Margaretta shuts out Woodmore for 5th straight win

ELMORE — Margaretta dominated in all three facets of the game and when that happens, a victory is all but guaranteed. The Polar Bears, who improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division with a 35-0 win over Woodmore, dominated throughout the first half, running the ball behind an offensive line that owned the line of scrimmage. That allowed Margaretta to go to the air and have success there as quarterback Jake Bouy, who completed 4 of 7 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, connected on a couple of deep balls. After turning the ball over on downs at the Woodmore 7 on the first possession of the game, Bouy found Carter Luzader, who had two catches for 42 yards, on a long pass for a 37-yard touchdown on Margaretta's second possession, giving the Bears the lead for good with 3:10 to play in the first quarter. Bouy's extra point made it 7-0. On the ensuing possession, Woodmore (5-1, 2-1) took over at its 23 before advancing to midfield, where the Wildcats faced a fourth-and-3. A toss sweep to the right to Landon Rich gained just one yard as Margaretta linebacker Mason Kromer read the play from the beginning and came up with the stop. The Polar Bears took over at their 49 and Tyson Bailey ran for 26 yards on a jet sweep, moving the ball to the Woodmore 25. Three plays later, Bailey scored on a trap play to the left, breaking a tackle before heading for the pylon and scoring easily with 11:22 to play in the first half, pushing the lead to 14 points following the extra point. The Margaretta defense forced a three-and-out and took over at its 35. Judah Keller gained 29 yards on the first play of the drive and three plays later, Bailey gained eight yards on a third-and-2 at the Wildcats' 28. After moving the ball to the 7, Bouy faked a handoff on a sweep and ran a draw up the middle for the score. The extra point made it 21-0. Woodmore nearly answered, driving from its 33 to the Bears 13, scoring a touchdown on a run on fourth-and-1 by Rich, but a holding call nullified the score. Even after gaining a new set of downs following a pass interference penalty on Margaretta on the next play, the Wildcats failed to score. A 29-yard field goal attempt with 38 seconds hit the right upright. Woodmore drove to the Polar Bears' 9 on the first possession of the second half, but a fade pass on fourth down from Calvin Lipstraw to Wesley Kayser sailed out of bounds, leaving Margaretta with a 21-0 lead. It was probably the best performance of the season for the Bears. The Wildcats had allowed just 32 points on the season coming into the game. Margaretta coach Gary Quisno said his team would enjoy the victory for 24 hours before moving on. "I'm just so proud of the guys. They came to play tonight," he said. "We played an undefeated team that had outscored its opponents by about 253-27 in the first five weeks. It was a test for us. It was a good football game. "We feel confident that if we play our game and don't make too many mistakes, and keep the chains moving that we have a chance (to win). We controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball." The Bears were able to run the ball with relative ease, mixing in some jet sweeps and trap plays that kept the defense off-balance throughout the game. "Offensively, we did what we needed to do," Quisno said. "It was a good win." No rushing attack can flourish without the men up front and Margaretta has a good unit. "Our offensive line is solid," Quisno said. "They do a nice job in the weight room. They played well. Woodmore has a nice defensive line." But Quisno was also quick to credit his defense, which stood firm on two Wildcat drives that reached the red zone. "Our defense had two big stands near the goal line," he said. "We knew we weren't going to shut down Landon Rich." For the most part, the second half was a defensive struggle, but the Polar Bears managed to score two more touchdowns, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth. Luzader scored a touchdown from four yards out on a jet sweep with three seconds to play in the third quarter, and Keller finished off the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run with 6:42 remaining. Following a heartbreaking loss to Vermilion (21-20) in Week 1, the Polar Bears Bears beat Western Reserve (21-0) and have outscored their last four opponents by a combined 174-21. For Margaretta, Bailey finished with 11 carries for 133 yards and the touchdown while Keller contributed 14 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. The Polar Bears came into the game ranked fifth in the Division VI, Region 22 standings, just behind Woodmore. Needless to say, the victory will help Margaretta very much. "We feel really good," Qusino said. "We're healthy and that's a good thing. We dressed 33 players tonight." Margaretta 7 14 7 7 — 35Woodmore 0 0 0 0 — 0 M — Carter Luzader 37 pass from Jake Bouy (Bouy kick)M — Tyson Bailey 12 run (Bouy kick)M — Bouy 7 run (Bouy kick)M — Luzader 4 run (Bouy kick)M — Judah Keller 5 run (Bouy kick)