BELLVILLE – After trailing 14-12 at the half, Ashland shut out Clear Fork in the second half to lead the Arrows to a 23-14 Ohio Cardinal Conference win that keeps them in the hunt for a conference title.
“I’m not sure that we came over with the focus in the first half that we needed,” Ashland coach Scott Valentine said. “We got in at halftime and I think our kids understood that this is a big game for us and we better come out and play better in the second half.”
The Arrows (5-3, 4-1) opened the scoring quickly when Keagan Armitage threw a short pass to senior receiver John Wolfe who took off down the sideline, scoring a 78-yard touchdown on Ashland’s second play from scrimmage. The PAT was no good, leaving Ashland with a 6-0 lead.
Clear Fork (3-5, 1-4) answered with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jared Schaefer to junior Matt Thran. The extra point put the Colts up 7-6.
Thran scored again on the Colts’ next drive, evading two Arrow defenders with a spin move at the 10 yard line before finding the end zone on a 51-yard play. Another extra point by Chase Endicott put the Colts up 14-6 with 11:16 left in the second quarter.
Ashland wasted no time matching the Colts. Armitage plunged in from one yard out to cap a 3-minute, 75-yard drive. The Arrows went for a 2-point conversion but Armitage’s pass sailed over the fingertips of Manny Langston, leaving the Colts ahead 14-12.
Hoping to extend their lead, the Colts worked their way into the red zone on their next drive before the Arrow defense clamped down. On fourth and six from the Arrows 6 yard line, Wolfe made an open field tackle on Thran, preventing a Colts score.
The Arrow defense stopped the Colts again on fourth down inside the 5 yard line on the first drive of the second half.
After taking over on the 3 yard line, the Arrows marched 97 yards. To finish the drive, Armitage completed seven consecutive passes, the final one finding Kamrin Knowlton-Goings in the corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Armitage ran in the two-point conversion, giving the Arrows a 20-14 lead with 2:21 left in the third.
“The stop before half was big, because they were going to get the ball in the second half. And then us getting another stop down here, we turned it and drove down and got the score. Those were big stops for us,” Valentine said.
Ashland added a 25-yard field goal by Bryce Stormer in the fourth quarter, making the final score 23-14.
Owen Reef rushed 21 times for 128 yards and caught five passes for 56 yards. Mitch Eckrich rushed two times for 13 yards and caught 8 passes for 53 yards. Wolfe hauled in five catches for 94 yards. Armitage completed 20 of 23 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
“They were giving us the running box. Our offensive linemen told us at the half we can run the ball so that’s what we had to do,” Valentine said. “Owen came out and did a great job. Mitch did. Keagan when he had to run, he did a good job. That’s the way we had to win the game in the second half.”
Next week, the Arrows travel to Madison in an important OCC contest. The Arrows are in second place in a tight OCC. Lexington is on top at 5-0, the Arrows are 4-1, Mansfield Senior is 3-1, and Wooster is 3-2. Lexington takes on Mansfield Senior next week and the Arrows in the final week of the season.
“This better be a wake-up call that we better get ready and have a great week of practice to get ready for Madison,” Valentine said.
Ian McDaniel led Clear Fork with 74 yards rushing on 14 carries. Thran added 56 yards on eight carries and caught two passes for 65 yards. Schaeffer completed 11 of 22 passes for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Colts visits Mount Vernon next Friday.
