Announcement
From the CHRONICLE TELEGRAM by Jerry Rombach, Staff Writer
EATON TWP. — Josiah Holt made up for one little slip on the turf with plenty of solid footing, especially on an 11-yard run in overtime that gave Grafton Midview an exciting 18-15 non-conference win over Buckeye on Friday at wet Adelsburg Stadium.
The turf was damp after an evening of light rain, so Holt had a good excuse when he slipped and fell for a 3-yard loss on his first carry of OT. But two plays later, he was in the end zone behind some great blocks from Andrew Myers and Garrett Kleister. “I’ve never played in an overtime game,” Holt said. “This is crazy. My line did a great job opening up a hole and I went through.” Holt, a 170-pound junior, was sensational all evening, as was Middies quarterback Brett Whitesel. Midview piled up 398 yards of total offense, with Holt rushing for 156 and Whitesel passing for 204 on a 10-of-15 effort.
Whitesel had two touchdown passes, including one sensational bomb to Mike Schmittle, who caught the pass at the 50 and rumbled to the end zone to complete an 89-yard play. Buckeye (0-3), which ran 22 plays in the fourth quarter to Midview’s four, had its chances. With 20 seconds left in regulation, the Bucks’ Ryan McCormick barely missed connecting on a 36yard field goal. The ball had the distance but was just to the right. He did better on his next chance, hitting a 27-yarder that gave Buckeye a temporary 15-12 lead in overtime.
The teams combined for nearly 700 yards, but the second half was scoreless until overtime. “I wasn’t pleased with our defense the first half,” Midview coach Bill Albright said. “But we made some adjustments at halftime and played a lot better in the second. I hope this is a sign our guys are growing up.
“Buckeye has a winning tradition and I knew this would be a tough game. They are well-coached and have some great athletes. “ It was Midview’s first OT game since Oct. 28, 2005, when it lost 21-20 at North Ridgeville. “Our penalties killed us,” said Buckeye coach Billy Burke, whose team had eight infractions for 80 yards. “It was a lot of little things that went wrong tonight, but our kids are never going to be accused of not playing hard.”
Midview scored on its first possession, driving 76 yards in 11 plays, with Whitesel hitting Mike Dodson for the touchdown on a 17-yard pass. Buckeye came right back with an 80-yard drive, capped by Cory Reisner’s 1yard plunge. Rombach may be reached at sports@ohio.net
