Leonardo
By JEREMY SCHNEIDER
- THE LIMA NEWS
KENTON — If championships are won and lost in the late stages of games, it’s little wonder why and how Kenton claimed at least a share of its third straight Western Buckeye League football title.
The Wildcats blew open a close game with 24 unanswered points over the final 14 minutes of Friday’s game with Wapakoneta to nail down a 46-15 win at Robinson Field.
Kenton, which travels to St. Marys next Friday, stands at 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the league. A win over the Roughriders would give Kenton an outright title.
“I’ve been here 28 years and I never dreamed we’d have the chance to win three-straight league championships,” Kenton coach Mike Mauk said. “I have respect for our conference and the member schools. It’s an outstanding football league, and for our guys to work as hard as they have and have an opportunity to do what they’ve done, I’m very proud of our players, I’m very proud of our coaches.”
Mauk felt the game turned when the Wapakoneta players started to wear down late, and he wouldn’t get any arguments from Redskins coach Doug Frye. His team held Kenton scoreless and had the Wildcats a bit frustrated through the majority of the third quarter. Wapakoneta (7-2, 6-2 WBL) had three drives in the third quarter, including one that ended in Kenton territory, but the Redskins did nothing with their chances.
“My hat goes off to Kenton. I thought they played like a champion. We don’t have what it takes what to be a champion at Wapakoneta,” Frye said. “They knew how to win a championship in the second half, and we did not. … We’ve learned how to be winners, but we haven’t learned how to be champions yet.”
The game turned on Kenton’s last play of the third when Maty Mauk took a quarterback keeper 33 yards to the end zone. Mauk had plenty of impressive runs, including a highlight-reel worthy 38-yard rush for a TD late in the first quarter.
Mauk finished with 111 rushing yards. He completed 19-of-36 passes for 320 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Kenton wideout Max Morrison had 10 grabs for 158 yards and all three passing scores. Dustin Howell had five catches for 72 yards.
Of Kenton’s first four scores, three came on fourth down plays — a 23-yard pass from Mauk to Morrison and two big runs from Mauk.
“You’ve got to learn to play the game as if you want to be a Western Buckeye League champion,” Frye said. “They did and we didn’t, if you want to put it in a nutshell.”
Wapakoneta opened the evening on a great note. Greg Stoll took a sweep to the right, got break blocking at the line and blasted off for a 66-yard score on the game’s first play. The Redskins other score came midway though the second quarter when Connor Pickens scored from 1-yard out to cut the lead to 22-15.
After Mauk’s second rushing touchdown late in the third, the Wildcats added a pair of TD passes from Mauk to Morrison, including a 53-yard bomb to seal the deal in the middle of the fourth.
“They did a great job of defending us,” coach Mauk said. “We were able to see some of the things they were doing and found some areas where we got the matches where we wanted. … We were fortunate to make some plays that allowed us to take control of the game late in the third quarter.”
Pickens finished with 68 yards on 20 rushes and Logan Erb had 124 yards on 23 carries for Wapakoneta. The Redskins rushed for 245 yards, but they managed negative-5 yards on two pass completions.