ANSONIA – The Ansonia Tigers used a fourth-quarter running clock, 508 total offensive yards, and 44 unanswered points to defeat the Sidney Lehman Catholic Cavaliers 60-20 in second-round DVII Region 28 OHSAA football playoff action, giving Ansonia head coach Adam Hall a perfect 21-0 record at Eugene Hoening Football Stadium in his first three years at the helm of the Tigers football program.
“The guys are cognitive of that,” Coach Hall said of the 21-0 record. “Since we named it after Coach Hoening we haven’t lost here. The guys like to keep that steak going and worked for it tonight. They did a great job.”
The Tigers received the opening kickoff and marched 73 yards to take an 8-0 lead at 8:31 in the first period, with Zane Henderson getting his first of five touchdowns on the night with a one-yard plunge and making good on the two-point conversion.
The Cavaliers came right back with a 51-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and made good on the PAT kick for an 8-7 score at 8:31 in the first.
Ansonia covered a Lehman onside kick and drove downfield for a Henderson two-yard TD run at 4:48 in the first. Jacob Schmitmeyer made good on the two-point conversion run and a 16-7 Tigers lead.
Once again, Lehman struck with a 36-yard touchdown pass and a PAT kick splitting the uprights for a 16-14 score at 3:13 in the opening quarter.
Ansonia was forced to punt on its next set of downs, setting up a Sidney Lehman 35-yard touchdown through the air to get its first and only lead of the night with 10:29 showing on the second quarter clock. A missed Lehman PAT attempt held the Cavaliers’ lead at 20-16.
“Our guys start fast; they are very athletic,” Hall stated. “It took us a little bit to catch up to that, but once we started doing what we’re supposed to do, we played good defense. Offensively, I felt we could move the ball all night. When we were executing and doing it the way we wanted, we showed that we were in good shape.”
Sidney Lehman Catholic’s scoring was done for the night as the Ansonia defense and offense dominated the remainder of the game.
A two-yard Henderson TD run and two-point conversion at 8:35 in the second gave the lead back to Ansonia at 24-20.
With Lehman facing a third and 36, Schmitmeyer intercepted a Cavaliers pass at the Tigers’ 35-yard line and returned it to Lehman’s 46-yard marker, setting up a Henderson one-yard touchdown run and giving Ansonia a 30-20 advantage and at 4:18 in the second.
The Ansonia defense stopped the Cavaliers on their end of the field on a fourth-down attempt to keep its first-half drive alive. Ansonia took over with Layne Bowman stepping up under center with 0:03.1 on the first half clock, hit Schmitmeyer in stride on a perfectly placed pass completion for a touchdown in the endzone with 0:00 showing on the first half clock. Schmitmeyer made good on the two-point conversion run, giving the Tigers a healthy 38-20 halftime lead.
The halftime break did little to help Lehman get their wind back as the Tigers took advantage of their excellent conditioning program to up the score to 46-20 with a Henderson TD run and Schmitmeyer two-point conversion at 1:55 in the third.
“The amount of effort they put in, you can see it on the field,” said Hall. “Early in the games, we’re in many close ones. As the game continues, our guys can keep going at a high level, and not everyone else can.”
Cainan Robinson intercepted a Cavaliers pass with 1:03 on the third-quarter board. The Tigers turned the theft into a 25-yard Schmitmeyer touchdown run, a 52-20 Ansonia lead, putting a running clock in play. Schmitmey carried the two-point conversion, good for a 54-20 Tigers lead with 5:25 remaining in the game.
Nate Good raced 10 yards for the final Ansonia TD of the night with 1:12 on the clock. Lehman was flagged on the play, and with time running out on the clock, the Tigers did not attempt the two-point conversion, giving Ansonia a 60-20 second-round tournament victory.
“I am very proud of the guys,” Coach Hall said. “Playing football is not easy. These guys work extremely hard. We start working in January and they have been going since January, two-a-days all through the season. The amount of effort they put in, you can see it on the field.”
Ansonia will face the Marion Local Flyers, 56-14 second-round winners over Tri-Village. The Flyers will bring a 60-game OHSAA record-setting win streak into the third-round playoff game with the Tigers. The game location will be determined on Sunday.
“We know Marion Local is as good a football team as anyone could be; there is no doubt about that,” Coach Hall stated. “We just have to focus on being the best team we can be, giving our best effort and playing every play with 100 percent effort, and then we’ll see how it shakes out for us.”
Ansonia ran the ball 68 times, good for 493 rushing yards. Henderson rushed for 222 yards on 37 carries and five touchdowns. Schmitmeyer carried 20 times for 189 yards.
Bowman was 1-2 passing, with his lone completion a 15-yard touchdown strike to Schmitmeyer.
Ansonia accounted for 13 first-half first downs, 301 yards rushing, and 15 yards passing for 316 yards. Second half Ansonia’s stats included ten first downs and 192 yards rushing for a game total of 23 first downs for 508 offensive yards. The Tigers were 6-7 on two-point conversions and were flagged for two penalties for 25 yards.
Ben Zerkle had a fumble recovery, and Schmitmeyer and Cainan Robinson had an interception for the Tigers. Peyton Kelch and Lander Shives each accounted for an Ansonia sack.
