By: Bill Bray
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Wauseon August 29, 2014 – A tenacious defense and the arm and legs of Zac Robinson led the Indians to a 31-7 season opening win over Fairview Friday night.
The Indians needed just over four minutes to start the half’s scoring parade when Robinson found Zach Johnson for a five-yard touchdown strike at the 7:34 mark. The Indians needed just four plays to go the needed 62 yards. The drive was aided by a 52-yard Robinson dash that put the ball on the Fairview 10 yard line. Josh Whitcomb converted a strong PAT kick to put the Indians up 7-0.
Wauseon’s second score was even quicker with a two-play drive. Jacob Flory, running hard, ran for five yards to the Wauseon 35. Robinson showcased his speed and quickness once again as the senior quarterback moved over the right side of the line to sprint 65 yards for the score. Whitcomb’s kick made it a 14-0 score with 3:50 remaining in the opening quarter.
After another great defensive stance, the Tribe were at it again. With 7:16 left in the first half, Wauseon got their third six pointer of the game. The Indians took possession at their own 15. The 10 play, 85 yard drive, took 4:33 off the clock. It resulted in a 20-yard run by Flory with 7:16 left in the half. Whitcomb remained perfect and the Indians lead grew to 21-0.
The Indians “D”, Anthony Werder, Noah Castle, Nate Suntken and Co. dropped Andy Robinson short as Wauseon took over on downs.
From the Wauseon 33, Robinson found Jacob Newlove and the Senior flanker took off down the northern sideline for a 67 yard touchdown. It was especially sweet for Newlove who missed all of his junior year with a knee injury.
Whitcomb’s kick again split the uprights and the Indians were in complete control at 28-0 with 4:14 left in the second stanza.
Things changed in the second half as the only scoring by the two teams came at the foot of Whitcomb who nailed a 23 yard field goal with 11:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Farview score came with just 30 seconds left with a 18 yard pass play against the Wauseon junior varsity defense.
Coach Travis Cooper was very aware of the two different halves. “It was a great 1st half, Cooper said. “We laid an egg in the 2nd half. Zac Robinson had a fantastic game. He was very efficient in the passing game and had some big runs. We have to clean up the turnovers and the penalties. If this group wants to reach the goals they have set for this season, we must come out of the locker room after half with a different level of focus than we had last night. As good as we played in the 1st half, we played equally as bad in the 2nd.”
The Indians finished with 371 yards of total offense while allowing Fairview with just 111. The defensive gem turned in the by the Indians was evident in reading game stats. Fairview had 30 rushing attempts and gained 52 yards. The Apache also netted just 59 yards through the air. Robinson added to his heroics by picking off a Fairview pass. On offense Robinson completed 12 of 13 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground the senior was just as impressive carrying the ball 10 times for 123 yards with one touchdown.