ONTARIO — The only thing gutsier than Ontario coach Scott Kreger’s play calling was the Warriors’ goal line stand in the final moments on Homecoming night at Copeland Field.
Ontario took its first and only lead of the evening on quarterback Alex Vredenburgh’s two-point conversion run and the Warriors’ dodged a fourth-down bullet with less than a minute to play in a thrilling 21-20 Northern Ohio League win over cross-county rival Shelby.
Ontario improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in NOL action. The hard-luck Whippets dipped to 2-5, 1-3.
“That was a great football game,” Kreger said. “Our kids came up with plays when we needed to make plays.”
Shelby opened a 20-6 lead on quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s 28 yard keeper with 8:55 to play in the fourth quarter before the Warriors came to life. Rugged senior running back Aaron Baker jump-started the rally with a 10 yard scoring run to make it 20-13 with 6:27 remaining.
The Whippets went three-and-out on their next possession and Ontario regained control of the ball at the Shelby 47 with five minutes to play. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Baker took care of the rest, carrying the ball five straight plays. His 4 yard plunge with 3:15 remaining cut Shelby’s lead to 20-19.
“I don’t try to make too many cuts when I get the ball. I just put my head down and try to run people over,” Baker said. “We just wanted to run right at them and see what we could do and the guys up front did a great job of pushing off the ball.”
After Baker’s second TD run, Kreger called timeout and opted to go for two. Vredenburgh faked the handoff to Baker and ran untouched into the end zone around the right end.
“They made the plays they needed to make to win the football game,” Shelby coach Erik Will said. “It was a great call.”
The Whippets wouldn’t go quietly, however, driving inside the Ontario 10 yard line with less than a minute to play. Running back Dylan Shaffer was stuffed on third and one from the Ontario six yard line bringing up a fourth down and inches. Shelby’s starting center was injured on the play and on fourth down, the shotgun snap from the reserve center squirted through Armstrong’s fingers. Ontario pounced on the ball to preserve the win.
“We’ve been hit-and-miss (on field goal attempts) all year and with fourth and inches, we felt like we could get that,” Shelby coach Erik Will said. “The snap was there, but you’re getting a snap from one person all night and we had to change it up. Maybe that’s my fault. I should have had them over here taking snaps.”
Break-away Speed?: Baker isn’t known for his ability to out-run defenders, but on Ontario’s first play of the second half he turned the corner for a 46 yard gain.
“I got a little bit in the tank. I can kick it up when I need to,” Baker joked. “Most of the time I don’t bother with that stuff. I just try to run them over and get the yards.”
Homecoming Hex: Ontario’s 10-man senior was 0-3 in Homecoming games before Friday night.
“It was a great feeling, lining up in victory formation after we recovered that fumble,” Baker said. “We had never won a Homecoming game. We really wanted this one.”
Snake-bitten: Three of Shelby’s five losses have been by a touchdown or less. The Whippets lost 20-19 at Clear Fork in Week 3 when the Colts scored a touchdown in the final minute and fell to Sandusky 27-21 a week later.
“It feels like we keep getting the short end of the stick in these games, but we’ve got to stay the course,” Will said. “We’re over the moral victories. There’s disappointment in that locker room because we’re getting better and we’re not seeing the results on the field. We’e got to finish a game.
“Our kids play hard. They work hard and they’re extremely coachable. I couldn’t love a group of kids more than I love this group. That’s why I feel so bad for them.”
“It was a great feeling, lining up in victory formation after we recovered that fumble,” Baker said. “We had never won a Homecoming game. We really wanted this one.”
