Oak Hill wins big over Rochester

By CHUCK LANDIS
Chronicle Tribune Sports Writer
Tuesday, November 04, 2008

MIER - Rochester attempted to pull a trick on Halloween Night, but it was Oak Hill that got the treat.

The host Golden Eagles flourished in the matchup of top 10-ranked teams after a failed Zebra fake punt pass, and they pulled away for a 34-13 victory in Class 2A Sectional 26 prep football play.

No. 6-ranked Oak Hill remained undefeated (11-0) and play Friday at third-ranked Lewis Cass (10-1) for the sectional championship.

Oak Hill was leading 14-7 late in the third quarter when Rochester punter Travis Rom attempted to fool the Eagles on fourth down from the Zebras' 37. Rom, the Zebras' backup quarterback, threw a deep pass but no receiver was in the vicinity and the Eagles took over with excellent field position.

Even after a 10-yard holding penalty, the Eagles scored six plays later on Kyle Anderson's 4-yard run and the lead was 20-7 with 1:08 left in the third quarter after the extra-point kick failed.

“(Rochester coach Mark Miller) was going for a momentum shifter, and for us to stop them was a huge thing,” Oak Hill coach Bud Ozmun said. “Anything that happened at that point would have been a momentum shifter, and it turned out to be in our favor.”

No. 10 Rochester, which finished 9-2, seemed to overcome the gamble when it scored just three plays after Anderson's TD. Quarterback Brody Schoen connected with Dustin Mersch on a 31-yard pass play, then he ran 42 yards for a score and reduced Oak Hill's lead to 20-13 (the Zebras also missed the PAT kick).

Yet, Oak Hill quarterback Adam Middlesworth wasn't about to be outdone by Schoen on this night. Middlesworth answered six plays into the Eagles' next drive when he also burst up the middle for a 42-yard TD run and up the lead to 27-13 with 9:47 to play.

Designed as a short-yardage run, Anderson drew in Rochester's interior defense, and the Eagles' trapping linemen created a gaping hole for Middlesworth.

“When we run that play, we want a couple (defenders) to come to me and then pull the linemen,” Anderson said. “And then Adam goes through. Our linemen did a great job the second half.”

“Yeah, after that it was a 40-yard dash,” added Middlesworth, standing next to Anderson.

Oak Hill's defense, ranked sixth in the state with a 7.0-point average yield, then held Rochester on downs, and the Eagles mounted a game-clinching scoring drive. The time-consuming 35-yard drive was entirely on the ground and resulted in Anderson's 2-yard leap over the Zebras' defensive line and into the school record books.

Anderson's 22nd touchdown with 4:41 to play eclipsed Curt Teranchick's 25-year-old mark. The senior finished with 65 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 43 yards. But the record wasn't what was important to Anderson.

“Thirty-four to 13 is what I care about,” he said. “That's just by the wayside for me.”

While Anderson was stymied in the first half with three carries for eight yards, Middlesworth was flourishing against Rochester's zone pass defense. Middlesworth completed his first eight attempts including TDs to Matt Davenport and Eric Doyle that gave Oak Hill a 14-0 at the 9:37 mark of the second quarter.

Middlesworth finished 16 of 28 passing for 183 yards with an interception that led to Rochester's first score. He also led the Eagles on the ground with 84 yards on 12 carries, and intercepted a Schoen pass near the goal line in the second quarter that thwarted a Zebra drive.

“We just go into a game with our plays and run what (defenses) give us,” Middlesworth said. “We have a great line that allows us to do both (run or pass) and great specialty guys.

“Our guys did a great job of sitting in areas (of the zone) and made great plays after the catch,” he added.

Jared Perkins, the Eagles' 6-foot-6 receiver, had three catches for 60 yards, including a 38-yard reception that helped set up Anderson's first score.

In a losing effort, Schoen threw for 127 yards on 8-of-19 passing and rushed for 89 yards.

Middlesworth said the Eagles had been looking for a performance like Friday's against a quality opponent.

“We hadn't been playing well at the end of the season, and we didn't play well against Bluffton (a 42-6 victory in the first round,” Middlesworth said. “We knew we were a better team than that and tonight you could see the intensity in the team and we played to our potential.”

Print this story   |   Email this story