ONTARIO — No one was more surprised than Ontario junior Trenton Maglott on Friday night when the powerful defensive lineman blocked a Clear Fork punt.
“It was a a shot-in-the-dark play that I took and it worked,” the 6-foot, 235-pound Maglott said of his late third-quarter block that set up his team’s knockout punch in a 24-2 win over Clear Fork.
“Usually, we are supposed to just jack up our guys in front of us, but he wasn’t giving me much pressure the entire game. So I just thought I could try to make a play and get through for the block,” Maglott said.
“Once that happened, the entire team morale was up. We scored, got a pick after that, scored again and the momentum just carried us the rest of the game,” said Maglott, whose punt block was the first of his career.
His timing was right — and necessary.
The blocked kick came with Ontario (10-1) clinging to a 10-2 lead over the Colts (4-7) in the Division IV, Region 14 first-round playoff game.
It set up the Warriors on the Clear Fork 7-yard line and senior QB Bodpegn Miller made it count with a 1-yard plunge three plays later, just six seconds into the fourth quarter.
Ontario coach Aaron Eckert, who has his team into the second round for a second straight year, smiled when asked about his big man’s effort on the play, busting through the interior of the line.
“It was huge. Anytime you get a turnover like that, it flips the momentum of the game. We were up 10-2 at that point and we get the ball inside the 10 and it swiftly changed the momentum.”
Any remaining hopes Clear Fork had ended on the next possession when an interception by junior Landon Foltz gave Ontario the ball at the Colts’ 38-yard line, leading to a 20-yard TD run by senior Mason Vantilburg with 11:11 remaining.
photo gallery, including marching bands from both schools
The final margin of victory was not indicative of the battle the two Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference rivals waged at Niss Stadium for the second time this season.
Clear Fork held OSU-bound Miller to 62 yards on 12 carries and just 69 yards through the air, completing 7-of-11 passes.
The Colts scored their only points on a safety in the second quarter when they pressured the 6-4, 190-pound speedster in the end zone, where he was flagged for intentional grounding.
Vantilburg had 52 yards on 11 carries and two TDs, catching three passes for 60 yards.
“Any time you play a team twice, it’s tough because they scout you the first time and Clear Fork does a really good job of knowing who you are and trying to stop you,” Eckert said.
“They’ve got good coaches over there and they gotten a lot better these last couple of weeks. They won three of the last four. It’s just one of those games where we knew it was gonna be tough all week … that’s a tough football team over there,” he said.
Eckert praised Clear Fork’s defense for its work.
“That team is really good, defensively. They challenge receivers. They do a great job with their reads. Those (line)backers play hard. They’re really well-coached on that side of the ball and they’ve been that way all year,” Eckert said.
“I thought our guys did a great job in the second half with the adjustments we made. Fortunately for us, we were able to execute defensively,” he said.
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Chris) Miller had some choice words for me for not holding my end of the shutout,” Eckert said with a laugh. “It was such a great and gritty defensive performance. We made stops inside the 10 and that is what we have to do to win games in the playoffs.”
Clear Fork sophomore quarterback Marcus Hoeflich connected on 12-of-19 passes for 125 yards. Senior Jay Jackson had seven receptions for 86 yards.
It was a tough way to end the season for Clear Fork, which started 1-5 and then then won three of its last four games to make the postseason. The Colts, who lost to Ontario 31-14 during the season, gave the home team all it wanted in the playoff round.
“Our guys have played with a relentless effort all year long and tonight was no different,” Clear Fork coach Aaron Brokaw said.
“I don’t know how many teams I have been a part of that have fought as hard as they have this year. We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times with turnovers in clutch situations,” he said.
“We had a lot of young, inexperienced guys at the beginning of the year and they settled in by the second half of the year,” Brokaw said.
“Down the stretch, Marcus made better decisions and we were able to get Jay Jackson the ball in different ways. We had constant leadership out of our senior group and they did a great job of keeping guys in line,” he said.
Clear Fork had just six seniors on its roster — Jackson, Mason Sansom, Nick Appleman, Hunter Martin, Keaton Hunter, Blake Schlosser, Xavier Smith and Luke Gearhart.
“It is a group that only a few of them stuck it out,” Brokaw said. “They may not have absolutely loved their role, but all of them handled it very well. Hopefully, their leadership sets the program in a positive trajectory for the next several years.”
Up next:
— The win in the first round of the Division IV, Region 14 playoffs raised Ontario’s record to 10-1 and advances the Warriors into a regional quarterfinal game at home Nov. 8 against Clyde (8-3). The Fliers knocked off Otsego on Friday night.
— Clear Fork, which won three of its last four regular-season games to qualify for the playoffs after a 1-5 start, finishes its season at 4-7.
Ontario 24, Clear Fork 2
Scoring summary
1st quarter
Ontario — Mason Vantilburg 5-yard run (PAT Kooper Kilgore kick), 7-0
2nd quarter
Clear Fork — Safety when Bodpegn Miller tackled in endzone, 7-2
3rd quarter
Ontario — Kilgore 33-yard field goal, 10-2
4th quarter
Ontario — Miller 1-yard run (PAT Kilgore kick) 17-2
Ontario — Vantilburg 20-yard run (Pat Kilgore kick), 24-2
