Huron wastes little time in 66-35 win at Willard

WILLARD — The Tigers wasted no time. Huron's football team dominated every facet of the game from start to finish, opening league play by thrashing Willard, 66-35. "We wanted to send a message that one of our goals is to win the league title," head coach Sam Hohler said. The win came just a week after Huron (5-1, 1-0 SBC Bay) was handed their first loss 29-28 at home against their rival Perkins. "It was a tough loss last week but the kids responded really well in practice," Hohler said. After a tough defeat, great football teams are often expected to bounce back quickly the following week. The Tigers couldn't have bounced back any faster than they did on Friday. The Crimson Flashes (4-2) received the ball and on the first play from scrimmage, Huron forced a fumble, turning the coin toss in their favor instantly. They turned it into three points on a Cam Manner 25-yard field goal, but that would be the last time they were denied from the end zone Friday night. Huron went on to score seven touchdowns in 22 football minutes before the half ended, ensuring themselves a running clock coming out of the break. Dylan Hohler started it off with a designed QB draw on which he burst outside, reading a great block from Dawson Bowen to reach paydirt early. "We came ready to play today," Hohler said postgame. The star QB ended his night with 312 yards passing and five touchdowns to lead the Tigers. Willard came into the contest as the second-best scoring offense in Ohio at 51.8 ppg. Plenty of pressure still stood on Huron's defense and they delivered. They forced their second straight three-and-out early in the first quarter, making Willard punt. The kick dropped straight into the lap of the fastest player on the field: Beau Harkelroad. He broke a tackle, found a lane to the left, and took it to the house to go up 17-0 early. Huron's first of two special teams touchdowns on the evening. "Most people think it's about offense or defense, we've always prided ourselves on our special teams," Hohler said. Willard looked to match Huron's torrid pace when on the next drive Isaac Robinson found Carson Hamons on a slant for a 55-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 10. Again, the Tigers wasted no time responding. The Flashes sent a blitz at Hohler on the next drive and he made the right read, finding a streaking Evan Lacivita for a 47-yard gain to put them in the red zone. "They tried to get pressure on him but he had the patience to buy time and find guys who were open," Sam Hohler said. He finished it off with a 7-yard pass to Cooper Norwell to put them up 24-7 just 20 minutes after kickoff. A Kyle Auger interception put the ball back in the offense's hands and again they wasted no time capitalizing. On the first play of the second quarter, power running back Grant Mosijowsky took a swing pass from Hohler for a 13-yard touchdown. It was now-or-never for a potent Willard offense to get going, but the Huron defense created another early-drive turnover. This time it was Nolan Defazio who broke into the backfield and stripped Robinson, giving the Tigers more favorable field position. Hohler cashed in on a rushing touchdown, his third of four on the night. Huron kept it coming. The next drive was Andrew Delaney, Mosijowsky's backfield mate, who cashed in from 11 yards out. Willard responded once more before the half with a long drive capped off with Austin Parsons scoring off 12-yard reception. They gave Huron less than a minute of time before the first half buzzer, and the offense made it work. Hohler hit Harkelroad, Jake Lagando, Lacivita, and then Mosijowsky on a screen pass to make up 62 yards in 40 seconds. Then with four seconds to play, Hohler took it himself, but was stripped of the ball right before reaching the end zone. But as it had been all night, Huron would not be denied. Bowen found the ball in the end zone and landed on it for Huron's seventh touchdown in the first half. By the end of two quarters, the Tigers had all but clinched their first win of league play, bounced back from a bad loss last week, and made a statement to the entire SBC about their capabilities. "It gives us confidence," Dylan Hohler said. "We know what our abilities are and it gets us ready for more SBC games." Coming into this matchup, much of the focus surrounded Willard's high-powered offense and what Huron could do to contain it. Not only did they contain the Flashes until late, the Tigers showed their own offensive prowess, dropping 66 points in three quarters and setting the tone for the rest of league play. "We think we have a pretty good offense too," Sam Hohler said. "That was about all the motivation I needed." Huron 24 28 14 0 — 66 Willard 7 7 0 21 — 35 Scoring H - Manner 25 kick H - Hohler 35 rush (kick good) H - Harkelroad 52 return (kick good) W - I. Robinson to Hamons 55 pass (kick good) H - Hohler to Norwell 7 pass (kick good) H - Hohler to Mosijowsky 13 pass (kick good) H - Hohler 3 rush (kick good) H - Delaney 15 rush (kick good) W - I. Robinson to Parsons 12 pass (kick good) H - Bowen 1 rush (kick good) H - Hohler 4 rush (kick good) H - Bowen 45 return (kick good) W - I. Robinson to Hamons 7 pass (kick good) W - Parsons 3 rush (kick good) W - I. Robinson to Dye 18 pass (kick good)