Unbeaten 'Riders survive another thriller

COLLINS — The stressful situations are becoming more frequent. But the Western Reserve football team is also finding different ways to win games. One week after a wild walk-off, 44-43 win in overtime at Margaretta, the Roughriders needed a defensive stop inside their own 20-yard line on the game's final play in a 28-20 win over visiting Bucyrus Wynford at Bachelder Field. Western (3-0) scored four touchdowns within the first 18 minutes of the game and had a 28-12 lead, but then did not score again as its defense held off the Royals (1-2). "We held on. Last week, we scored a bunch of points and won it that way, and tonight our defense really probably only gave up one touchdown — we gave them two," Western Reserve head coach Ty Stevenson said. "I thought we were really good in the trenches, because they challenged us up front all night. "They were putting eight or nine guys in the box all game, so I'm proud of the effort they gave. I told them you don't have to win them all real pretty, you just have to win." The Royals, who earlier in the game scored on a 19-yard fumble return for a touchdown, were able to grab an interception at the line of scrimmage to take possession at the Western Reserve 9 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. Two plays later, a short touchdown run made it a 28-20 deficit with 3:33 left in the third quarter. Western tried putting the game away with a lengthy drive, but turned it over on downs at the Wynford 27 with 8:56 left in the game. After getting a stop, the 'Riders again couldn't run out the clock and were forced to punt near midfield with 1:22 left. With all three timeouts, the Royals were able to move from their own 29 to the Western 33 on three straight pass completions. With 25 seconds left, the Royals threw a pass to the end zone on fourth-and-7, but the 'Riders were flagged for pass interference. With three straight plays from the Western 14, the Royals came up empty. On the game's final play with five seconds left, the 'Riders Levi Podraski sacked Wynford quarterback Ashton Warren. "It's fun for kids, because they are going to have memories of games like this," Stevenson said. "Whether that was the way we won at Margaretta last week, or stopping them deep in our own territory tonight. "It's good for the kids, I'm glad we were able to do it for our first home game with the new Sean Moore grandstands," he added. "I think Wynford is a good team, so for our guys who were outsized to play the way they did, we're very happy." Western went right down the field to start the game, as Keith scored on a 10-yard run to cap a 61-yard drive that took 3:46 off the clock. The extra point never got off the ground, but the 'Riders were playing from in front at 6-0 at the 8:09 mark of the first. After forcing a three-and-out, Keith and the Western offense again quickly moved down the field. But faced with a fourth-and-7 from the Wynford 9, the sophomore quarterback was able to find junior running back Conner Dawson in the right flat, and he did the rest for another WR touchdown. The try for two points failed as Western led 12-0 at the 2:17 mark of the opening quarter. The 'Riders fumbled the ball away on their next possession, however, and a Wynford defender was able to return it 19 yards for a defensive TD at the 10:57 mark of the second quarter. That kick also failed for a 12-6 game. But just then, arguably the game's biggest play took place. Two plays into the ensuing drive, Keith rolled to his right on a play-action fake, and he saw Austin Harmeling all alone. Harmeling caught the ball at the Wynford 30 and had nothing but green in front of him for a 65-yard TD catch. Keith ran in the conversion, and the 'Riders had a 20-6 lead just 50 seconds after the Wynford defensive score. "Austin told me the first time we ran boot that as soon as Hayden started to throw it, the defender came up," Stevenson said. "We talked during the quarter break that we needed to make sure to look for that whip route and he'd probably be open — and Austin was and did the rest on a nice touchdown." Wynford answered with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive to trim the deficit to 20-12, only for Western to again respond in three plays. After Keith found Dawson on a 16-yard completion, he then handed off the junior, who easily followed a block and did the rest on a 45-yard scoring run. He then ran in the conversion for a 28-12 lead at the 6:02 mark of the second. One week after rushing for a school record 338 yards, Dawson ran 25 times for 171 yards and the score. Keith totaled 81 yards on 14 attempts and a TD, and was also 5-of-7 passing for 115 yards and a pair of TDs. Western Reserve will open up Firelands Conference play next Friday at Plymouth. B. Wynford 0 12 8 0 — 20 W. Reserve 12 16 0 0 — 28 Scoring WR — Hayden Keith 10 run (kick failed) WR — Conner Dawson 9 pass from Keith (run failed) WY — Hunter Rouston 19 fumble return (kick failed) WR — Austin Harmeling 65 pass from Keith (Keith run) WY — Kaiden Blair 5 run (pass failed) WR — Dawson 45 run (Dawson run) WY — Blair 4 run (James Rindfuss pass from Ashton Warren)