by The Amherst Steele Comets came into this game riding a 14 game losing streak and through the first ten minutes of this game, it looked like that skid would be broken.
The Steele Comets came out of the gates firing on the first drive of the game, as quarterback Cole Norris took matters into his own hands and shredded through the North Ridgeville defense. He broke out for a 31 yard QB keeper to get Amherst into the red zone. However, they failed to reach the end zone after an illegal motion penalty set them back, instead settling for a Nathan Stewart 36 yard field goal to give the Comets an early lead 3-0.
The Steele Comets’ defense was relentless in the first quarter, as Mason Fisher recovered a fumble from North Ridgeville running back James Ennis and Ranger QB Brendan Watchorn coughed the football up to Amherst DL Henry Cislo.
The second quarter began to spin in the favor of North Ridgeville. Right out of the first quarter intermission, the Steele Comets could have kicked another field goal to make it 6-0, but Amherst decided to go for it on 4th and short and were unsuccessful, giving the ball back to the Rangers. On the very next play, WR Mason Worcester broke through the secondary for an 86 yard touchdown reception to put the Rangers in front 7-3. After both teams stalled on the next couple drives, a wild and eventful minute and a half of football ensued.
To start things off, the Amherst punter lost control of the snap and was downed for a 13 yard loss and another turnover on downs. The next play, Watchorn’s pass was intercepted by Ranger defender Ross Auvil. Just a few plays later, the Steele Comets turned the ball over yet again, as Cole Norris fumbled on the QB sneak. After 3 turnovers within the span of a minute and a half, the Rangers finally cashed in on a 3 yard touchdown run from RB Zach Barnhart to make it 13-3 at halftime.
The second half completely belonged to the Rangers. After a holding penalty put them in an early hole at 1st and 20, Brendan Watchorn found WR Charlie Steinmentz across the middle and he had acres of open space to run on an 86 yard touchdown catch to make it 19-3. After yet another muffed snap by Amherst that resulted in a turnover on downs, the Rangers let star running back Zach Barnhart carry the way with multiple hard runs that resulted in another score for the Rangers to add to the lead.
Barnhart was not finished, as he iced the game with a 1 yard touchdown run to officially put the game out of reach 34-3 early in the fourth quarter. Despite a solid defensive effort by the Comets in the first half, even after forcing 3 turnovers they had no points to show for it. Amherst scored 3 points on their opening drive and failed to reach the end zone after that. QB Cole Norris struggled tonight, completing just 4 of 15 passes for 35 yards.
Player of the Game:
Tonight’s player of the game goes to Zach Barnhart, who turned it up in the second half by accumulating over 100 yards in the final 24 minutes. Barnhart finished with 26 carries for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns.
What’s Next:
The Rangers head back home to face Olmsted Falls
Amherst travels to Midway as they hope to end their losing streak that just extended to 15 games.
The player that got the 86 yard touchdown was Mason Worcester