“Outstanding defense tonight. They carried us all night,” said Ulm.
Two big field goals by 6-3 junior Matthew Antalis gave Jefferson (5-2, 4-2 NWC) both their first and last points of the ballgame.
In the first quarter, both offenses struggled to a 0-0 tie as Columbus Grove’s ball-control offense ate the clock, with the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-3 NWC) giving the Jefferson defense a steady dose of both seniors Heath Nickles and Tyler Oney. Jefferson linebackers Derek Shivley and Stuart Miller were up to the task, making tackle after tackle for their squad.
Jefferson’s offense struggled as well, only managing one yard.
In the second, Jefferson started with the football, after junior running back Tim Sanders dashed a counter play 21 yards on 2nd-and-10. Two plays later, Sanders broke another big run, this time taking it 42 yards for the score, only for a holding penalty to bring it back. Three plays later, Jefferson fumbled, with Bulldog junior Garrett Wolfe scooping it up.
Columbus Grove then drove deep into Jefferson’s territory but the defense once again held, forcing a field goal attempt of 34 yards by Jojo Stewart; he missed wide right, keeping the score at 0-0.
Delphos started its next drive on its own 38 and its Wing-T attack gave Columbus Grove plenty of Shivley and Sanders throughout the drive. On 3rd-and-9 on the Bulldog 25, quarterback Josh Miller rolled out and found Antalis for a 24-yard pickup to the 1. One play later, Shivley dove into the end zone for the score and Antalis added the PAT to make it 7-0 with a mere 48 ticks to go in the half.
The drive covered 62 yards on 10 plays.
To start the second half, Columbus Grove went 3-and-out and Delphos got the ball back on its own 40. Another long, ball-controlling drive ensured, made possible on a 3rd-and-7 connection from Miller to Sanders (4 grabs, 72 yards) for 23 yards. Delphos then picked up another first down but stalled at the 10. On 4th-and-5, Antalis came through on a 23-yard field goal, making it 10-0, Jefferson, at 5:17 in the third.
Grove again went 3-and-out and the punt was shanked out of bounds, giving Jefferson great field position at their own 40. Miller hit senior Michael Wiltsie (2 catches, 29 yards) for an 11-yard pass. A play later, Miller (9-of-13 passing, 180 yards) hit junior Michael Rahrig for a long 37-yard completion. Two plays later at the 4, Miller called his own number as time expired and Antalis again hit the point-after for a 17-0 bulge ending the third.
On the ensuing kickoff, Nickles almost broke it to the 50, giving Grove great starting field position. Grove went to the air twice as Adam Osterhage (6-for-8 passing, 29 yards) hit junior Derek Schroeder (5 catches, 23 yards) on consecutive plays. Three plays later on 4th-and-2, Osterhage was pressured by the defense and threw it up for grabs; unfortunately for the Wildcats, they were flagged for pass interference. Two plays later, Nickles (19 rushes, 121 yards) took a pitch off of left tackle and scored from 10 yards out. Stewart added the PAT and at 8:04, Columbus Grove had its first points.
Jefferson got the ball back and controlled it as Shivley (19 totes, 57 yards) and Sanders (6 carries, 70 yards) hauled it up the field. Miller hit Sanders for a 25-yard completion to the Grove 13. After a false start moved them back, Miller was sacked and dropped for losses on the next three plays to force another field goal. Antalis hit it from 35 yards this time, sealing the victory at 3:32 for a 20-7 score.
“Josh really played great,” stated Ulm. “We stuck with our game plan this week of trying to be more balanced.”
Grove coach Scott Palte was impressed.
“They stuck it to us tonight. They outplayed us in almost every aspect of the game,” he said.
Jefferson welcomes in Troy Christian Saturday night. Grove hosts Paulding Friday.
JEFFERSON 20, COLUMBUS GROVE 7
Jefferson 0 7 10 3 - 20
Col. Grove 0 0 0 7 - 0
FIRST QUARTER
No Scoring
SECOND QUARTER
DJ — Shivley 1 run (Antalis kick), :48
THIRD QUARTER
DJ — Antalis 22 field goal, 5:17
DJ — J. Miller 4 run (Antalis kick), :00
FOURTH QUARTER
CG — Nickles 10 run (Stewart kick), 8:04
DJ — Antalis 35 field goal, 3:32
Team Stats
Jefferson Col. Grove
First Downs 16 10
Total Yards 348 169
Rushes-Yards 42-168 29-144
Passing Yards 180 29
Comps.-Atts. 9-13 6-8
Intercepted By 0 0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 4-46 4-24
Punts-Aver. 2-43 4-34
Individual Leaders:
JEFFERSON
RUSHING: Sanders 6-70, Shivley 19-57, Schuerman 9-36, Miller 8-5.
PASSING: Miller 9-13-180-0-0.
RECEIVING: Sanders 4-72, Wiltsie 2-29, Rahrig 1-37, Antalis 1-25, Schuerman 1-17.
COLUMBUS GROVE
RUSHING: Nickles 19-121, Oney 7-28, Osterhage 3-(-)5.
PASSING: Osterhage 6-8-29-0-0.
RECEIVING: Schroeder 5-23, Gray 1-6.
