ASHLAND – Wooster’s offense would not be denied on Friday night, and powered through the Ashland defense to upset the Arrows 34-31 on Friday night at Community Stadium.
The loss dropped the Arrows (8-2, 5-1) into a three-way tie for the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with the Generals (5-5, 5-1) and Mansfield Senior (8-2, 5-1), who beat Madison 54-6 Friday night. Still, Ashland will continue its season next week in the playoffs, but will have to wait until Sunday morning to learn their assignment
“It was a great game,” Ashland coach Scott Valentine said. “I’m proud of our kids, the way we battled through four quarters. Wooster’s guys battled. They made one more play than us. It was a great high school game. Now we have to go and regroup.”
The Arrows struggled to stop the Wooster offense for three out of four quarters, as the Generals ran up more than 350 yards on the ground and piled up over 525 yards of total offense.
“The most important thing is that you get in,” Valentine said of the playoffs. “If you get in, then it’s anywhere from there.”
The first half was a game of two decidedly different quarters, with Wooster dominating the opening 12 minutes and the home team commanding the second period.
The Arrows failed to score in the first quarter, gaining only 41 yards and mustering just two first downs as Wooster opened a 20-0 lead early in the second stanza.
The Generals got the scoring started on their first drive when quarterback Dylan Dagley found Donoven Hall for a 10-yard strike. The extra point by Joe Stoll was blocked giving Wooster a 6-0 lead.
Later the Generals marched 80 yards on 12 plays, capped by a Dagley touchdown pass to Avalon Harper from 10 yards. The extra point put Wooster on top 13-0.
Wooster found paydirt again when Dagley rushed in from 1 yard to take a 20-0 lead with 11:15 left in the half.
A personal foul against Wooster on the ensuing kickoff seemed to wake the Arrows, as quarterback Keagan Armitage found Kamrin Knowlton Goings for 57 yards on the first play, taking Ashland to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Armitage pushed across the goal line from the 1. The extra point by Carson Hubler cut the Wooster advantage to 20-7.
On the next Ashland possession, Armitage found Goings for a 10-yard touchdown. Another extra point made it a 20-14 game.
The Arrows scored again on their next drive when Armitage hit Owen Reef for a 2-yard strike with 2.3 seconds left in the half. Hubler’s extra point gave Ashland a 21-20 edge at intermission.
“We calmed down,” Valentine said of the second quarter. “You get hyped up for a game and sometimes it takes you awhile to settle in.”
The second half opened with the Generals scoring on the opening drive when Dagley hit Hall on a 25-yard screen pass. Dagley ran in the two-point conversion to give Wooster a 28-21 advantage.
The Arrows threatened on their first drive of the second half, marching 78 yards in eight plays before finally turning the ball over on downs at the 2 after an incomplete pass in the end zone.
Ashland recovered a General fumble at their own 31 on the next drive and made Wooster pay for the miscue when Armitage connected with Bryke Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. The extra point knotted the game at 28.
A 37-yard field goal by Hubler with 11:00 remaining put Ashland on top 31-28.
But the Generals answered with a seven-play, 73-yard drive capped by Michael Cicolani’s 7-yard run.
After Wooster stopped the Arrows on three plays on their next drive and forced a punt, Armitage hit a booming 72-yard punt that pinned the Generals on their own 2 with 5:59 remaining and Wooster holding a 34-31 lead.
The Generals converted five first downs and ate up the remainder of the clock as the Arrows watched their hopes of an outright OCC title tick away.
The Arrow defense had no answer for the Generals’ junior quarterback, as Dagley rushed 25 times for 216 yards and completed 14-of-21 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Marshall rushed 19 times for 57 yards and Blair added 79 yards on 14 carries and added 63 yards on four catches. Hall caught six passes for 80 yards and two scores.
For Ashland, Armitage completed 22-of-36 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns and added 108 yards on 14 rushes.
Reef ran eight times for 28 yards and caught five passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Manny Langston caught two passes for 60 yards and Knowlton-Goings grabbed four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Williams caught eight passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.
