Size and speed of Arrows too much for Knights
The Knights were outsized and outgunned by the visiting Ashland Arrows on Friday, Sept. 25, yet were going toe-to-toe with Ashland right up until the end of the first half, when the Arrows got their offense on track and rolled to a 28-0 triumph over West Holmes.The defense of the Knights forced four Ashland punts and came up with an interception on the first five possessions of the Arrows.
West Holmes opened the game with a 10-play drive that stalled at the Ashland 16. Zach Mathie hit Joey Gonzalez on a 15-yard pass play and Justin Haas broke off a 22-yard run up the gut of the Ashland defense before the Arrows stiffened and forced a field goal attempt that missed.
The Knights drove to the Ashland 20 on another series, but came up empty when Mathie’s pass to tight end Taylor Owen gained nine yards on fourth down when West Holmes needed 10.
“They had a good game plan, bringing some blitzes we hadn’t seen,” said Ashland coach Scott Valentine. “We just had to make a few adjustments and the guys were able to do that.”
Mathie intercepted a Marcus Fuller pass at the 18 of the Knights, but the Knights coughed it right back up on a fumble at their own 19.
From there it took Ashland four plays to find pay dirt, as Matt Dilgard darted into the end zone from two yards out for a 6-0 lead. Greg Galloway tacked on the point after and the Arrows led 7-0 with 4:21 remaining in the first half.
Another West Holmes turnover at midfield led to two-play scoring drive by Ashland, including a 49-yard pass to Matt Smith to the West Holmes one. From there, Fuller scored to give the Arrows a 14-0 lead at intermission.
The Knights dodged a bullet late in the first half when Brock Wagers intercepted a Fuller pass in the end zone.
West Holmes had five fruitless drives against the Ashland defense in the second half.
“We knew they had the No. 1 rusher in the league and even though he was banged up a bit, we knew he would run hard... and he did.” Valentine said of Brandon Mackey, who churned out 63 yards on 17 carries.
“Our guys played great team defense, and that’s what kept us in the ball game early, until we were able to make some adjustments offensively and out some points on the board,” Valentine added.
The Arrows meanwhile began to run the ball at a tiring West Holmes defense. Dilgard had a 68-yard scoring scamper nullified by an illegal block, but another speedster, Chris Thomas, bolted 56 yards on the next play for a 21-0 lead.
“We made some quicker routes because of what they were doing and that allowed us to make some big plays,” Valentine said. “That’s what’s nice about those guys (Dilgard and Thomas). We can get the ball in their hands either passing or running and they can make some big plays for us. They showed us that three-man front, so we thought we could take advantage of that, and the guys executed.”
Thomas made it 28-0 with a nice catch and run for a score where he broke a couple tackles and went 12 yards into the end zone.
“Our tackling stunk,” West Holmes coach Tom Eastep said. “Ashland’s speed and size had something to do with that.
“But our kids don’t quit. They got great character,” he added. “I told them not to get down on themselves and stay positive. We’re going to come back and work hard to improve. The good thing is, we don’t see anybody with that kind of size across the front. We were giving up 50 to 60 pounds per man. I’m not real upset with the results. In the first half, we were toe-to-toe with them. We talked all week about bending, but not breaking. And for the most part, we did that. In the second half, that size just wore us down.”
The coach of the Knights realizes it doesn’t get any easier for the Knights as they entertain league-leading Orrville this week.
“Our guys have got to keep working hard,” Eastep said. “Our technique has got to get better. They have to stay up on their feet and drive through tackles. The first thing they want to do is hit, fall to their knees and hang on. In high school football, especially against good football teams like we see every week in the OCC, that just doesn’t work. Our kids are willing to work. Now we’ve just got to get better.”
Haas finished the night with 47 yards rushing on eight carries to go with Mackey’s 63 yards. Mathie completed 9-of-19 passes for 81 yards.