FORT RECOVERY – With a two-game losing streak, the Versailles football team was looking to get back on the winning side of football. The Fort Recovery Indians were also looking for their third win of the season. The Tigers came out on top 28-21, scoring the winning touchdown with 15 seconds left in the game.
The Tigers fell behind early when a bad punt snap went over Nate Marshall’s head. The Indians’ Breaker Jutte scooped it up and scored from ten yards out as time expired in the first quarter. The Tigers, unshaken, drove 66 yards on their next possession and scored on a one-yard run to tie the game with 5:54 left in the first half. “We had a really nice drive there.” Coach Scott Broerman said, “That was a nice drive, especially them getting that touchdown on that bad snap. The kids fought; they fought the whole game.”
Defense on both sides took over for the rest of the half, with both teams punting back and forth to end the half. The Tigers held the Indians to 30 total yards at the half.
The Tigers would come up short on a fourth-down play on their opening possession of the second half. The Indians would take over at their 41-yard line. The Indians would score on a 19-yard pass to take a 14-7 lead. The Tigers answered with a four-play drive capped by a 33-yard run by Damian Barga to tie the game.
Tied at 14, after a bad snap by the Indians, Alex Westgerdes would recover the ball at their 31-yard line. The Tigers would use an eight-play drive and 5:16 of the clock to take a 21-14 lead on a Blake Monnin keeper from 13 yards.
With 3:46 left, the Tigers just needed a stop to take home the win. The Indians refused to give up and came back with a three-play drive that covered 76 yards. Breaker Jutte would score his second touchdown of the night. The drive only used 58 seconds and left the Tigers with 2:48 to try to win the game.
The Tigers moved the ball downfield and set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Barga. Having Barga back gives the Tigers more options, as he had missed the first three games. “It gives us some depth.” Broerman said Those other backs have been playing real well, but they also play defense nonstop.” The extra point was good, and the Tigers led 28-21. That was how the game would end, and the Tigers picked up win number three in a thriller.
