September 23, 2000

TC takes the fire out of the Flashes

By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor

There are momentum swings, and then there are the kind of shots Columbian delivered to Willard in the first quarter of Friday night's Northern Ohio League showdown at Frost-Kalnow Stadium.

In a game which Willard would eventually lose, 35-12, the Flashes seemingly had all the momentum the world has to offer after forcing a Columbian turnover and then driving to the TC 1 in the opening minutes.

But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Columbian's Adam Oster got penetration from his end spot, and linebacker Jarrett Fuller buried Willard's Brandon Barnett for a 2-yard loss.

Three plays later the Tornadoes delivered a haymaker.

Quarterback Mike Buckner lofted a pass for Drew Hanley, who out-leaped Willard's Kevin Wallace --in stride nonetheless-- caught the ball at the 25 and flew 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest scoring pass in Columbian history.

"I think we were a little flat to start the game," said Columbian coach Steve Gilbert. His team improved to 5-0 and 2-0 in the NOL. "But we make the big stop and then, boom, get the big touchdown, and I think we just took off from there.

"Drew's one of our senior leaders, and our senior class has just taken this team over," he said. "Some are playing, really, for the first time, but Drew and Jarrett are who these kids rally around."

Whether the goings-on early in the game affected them or not, it was clear the Crimson Flashes (2-3, 1-1), the defending NOL champions, did not bring their best game to the table.

Key penalties, turnovers and dropped passes seemed to crop up whenever Willard was poised to make a run.

The Flashes recovered a fumble after punting on their second possession, but a procedure penalty negated the play and Willard had to punt again.

Nine plays later the Tornadoes were up 14-0 after Brett Krupp took a swing pass from Buckner, got a key block from Dan Lutz, and scooted 20 yards for a touchdown.

"I absolutely can't stand to lose, but if we go out there and play our game and lose, even though it stinks I can live with that," said Willard coach Chris Hawkins, whose team turned the ball over twice in the final two minutes of the first half. "And Tiffin is good, and I'm going to say the stuff I'm supposed to say. They're good and they've got a lot of athletes, but I'll tell you what. If we play like we're capable of playing, and we don't screw around, this ballgame goes down to the last minute.

"People are going to look up there and see 35-12 and think this was a butt-kicking and it wasn't," he said. "We beat ourselves."

The Flashes got on the board with 3:55 left in the half when quarterback Nick Strance hit J.J. Ditz on a 4-yard score to highlight an 11-play, 70-yard drive.

But on TC's next possession, fullback Steve Lee broke a simple trap play for a 63-yard gain to the Willard 2, setting up his own 1-yard blast for a 21-6 lead.

Columbian stretched its lead to 28-6 on its first possession of the second half, when Krupp punctuated a nine-play, 43-yard march with a 4-yard touchdown run at the 6:12 mark.

Strance threw his second TD of the game, a 24-yarder to Adam Zdroik, with 39 seconds left in the third, but Columbian tucked the game away when Lee scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth.

"This group is really hungry," Gilbert said. "They continue to do everything we ask of them. Now, it's our job as coaches to continue to challenge them to get better.

"We have some things to work on, but I can't be any prouder of the effort. These kids just play hard, and I don't think they've reached, yet, where they can go."

Both Lee and Krupp eclipsed the 100-yard barrier. Krupp logged 22 carries for 104 yards, while Lee carried 13 times for 103. Buckner's two TDs were his only two completed passes, but he finished with 117 yards.

Strance threw for 125 yards, but the Flashes only managed 89 on the ground.

"We've really developed a package where we have two kids that can really pound the football," Gilbert said. "If teams focus too much on Brett we can come back with Steve and he's just a heck of a football player. Those two kids complement each other so well.

"I think if you took a poll at the beginning of the season not too many people would have given us a chance (to go 5-0)," he said. "These kids have worked hard, but there's no time to enjoy it. We have to keep going."

And ride the momentum.