NWOAL FOOTBALL … Archbold quarterback Cade Brenner takes off on a run for a portion of his 55 yards rushing on the night. VIEW ALL PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
ARCHBOLD (October 13, 2023) – Archbold was dealt a hand of trips of Jacks, then made it work in a “special” manner.
The Streaks Jack Hurst scored a trio of touchdowns and Archbold scored directly off big special teams plays four times as they turned a one-point second quarter lead into a 59-22 romp over Patrick Henry.
“We harped on them all week about special teams and how they could play a role in a game like this,” Archbold veteran coach David Dominique said. “Our special teams were lights out tonight.”
“For the most part I thought we were great on special teams, the touchdown (on a kickoff) was huge, then two blocked punts. That’s critical to win a game.”
The win also solidified a top four position for the Streaks in Region 18 Division V for the upcoming playoff season.
Hurst gave an appetizer of what was to come in Archbold’s opening drive, running for 11 yards and one first down, then catching a Cade Brenner pass for 17 more than led to Lance Ramirez’ 28-yard field goal with 7:57 to go in the first.
Patrick Henry came right back as Tommie Smith made an outstanding leaping catch of a Lincoln Creager aerial to account for 33 yards and set up Creager for a one-yard scoring burst and adjoining two-point conversion that put the Patriots on top 8-3.
Archbold had a golden opportunity the next time with the ball when Brenner raced 49 yards to the PH 2.
However, a bad snap, a sack and an incomplete pass forced a Streak punt on 4th and goal from the 34.
The next time Archbold had the ball, they were more efficient as they went 55 yards in nine plays capped by Brenner’s toss to a wide-open Brodie Bailey from nine yards away making it 9-8 at the 8:10 mark of the second.
Smith again struck for the Patriots three plays later. Creager threw up a 50-50 ball and the high-flying Smith went up and made an NFL-like one handed stab then romped the last 30 yards to paydirt that with another two-pointer, gave PH a 16-9 advantage with 7:11 left.
In the span of 54 seconds, Archbold not only came back to knot the score, but took the lead.
On the second play after the kickoff, Hurst found a seam, got to the second level, and raced 75 yards to even the game at 16-16 with 6:19 on the clock.
Chase Miller picked off Creager on the first play after the kickoff and Lucas Dominique rambled 18 yards for a score to regain an Archbold lead at 23-16, a lead they never relinquished.
One more time on the next Patriot possession, Smith flew skyward to spear a Creager pass from 26 yards out for six that got PH within 23-22, but Hurst regained an eight-point lead 14 ticks later.
The Patriot kickoff was muffed and continued to roll along the Patriot sideline where Hurst picked it up and after a series of great blocks, found his way to the opposite sideline for a 77-yard touchdown return to make it 30-22.
“Jack is kind of the jack of all trades,” Dominique said of Hurst. “We put him all over the place, quarterback, running back, receiver, he can make plays.”
“First and foremost, tonight the offensive line made some holes that any running back could’ve ran through. Kudos to them, they have been playing tough and getting better as the year goes on.”
Archbold capped a 34-point second quarter 68 seconds later when the Streaks made another huge special teams play.
Mason Siegel barreled in to block a Patriot punt and Stephen Diller picked the pigskin out of the air and made his way 18 yards to the endzone to boost the Streak lead at the half to 37-22.
Two more huge special teams plays beginning the second half blew the game wide open. Houston Miranda fumbled the opening kickoff of the third quarter and Dominique pounced on it at the Patriot 25.
A chop block penalty pushed the ball back to the 32 but one more time it was Hurst making a big play when he garnered Brenner’s pass to the right and finished off a 32-yard score just 95 seconds into the third.
Then Siegel capped off the series of big special teams plays by tipping another punt setting up Archbold on the 40 going in.
Hurst raced for the first 37 yards and Dominique got the last three to make it a 30-point margin with 8:38 to go in the third.
The Streaks got another later in the quarter, set up by Josiah Gomez’ pick and return to the Patriot 15.
Brenner hit Gomez for the score that accounted for the final 13 yards and finished off a 22-point burst in eight minutes.
Hurst carried the ball only five times but ran for 127 on the night to go with his 77-yard return score. He caught two of Brenner’s passes for 49 more.
UP NEXT: October 20 – Archbold (8-1, 5-1 NWOAL) at Bryan (5-4, 3-3 NWOAL) 7pm.
PHHS AHS
First Downs 10 15
Rushing Yards 27-126 27-211
Passing Yards 160 149
Passing 6-19-2 11-16-0
Total Yards 286 360
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-0
Penalties 3-25 5-40
PATRICK HENRY 8 14 0 0 – 22
ARCHBOLD 3 34 22 0 – 59
A – Ramirez 28-yard field goal
PH – L. Creager 2-yard run (Creager run)
A – Bailey 9-yard pass from Brenner (kick failed)
PH – T. Smith 65-yard pass from Creager (Johnson pass from Creager)
A – Hurst 75-yard run (Rodger kick)
A – Dominique 18-yard run (Rodger kick)
PH – T. Smith 26-yard pass from L. Creager (Johnson pass from L. Creager)
A – Hurst 75-yard kick return (Rodger kick)
A – Diller 20-yard blocked punt return (Rodger kick)
A – Hurst 32-yard pass from Brenner (Rodger kick)
A – Dominique 2-yard run (Hurst run)
A – Gomez 13-yard pass from Brenner (Rodger kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Patrick Henry – L. Creager 12-73; Archbold – Hurst 5-127, Brenner 3-55; PASSING: Patrick Henry – L. Creager 6-19-2-160; Archbold – Brenner 10-15-0-146; RECEIVING: Patrick Henry – T. Smith 3-124; Archbold – Hurst 2-49, Miller 2-44
Joe can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com