INTERCEPTION … Carson Dominique picks off a pass intended for Sam Smith of Wauseon in the third quarter. (PHOTO BY LINDSAY PHILLIPS, STAFF)
By: Nate Calvin
ARCHBOLD – In a game that had a little bit of everything on a cold, blustery night at Bluestreak Stadium, it was Archbold senior running back Carson Dominique who did a little bit of everything.
Dominique rushed for 158 yards, three touchdowns, and had a second half interception to lead the Streaks as they scored the game’s last 20 points to rally for a 20-12 win over Wauseon.
Archbold has now won six in a row against their Fulton County rivals. “What a game, it was a roller coaster of emotions”, said Archbold head coach David Dominique.
“They (Wauseon) really dominated special teams in the first half, but our guys hung tough and put together that first scoring drive when we really need it down 12-0.”
The Wauseon special team’s dominance was on display early as Archbold’s punt on their opening possession was blocked by Xavier Martinez to give Wauseon the ball at the Streak 15-yard line.
Wauseon would have to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Tyson Rodriguez to take a 3-0 lead after being unable to move the ball.
Archbold engineered a 12-play drive on their next possession but stalled at the Wauseon 37 as they turned it over on downs.
The Indians threatened again on their next drive as they moved the ball with a series of wide receiver screen passes, the last one for 14 yards to Sam Smith to give the Indians a first-and-goal at the eight-yard line.
Receiver Jude Armstrong grabbed Parsons next pass but would fumble just before the goal line to give the ball back to Archbold as the fumble would go through the end zone for a touchback.
Archbold would go three and out on their next possession, which led to nine quick points for the Indians starting with a safety as the snap on the punt would go over the head of punter Krayton Kern and through the end zone.
With the score now 5-0, the Indians special teams struck again as Armstrong would take the ensuing free kick after the safety and return it 78 yards for a touchdown to make it 12-0 at the 10:58 mark of the second quarter.
Archbold responded with an impressive drive that started their own 10-yard line after mishandling the kickoff following the Wauseon touchdown.
A series of runs by Dominique and short passes by quarterback Cade Brenner moved the ball to the Wauseon 31-yard line where they faced a fourth down.
Brenner completed a fourth down pass to tight end Devon Morris down the middle of the field as he took it all the way to the five-yard line for a 26-yard play.
Two plays later it was Dominique hitting pay dirt from two yards out for his first score of the night to trim the Wauseon lead to 12-7 with 5:12 left in the half.
Another long kickoff return by Armstrong set Wauseon up at the Archbold 32-yard line, but Wauseon would lose 12 yards on three plays and be forced to punt.
Neither team was able to put together any offense for the remainder of the half as Wauseon maintained a 12-7 lead at the break.
The turnover bug hit both teams in the third quarter as they combined for four turnovers in the quarter.
Wauseon was first to turn it over as Armstrong fumbled on a jet sweep on Wauseon’s second play of the half to give Archbold the ball at the 28-yard line after the recovery by Morris.
Archbold eventually cashed in on the turnover to take the lead with Dominique taking a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and scoring from three yards out to make it 13-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
The teams exchanged turnovers following the Archbold score with Parsons being intercepted by Dominique and Archbold’s ensuing possession ended with a snap over the head of Brenner that was recovered by Zaidan Kessler.
After a Wauseon punt, the Streaks would turn it over again as Morris coughed it up after making a catch and Smith recovered for the Indians.
The fourth quarter opened with the Indians threatening again facing a fourth-and-inches at the Archbold seven-yard line.
The Indians decided to go for it and Parsons was dropped for a three-yard loss after the Archbold defensive line stopped Parsons in the backfield.
Archbold methodically moved the ball down the field on the legs of Dominique into a stiff wind that wreaked havoc with both teams.
After converting twice on third down to keep the possession going, Archbold was faced with a fourth-and-three at the Wauseon 46-yard line.
Brenner then had his biggest pass play of the night, hitting Karter Behnfeldt on a 33-yard connection to the Wauseon 13-yard line.
From there it was Dominique going back to work and eventually walking in from three yards out to make it 20-12 with just 1:56 remaining.
Wauseon’s final drive started with a Parsons’ incompletion before being sacked by Mason Siegel for a seven-yard loss.
Parsons passes on third and fourth down would fall incomplete giving the ball back to the Bluestreaks on downs enabling them to run out the final 1:26 for the win.
Archbold ended the game with a two-to-one edge in the time of possession (32:56-15:04) and was 7/17 (41%) on third down conversions while the Indians were just 1/10 (10%).
“It wasn’t pretty out there, but there’s no style points in this game”, said Dominique. “Just really proud of how our guys hung in there and it’s a great win for our community and school.”UP NEXT: October 21-Wauseon (6-3, 4-2 NWOAL) at Bryan (4-5, 3-3 NWOAL); Archbold (8-1, 7-1 NWOAL) at Patrick Henry (5-4, 3-3 NWOAL).
WHS AHS
First Downs 8 18
Rushing Yards 12-(-20) 48-164
Passing Yards 132 178
Total Yards 112 342
Passing 20-31-1 14-22-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties 4-45 5-40
Wauseon 3 9 0 0 – 12
Archbold 0 7 6 7 – 20
W – Rodriguez 36-yd field goal
W – Safety
W – Armstrong 78-yd kick return (Rodriguez kick)
A – Dominique 2-yd run (Kern kick)
A – Dominique 3-yd run (conversion no good)
A – Dominique 3-yd run (Kern kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Wauseon: Friend 3-8; Archbold: Dominique 32-158; PASSING: Parsons 20-31-132-1; Brenner 14-22-178; RECEIVING: Wauseon: Smith 8-70, Armstrong 8-38; Archbold: Behnfeldt 6-73, Morris 3-58
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com