(PHOTOS BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
SHEDDING A TACKLE … Archbold running back Ryder Ryan stiff arms an Evergreen defender. VIEW 83 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (September 27, 2024) – Sometime next spring Colton Robertson will break the Evergreen career stolen base record on the baseball field. Also, next spring Wil Ruetz will try to defend his first place finishes in four events at the NWOAL track meet.
This fall? The pair of Viking speedsters accounted for three big play first half touchdowns, and Evergreen got a huge fourth-and-goal stop in the fourth quarter to defeat Archbold 26-22.
“We told the kids before the game that we need one big win in the program,” Viking coach Barry Bock said after.
“We need to win against one of these big schools in the league. It will help us take the next step. After last week we were disappointed, but we weren’t defeated, this week we wanted to come out and show who we are.”
The Bluestreaks struck first when Kurt Krueger’s 36-yard pass to Aranjer Krieger set up a Tristan Wyse touchdown run from eight yards out to give Archbold a 7-0 first quarter lead.
That lead doubled early in the second when after a bad snap on a punt turned into an Archbold first down at the Evergreen 17. Ryder Ryan punched it in from the six on the fifth play to make it 14-0 early in the second.
It was then that the Vikings began to strike back in the form of three huge pass plays to take the lead by halftime.
On a 3rd-and-14, Bryce Bolger lofted an aerial into the deep middle that Ruetz ran down past two Archbold defenders for a 68-yard score to get Evergreen on the board.
After a Bluestreak three-and-out, the Vikings went to work again as Bolger hit Robertson first for 21 yards across the grain in the middle, then the fleet wide out ran under a pass down the left sideline in the end zone for a 34-yard strike to get Evergreen within 14-13.
Evergreen held again defensively and had one more shot at the end of the half and Robertson made it count when he corralled a screen pass, beat a man on the edge and sprinted 79 yards for his second touchdown on the game to give the Vikes a 20-14 lead.
“Speed kills,” Bock said of the series of long-distance plays in the second. “We’re fast and we use those two fast kids for a reason. Last week (a 7-3 loss at Wauseon) we struggled offensively, this week, this is our potential.”
Evergreen extended the margin in the third on Max Mossing’s four-yard TD run to 26-14 but Archbold wasn’t done.
SPECIAL TEAMS … Evergreen’s Will Ruetz makes a tackle on Aranjer Krieger after fielding a punt in the first half.
Another Krueger-to-Krieger pass, this one of 35 yards, led to Wyse burst from three yards away on the fourth quarter’s first play to make it 26-20, and after Krieger picked a Brenden Holman pass, Archbold had a chance to regain the lead, starting deep in Evergreen territory.
The Streaks got as far as the Viking 1, but on third down, then fourth, Evergreen stuffed the Streaks twice before breaking the plane of the goal line to maintain a six-point lead with less than three minutes left.
“They called a timeout, and we told the kids, just get a stop,” expressed Bock. “If we got a stop there, we would have the momentum. Archbold is a great fourth quarter team and the kids knew it; we knew it going in and we had to make a stop to get a W.”
Archbold got a tackle for loss in the end zone, but the Streaks miscalculated Alex Mossing’s ensuing kick and took over deep in their own end at the Archbold 5 but after getting first down, the Vikings held again and ran out the clock.
Evergreen had 251 yards in the air, 181 coming on the three second quarter TDs. The Vikes ran for 74 yards on 30 carries while Archbold totaled 269 yards, 170 on the ground.
UP NEXT: October 4 – Bryan (0-6, 0-3 NWOAL) at Evergreen (3-3, 1-2 NWOAL) 7pm; Archbold (3-3, 1-2 NWOAL) at Swanton (0-6, 0-3 NWOAL) 7pm
AHS EHS
First Downs 11 10
Rushing Yards 40-170 30-74
Passing Yards 99 251
Passing 11-21-1 9-16-1
Total Yards 269 325
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 3-14 2-20
ARCHBOLD 7 7 0 8 – 22
EVERGREEN 0 20 6 0 – 26
A – Wyse 10-yd run (Rodger kick)
A – Ryan 13-yd run (Rodger kick)
E – Ruetz 69-yd pass from Bolger (A. Mossing kick)
E – Robertson 34-yd pass from Bolger (kick failed)
E – Robertson 78-yd pass from Bolger (A. Mossing kick)
E – M. Mossing 4-yd run (conversion failed)
A – Wyse 3-yd run (kick failed)
A – safety
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Archbold – Ryan 22-98, Wyse 7-32; Evergreen – M. Mossing 17-61; PASSING: Archbold – Kruger 8-18-1-100; Evergreen – Bolger 8-13-0-232; RECEIVING: Archbold – Krieger 2-75; Evergreen – Ruetz 3-94; Robertson 3-133