11/22/2008 1:02:00 AM
From 2-8 to Massillon: Blue Jays back to state
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BY KIRK DOUGAL
Times Bulletin Editor
kdougal@timesbulletin.com
WAPAKONETA - Steam rose off their bare heads, rising like a fog in the cold night as their screams pierced the sky. They pumped their helmets up and down with one hand while they signaled they were No. 1 with the other.
Delphos St. John's was going to the state football final again.
On a night cold enough that the fans who traveled to Harmon Field in Wapakoneta stayed under their blankets in the bleachers, the Blue Jays beat Sidney Lehman Catholic, 32-13, and continue their march toward the state championship.
Both teams wanted to establish dominance at the line of scrimmage and run the ball with their own variation of the option and the first quarter showed it. St. John's and Lehman both punted away after their first two possessions and the clock ran almost continuously making for a very short period.
With 2:38 left to go in the first, the Cavaliers punted the ball back to the Jays and St. John's started its drive at its own 27-yard line. Delphos' quarterback Wes Ulm started the drive with a 13-yard keeper before fullback Matt Brinkman went through the middle of the line on a dive play for 16 yards. On third and seven, Ulm found wide receiver Adam Warnecke for a key first down and 11-yard pass to end the quarter. After the short break, Ulm scrambled for six yards and then he found WR Jay Leininger on an out pattern for 13 yards and a first and goal from the Lehman 6-yard line. One play later he option pitched to running back Jordan Leininger and the Jays took a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night.
The Cavaliers managed to pick up a couple of first downs but the Jays defense stiffened against the vaunted Lehman running attack and forced them into a third and 10. The Cavaliers tried a Statue of Liberty play but only gained two yards and had to punt again.
The wobbly end-over-end kick was picked up on the dead run by Jay Leininger and he weaved his way through the Lehman special teams unit for a 41-yard return. Part of that yardage was returned on a penalty but Brinkman quickly picked up 9 on a carry. After Jordan Leininger was stopped for no gain on a good open field tackle during a screen pass, he picked up 10 yards on third and nine to keep the drive going. Then Ulm dropped back in the pocket and found tight end Nate Webb alone for a 15-yard scoring pass. The blocked kick left the score 13-0 in favor of the Jays.
Before the Jays fans could even curl back up under their blankets, Lehman had to scramble to recover its fumbled kick off return. Then half the line moved on the snap while the quarterback and the rest did not and the Jays jumped on top of the bouncing football.
With first and goal from the eight, the Jays turned to the pounding legs of Jordan Leininger. He went off-tackle for three yards and then finished the short drive by taking a pitch around the right side for the final five yards and a Blue Jay 19-0 lead.
A stunned Lehman squad tried to make something positive happen but when senior QB Kameron Barton threw deep down the middle, it was Jays defensive back Tyler Bergfeld who climbed the ladder in triple coverage and came away with the interception.
With only 2:02 left in the half, Jordan Leininger cut back through the left side for 12 yards followed by Ulm for seven and 12 yards and a first and goal from the 3-yard line. Again it was Leininger on a two-yard dive and then around the end on an unbalanced line for the score and a St. John's 26-0 halftime lead.
Lehman took the opening kickoff in the second half and showed how it had made it to the semi-state game, driving 67 yards in 6:56 by running its option into the line for good gains on every attempt. The end result was a Cavalier TD. St John's was unable to sustain a drive and punted the ball back and this time the Cavaliers struck quickly. After going for a fourth and one from their own 25-yard line and making it, senior WR Zac Schmitz took and option reverse around the left, going 43 yards to the house to close the score to 26-13. The extra point was blocked.
But that was as close as the game would get. A steady diet of Brinkman, Jordan Leininger and Ulm on the option marched the ball down the field for the Jays before finally stalling out on fourth and goal.
Lehman was not able to drive out of the shadow of its own goalposts, however, and the Jays took over on downs on the 6-yard line four plays later. On the first play from scrimmage, Ulm pulled the ball back out of the belly of Brinkman and ran the ball around the end himself, scoring the last TD of the game and leaving St. John's fans scrambling for hotel reservations in Massillon.
"Last year when I was making the (option) read, I was kind of thinking about it," Ulm said after the game. "This year as things have gone along, I've just felt more comfortable. Now it's just second nature to me."
Sidney Lehman head coach Richard Roll was understandably disappointed after the loss. When he was asked about the third quarter scoring drives and halftime adjustments, his answers were short and to the point.
"None. None," Roll said. "We made no adjustments. We just said they were better than what they showed and they had to play."
Delphos St. John's coach Todd Schulte was very pleased with the way his young team performed in the pressure situation.
"We played pretty efficient in the first half after our first drive," Schulte said. "Our kids came out and strapped it up and decided we were going to run the ball. We made some big third down throws and catches but our defense was key in the first half. (Lehman) really struggled in the first half with the option. It didn't matter who they keyed on, all three (Jordan Leininger, Brinkman and Ulm) can get up and go. The way Wes runs it is very efficient but when we are getting good yards it means our line is getting out on their linebackers."
Schulte pointed out that the turnovers in the second quarter played an important role as well.
"Big games like this, turnovers are crucial," he said. "We got set up on the short field twice in the first half to capture the momentum and take control of the game going into halftime."
Lehman quarterback Kameron Barton was 6-for-14 for 55 yards passing and one interception. Schmitz caught the one big 31-yard TD pass while also rushing eight times for 55 yards. Max Cartwright ran the ball 20 times for 90 yards on the evening while Kaleb Goins added 43 yards and the other Cavalier score.
Ulm was an efficient 5-for-8 passing for one TD and 50 yards. Webb was the big Jay receiver with two catches for 26 yards and one TD. Jordan Leininger again carried the load with 21 rushes for 97 yards and three TDs. Brinkman had a big night as well with nine attempts for 96 yards and Ulm chipped in 45 yards and the final St. John's score.
The Blue Jays will play next Friday at 11 a.m. in Massillion Paul Brown Tiger Stadium against Bascom Hopewell-Loudon for the Ohio state championship of Division VI.
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