senior defense and we changed it. It was a great call by him."
After stopping Lima Senior, Findlay then clinched it with a time-consuming 74-yard drive. A key play was a second-and-seven call from the Lima Senior 43. Ben Kupferberg burst through the line but fumbled the ball. Tight end Brock Romantic scooped it up, however, and raced for another 11 yards. Henry scored his second TD six plays later.
"The ball bounced our way. We got a couple of breaks," Ritzler said. "We told the players Lima was coming off a huge win and would be playing with a lot of confidence. Coach (Darnell)Collins is doing a great job over here. He has them thinking they're 7-0 instead of 2-6 (1-2 GBC). This was a battle and we really had to fight for this one."
"We had chances. We had opportunities," Collins said. "There were some fortuitous bounces. And we should have had that interception in the end zone (on Findlay's first TD). That ball was tipped. It seemed every time we got a break, something went against us."
Findlay's first possession of the game seemed stopped by Da'Shon Bates' interception in the end zone. But pass interference was called, Findlay got a first down instead, and Spragg found Romantic open in the end zone for the score.
Findlay's second possession ended with Henry kicking a 27-yard field goal. But Findlay penalties fueled two Lima Senior drives.
Boes dropped Lasenby for a 3-yard loss to snuff one Lima Senior march. But a roughing the kicker penalty with the Spartans facing fourth-and-27 kept the scoring drive alive. Ryan Knuckles capped it with a five-yard dash around left end.
Lasenby, one of the top backs in the GBC, rushed for 133 yards on 25 carries. Lima Senior had a 208-165 advantage on the ground, but Spragg, who missed on eight straight passes at one point, found his rhythm on Findlay's two scoring drives and ended up 9 of 16 passing for 137 yards.
Findlay completes a three-game GBC road swing at Marion Harding next Friday, then hosts Napoleon in its season finale. Napoleon nearly did Findlay a huge favor Friday night, taking Fremont Ross (7-1, 3-0 GBC) into overtime before falling 21-14 to the Little Giants.