LEXINGTON – Fans may have wondered how Ontario would replace graduated quarterback Tyler Boatwright, who passed for 1,848 yards and 11 TDs a year ago.
But Ontario coach Scott Kreger knew the Warriors had an answer in junior Alex Vredenburgh.
The 5-11, 165-pound junior completed nine of 13 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns and also led Ontario with 68 yards on 11 carries as the Warriors began the 2014 season with a 33-21 win at Lexington in a non-league game.
“Alex is a football player,” Kreger said. “He is a very coachable and intelligent kid. He is a coach’s son and he runs our offense to a T.”
Vredenburgh guided Ontario’s ball control offense on TD drives of 12 plays/59 yards, nine plays/80 yards and 14 plays/81 yards, eating up huge chunks of the clock. A fourth drive of 12 plays/64 yards was stopped on downs inside the Lexington 20.
Those drives, combined with a couple of big plays by the defense and special teams, were more than enough to win. Senior defensive back Mitchell Zahn had a 53-yard interception return for a TD in the first quarter and sophomore Will Taylor blocked a punt that set the Warriors up for a 2-play scoring drive from the Lexington 5-yard line in the fourth.
“At the beginning of the game, Lexington was giving us a lot of trouble with slants and angles defensively,” Kreger said. “We knew they would get after us. After we made some adjustments, we pretty much dominated the line of scrimmage after that and were able to use our power run game.”
With a sizeable offensive line, that run game gave Kreger confidence to gamble on a 4th-and-1 on the Ontario 29-yard line late in the first half, clinging to a 14-7 lead. Senior running back Matt Eichelberger (20 carries, 45 yards) gained six yards on the play, setting up a 30-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Griffin Niss five plays later with just 24 seconds left in the half.
“We had established the run game at that point and I was confident we could get the one yard. You talk to your kids in the huddle and you look in their eyes and you know they will get it done,” he said.
Lexington, with a 53-man roster that includes 41 sophomores and freshmen, didn’t go away quietly. Down 20-7 at the half, the Minutemen opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 74-yard drive capped by junior quarterback Joey Vore’s 11-yard TD pass to sophomore A.J. Nickoli. It cut Ontario’s lead to to 20-14 less than four minutes into the second half.
Also new to the starting QB role this season, Vore connected on 18 of 25 passes for 215 yards and three TDs, hurt only by the costly interception. New head coach Taylor Gerhardt had hoped to establish a strong running game, but the Minutemen rushed for just 50 yards on 20 carries.
A big part of the reason was the fact his top returning running back, sophomore T.J. Gerhardt, underwent knee surgery Friday and watched his dad’s coaching debut on crutches from the sideline. He will miss four to five weeks of the season after tearing his meniscus in last week’s preview game against Kenton.
“You lose your leading rusher and tackler from a year ago, you know it’s not going to be easy,” Gerhardt said. “But that’s the game of football. The next man steps up. Colin Christman and Jakob Goettel (both sophmores) gave us everything they had and I am proud of them.
“Our kids fought to the last second (scoring with 35 seconds left and then recovering an onside kick),” Gerhardt said. “Anything else would be unacceptable.”
Ontario had a slight edge in total yardage – 277 to 265. The Warriors rushed 41 times for 158 yards and passed for 119, gaining 17 first downs. Lexington had 11 first downs with 50 yards on 20 carries and 215 yards passing.
Two of Vredenburgh’s TD passes went to Niss, who finished with 45 yards on three catches. The third went to senior Troy Collins, who had three receptions for 50 yards.
Vore’s scoring strikes went to Nickoli, senior Charlie Keller and sophomore Tony Gerrell, who finished with 108 yards on six catches. Nickoli had 46 yards on six receptions.
Ontario has its home opener next Friday with another non-league game against Clear Fork. Lexington remains at home next Friday with a non-league game against Shelby.
