HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Galion’s special teams rode to the rescue Thursday night.
Linkon Tyrrell scored a touchdown on a blocked punt and Elijah Chafin returned a kickoff 70 yards for another score as the Tigers held off upstart Wynford 28-20 on opening night on the outskirts of Bucyrus.
Galion also benefitted from a 61-yard punt from All-Ohio punter Landon Campbell in the fourth quarter. The boot came with the Tigers clinging to a 21-20 lead and pinned the Royals at their own 3 yard line.
“What a great night of special teams,” Galion coach Matt Dick said. “We put a lot of time in that in practice and it showed. It made the difference in the game tonight.”
Galion’s first score came after Wynford was flagged for a substitution infraction on fourth down near midfield late in the first quarter. The five-yard penalty gave the Tigers a fresh set of downs and on first down, Gabe Ivy blasted through the heart of the Wynford defense and raced 43 yards down to the Royals’ three yard line.
Three straight runs netted just two yards, however, and Galion was faced with a fourth-and-goal inside the Wynford one. After a timeout, Ivy blasted into the middle of the line for the score and the Tigers led 7-0 after the first of four Allen Carver PATs.
Wynford’s ensuing drive stalled and the Royals were forced to punt. On the first play of the second quarter, Tyrrell blocked Wynford punter Kaiden Blair’s rugby-style kick and recovered the ball in the end zone for a 14-0 advantage.
“We’ve got to get better on special teams for sure,” Wynford coach Cyle Skidmore said. “We’ve just got to be more disciplined. … That’s on the coaches. We’ve got to coach our kids up and make sure they’re ready.”
The Royals cut Galion’s lead to 14-7 when quarterback Ashton Warren hooked up with speedy wideout James Rindfuss on a 69-yard scoring strike on third-and-13 with 2:50 remaining in the second quarter, sparking a frenetic close to the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Chafin fielded the ball at his own 30-yard line and started to his right before reversing field. Chafin hurdled Wynford kicker Collin Hulsmeyer at the 25 and coasted into the end zone for a 21-7 Galion lead with 2:32 remaining.
The Royals struck back two minutes later when Rindfuss again got behind the Galion secondary and hauled in a 46-yard pass from Warren to make it 21-14.
“We have the ability to throw the ball,” Skidmore said. “Ashton Warren has a good arm and makes good decisions.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Warren came up with a pair of huge plays to start the fourth. First, the 6-foot-3 senior intercepted a pass at his own 15-yard line to short-circuit a Galion drive. Two plays later, Warren nearly slipped and fell in the backfield on a designed QB keeper before regaining his balance and running virtually untouched for an 81-yard touchdown.
The PAT was no good, however, and the Royals trailed 21-20 with 10:54 to play in the fourth.
It would stay that way until less than a minute remained in the game. On fourth-and-six, Galion quarterback Braxton Prosser found tight end Campbell all alone behind the Wynford secondary for a 24-yard TD and a 28-20 lead.
Wynford moved the ball into Galion territory, but Warren’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete as time expired.
Wynford piled up 345 yards of total offense to 201 for the Tigers. Warren carried the ball eight times for 90 yards and a touchdown and completed 4-of-13 passes for 138 yards and two TDs, both to Rindfuss. Blair carried the ball 19 times for 62 yards, while Anthony Evans added 48 yards on 12 carries.
Ivy led the Tigers with 111 yards on 23 carries. Prosser rushed for 38 yards and 15 carries and completed 4-of-13 passes for 43 yards and a TD.
“Hat’s off to Wynford,” Dick said. “They are a physical football team and I think that is going to carry them through their season, especially in their conference.
“They took a lot of our run game away.”
The tradition-rich Royals were just 2-8 last year.
“I’m really pleased with our kids’ effort. They played hard,” Skidmore said. “Galion is a good team. We’ve got to get better.”