Huron loses lead, game against Columbian

TIFFIN — Huron was in control at halftime. The Tigers shut out Columbian over the first 24 minutes, but the Tornadoes responded in the second half. Huron couldn't get things going after the break as Columbian picked up a 16-13 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover win Friday at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. "They definitely wrestled the momentum away from us in that second half," Huron coach Sam Hohler said. "We talked to the kids. We had a great week of practice and preparation and the score of their game last week doesn't reflect who they were, that's for sure. They have a nice team, nice athletes. "I feel like our team played a really good first half, but they just took the momentum in the second half and ran with it."In the first half, the Tornadoes found a way to move the ball, but eventually each drive fizzled out after a negative play or a penalty would set it back.On the flip side, Huron (2-3) quarterback Landon Hohler made plays with his arm and his legs, extending drives and getting the Tigers into the end zone twice.But in the second half, Columbian (2-3) played with a little more intensity and got after Hohler, shrinking the field and keeping him in the pocket, which was key."He's very elusive, but when you ask a kid like that to play like that every play of offense and every play of defense, he can slow down just a bit," Columbian coach Judd Lutz said. "Hopefully you have guys that come in fresh and match their speed. I feel like we did that. We didn't always contain him, but we definitely bottled him up, got some third and fourth down stops. Did a good job."Hohler plunged into the end zone from a yard out on Huron's opening drive that lasted 12 plays to put the Tigers up 7-0 early.Then, he found Braxton Barrett on a pass in the flat that he ran into the end zone for a 14-yard score. The extra point was missed, making it 13-0 at the half.Then TC went to work. Behind a steady diet of physical running from Brock Siesel and a huge first down conversion on a third-and-14 on a 19-yard catch from Johnny Bremyer, Siesel got TC on the board with a five-yard touchdown up the middle.Later in the third, Conner Reese drilled a 33-yard field goal to cut Huron's lead to 13-9 heading into the fourth quarter.Meanwhile, the TC defense was getting off the field as Huron only tallied two first downs in the whole second half."We had opportunities, but just couldn't make the plays when we needed them," coach Hohler said. "Credit to them, they cranked it up in the second half… it's hard to answer that some times when we don't have as many kids as a Division IV school. That's not an excuse. Very proud of our kids, played hard and had chances, but they found a way to win."The big play of the night came early in the fourth quarter as Logan Gooding hit a crisp pass to Bremyer on a slant for 16 yards on a second-and-20. TC ran the same exact play again and Gooding hit Bremyer in stride again — but this time he took it to the house for a 64-yard score — giving TC a 16-13 advantage with 8:16 to play."They're really good on offense and they played really well on defense," Lutz said. "Their quarterback is outstanding. They have size and have skill… I thought we moved the ball well in the first half, but we just kept getting in our own way. "They made some good plays too, but we also stopped ourselves, which was frustrating."Huron still had plenty of time to either kick a field goal or take the lead, but after getting the second first down of the half at its own 44, the Tigers had to punt it away.With Huron knowing the Tornadoes were just going to try to run out the clock, the offensive line got some push and the physical running from Siesel produced three first downs to seal the win."Even though we're 2-3, our team has been in every game. They scratch, claw and fight, they practice hard," coach Hohler said. "They've been so close, but we just need to find that little bit extra and figure some things out. I do like where we're at right now, but we have to keep going. Hopefully, those wins will come."