ONTARIO — Quinton Frankhouse said a little prayer Friday night after he made a leaping interception, knocking every ounce of air from his lungs when he landed on top of the ball.
“I was talking to Jesus for a second,” the 6-foot, 175-pound senior defensive back said with a laugh after Ontario’s 31-22 win over Rocky River Lutheran West in a first-round Division III playoff game.
“I thought I might die if I couldn’t breathe. It was bad,” he said after snagging his third interception in two games, this one thwarting a potential Longhorns’ scoring drive near the end zone.
His prayer for one more breath was rewarded with one more TD in the third quarter on a monstrously high, 83-yard bomb from junior QB Bodpegn Miller that gave the Warriors (10-1) a 17-point lead at 24-7 just one minute into the period.
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It was the Warriors’ third-ever playoff victory and also made the senior-laden team only the third in school history to win 10 games. Lutheran West, which had won four straight games, finished the season 7-4.
Ontario seniors leading the way
Frankhouse, one of 21 seniors on the Warriors’ roster, said it was a rewarding feeling, a temporary lack of oxygen notwithstanding.
“It feels great. You know, in middle school everybody was propping us up, and it’s just great to show people that we can actually do it,” Frankhouse said.
“I’m just trying to help my team out however I can … on offense (or) defense, it’s just one play at a time. It’s great coaching. Every one of us is getting better every week,” he said.
Ontario coach Aaron Eckert was grateful for Frankhouse’s efforts on both sides of the ball, as well as the divine intervention. He also praised the willingness of the senior, who had QB aspirations of his own earlier in his career, to do whatever the Warriors need him to do.
“Quin is a fantastic person, first off. Quin is a top-notch student. Just a top-notch person. It’s awesome to see a kid like that has that athletic ability and he gets to show it off out here on Friday night,” Eckert said.
“He’s a team-first guy. He did compete for the quarterback job. He did a lot of great things, and then when he didn’t win (the position), he was like, ‘All right, cool. I’ll go play receiver now bcause I think I’m a good athlete.’
“I said, ‘I think you are too, Quin.’ And it’s paying dividends. He’s been our backup quarterback all year. He gets reps at practices, and if something would ever happen, he’s willing and ready to go in and do a great job.
“You just can’t say enough good things about Quin Frankhouse — his mindset and the way he approaches not only the game of football, but the game of life,” Eckert said.
Soaring TD pass threatened to bring rain
The soaring TD pass from Miller, who finished with two touchdown throws and two scoring runs, was an example of Frankhouse willing to do what’s asked of him. It came on Ontario’s first possession of the third quarter on a 3rd-and-13 from Warriors’ 17-yard line.
“The play was a ‘Quin post.’ Quin ran a post. Sometimes it can be that simple. We got a matchup we liked at that point and we put our fastest kid on a corner and said, ‘Hey, it’s third down. Let’s go try to win one here.’
“(Miller) did a great job looking off (the defensive back) and had gotten the free safety to go to the field side. He just threw a bomb and Quin just happened to run under it and he was gone,” Eckert said.
On a cloudy late-October night, the bomb was high enough to threaten the rain nobody wanted to see. Frankhouse said he knew he just needed to keep running — and watching.
“I thought it was just getting hung up in the wind. I was waiting. My eyes were lit up,” he said with a laugh.
Normally after a win, especially a playoff victory, a head coach tries to get his team focused on what comes next. For Ontario, it’s a second-round game next Friday night at 3rd-seeded Tiffin Columbian (9-2). The Tornadoes pounded Ashland, 49-21, in their playoff opener.
But in his postgame huddle with his team, Eckert encouraged his players to enjoy their victory. He made no mention of the coming opponent.
“You have to live in the moment a little bit,” Eckert said. “You have to enjoy it and you have to embrace all of the hard work these guys have put in and celebrate it.
“Football is no longer showing up in August and playing. It is a commitment and these guys made that commitment. If they didn’t play a winter sport, they were in the weight room. If they didn’t play a spring sport, they were in the weight room.
“We start lifting in the summer, right after school’s out. The culmination is what we’re seeing right now on the field. But the work’s been done over the last year.
“I’m super proud of these guys. The way they played, the way they handled themselves, the way they just kind of fought back. Every time Lutheran West tried to grab that momentum, we would answer back.” Eckert said.
Prep for Tiffin Columbian begins soon enough
The coach admitted he didn’t know a great deal — yet — about Tiffin Columbian. The two shared one common opponent, River Valley. The Tornadoes knocked off the Vikings, 56-45 on Sept. 1. Ontario beat River Valley, 56-21, one week later.
“I have only ever seen them once on film when we were scouting River Valley and they played them in Week 2,” Eckert said.
“I know they are dynamic on offense with a QB going to (the University of) Akron and a tailback going to Tiffin (University) who had eight touchdowns against River Valley. I don’t know a ton about them, but I do know they are a great football team and play great competition in the (Sandusky Bay Conference),” Eckert said.
Scoring plays
1st quarter
Ontario — Bodpegn Miller 15-yard run (PAT Trey Booker kick), 7-0
Lutheran West — Jamyan Theodore 91-yard pass from Jalany Theodore (PAT Ben Bailey kick), 7-7
Second quarter
Ontario — Miller 3-yard run (PAT Booker kick), 14-7
Ontario — Booker 26-yard field goal, 17-7
Third quarter
Ontario — Quinton Frankhouse 83-yard pass from Miller (PAT Booker kick), 24-7
Lutheran West — Da’Quarius Bradley 1-yard run (PAT Bailey kick) 24-14
Ontario — Dylan Floyd 33-yard pass from Miller (PAT Booker kick), 31-14
Fourth quarter
Lutheran West — Jamyan Theodore 90-yard kickoff return (PAT Jalany Theodore run), 31-22
