Eastwood back Kevin Lewis is tackled by Oak Harbor defender Michael Lalonde. (Lee Welch | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
OAK HARBOR — In a matchup of the Northern Buckeye Conference’s two best teams, teams that are mirror images of one another, it was fitting that the game between Eastwood and Oak Harbor — also two of Ohio’s best teams — would go down to the wire and end in dramatic fashion.
In the game’s closing seconds, Eastwood quarterback Drew Luidhardt connected with Dayquan Oliver on a quick slant for 11 yards to get the Eagles (8-1, 5-1 NBC) to the Rocket 4-yard-line with 5.7 seconds to play, but two quick passes to Andre Lewis were just out of his reach, and Oak Harbor (9-0, 6-0) held on for a 31-27 victory.
The final drive began when Eastwood took over at its own 28 with 1:33 to play, and Luidhardt hit Oliver and Lewis on quick slants, respectively, the first one for 11 yards and the next for 16 to put the Eagles at the Rocket 45. Luidhardt hit Lewis on a 4-yard out route, and he was tackled inbounds, forcing Eastwood to use its second timeout with 48 seconds.
An incomplete pass was followed by a nice pass over the middle to Oliver for 26 yards, and Oak Harbor defensive back Tyler Thompson saved a touchdown, tackling Oliver at the 15 and setting things up for the finish.
Eastwood coach Sam Cotterman knew his team had a chance on that final possession.
“I told the guys that we’ve been in this position before. We practice it every week,” he said. “We practice having the ball with (little) time remaining, we practice the two-minute drill every week.
“At the end of the day, they made more plays than we did. We had plenty of opportunities, we were there until the end.”
Luidhardt completed 22-of-36 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns while Lewis caught eight passes for 69 yards and a score, Cam Schumaker finished with five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown and Oliver had five catches for 78 yards.
Cotterman was proud of his team, and couldn’t name anyone that really stood out.
“I think both lines played well. There were the three down linemen and the linebackers, but I don’t know if I can name one group of person,” he said. “We played our butts off.”
The game-winning drive for Oak Harbor started with 4:02 remaining at its own 34. Quarterback Michael LaLonde hit Wyatt Augsburger for six yards, and then Carson Ridener ran for six yards and a first down.
The next play was one that will stick out as LaLonde threw deep for Thompson, who appeared to take the ball away from Lewis at the last second for a 32-yard gain. Who actually caught the ball might be in the eyes of the beholder, but it was close, nonetheless. Perhaps Lewis and Thompson had split possession, and 50/50 goes to the receiver.
“I thought we had it,” Cotterman said. “Dre went up, and he usually comes down with (the ball), and I thought he had it. We’ll have to watch the film.”
Ridener ran for six yards on first down, putting the Rockets at the 8, and LaLonde ran it in on a draw for the touchdown. Fulton Krupp’s extra point made it 31-27 with 1:34 to play.
The Eagles did a very good job holding Ridener in check. He finished with 25 carries for 129 yards and touchdown, but he was held in check for the most part.
“We wanted to use our speed to our advantage. We know they’re big, so we went with a three front. We thought it was something they hadn’t seen,” said Cotterman. “They still did a nice job blocking. It was a good game plan, we just didn’t do quite enough.”
Trailing, 24-14, with 10:33 to play, Eastwood scored 13 straight points to take its first lead of the game after previously being tied, 14-14.
The Eagles drove 65 yards in six plays with Luidhardt hitting Schumaker for an 11-yard touchdown pass on third-and-8 with 8:13 remaining. Austin Miller’s extra point was good, cutting Oak Harbor’s lead to 24-21.
Eastwood forced the Rockets to go three-and-out, and got the ball back at its own 40. The key play came on third-and-6 from the 44 when Luidhardt connected with the tight end, Hunter Lauer on a short pass that he took all the way to the Oak Harbor 2 before he was tackled by Thompson.
Three plays later, on third-and-goal, Kevin Lewis ran up the middle before being stopped but was able to bounce it out to the left and elude the defenders for a 2-yard touchdown run with 4:08 remaining.
The Eagles trailed at a number of different points in the game, falling behind 7-0, 7-6, 14-6, 17-14, 24-14 and 31-27.
Oak Harbor coach Mike May was an assistant at Elmwood when Cotterman played there in the 1990s.
“They have speed all around,” said May. “Their quarterback does a nice job of running their offense. We knew it was going to be a great challenge and we’re fortunate to get the win.”
The win clinches at least a share of the league title for the Rockets, who play Lake next week. But if Oak Harbor loses to the Flyers and the Eagles rebound to defeat Genoa next week, it will be a tie for the NBC championship.
“I told the guys that we need to have a short memory. I said they can hang their heads for a little bit,” said Cotterman. “But Genoa doesn’t care whether or not we won tonight.”
Currently, Eastwood finds itself fifth in the Division V, Region 18 standings with 14.78 points. The Eagles are just over one point behind Creston Norwayne. If Eastwood finishes in the top four, it would guarantee it two home playoff games (provided the Eagles win the first).
Eastwood 6 8 0 13 — 27
Oak Harbor 7 7 3 14 — 31
OH — Carson Ridener 8 run (Fulton Krupp kick)
E — Andre Lewis 16 pass from Drew Luidhardt (kick failed)
OH — Brayden Butzin 45 pass from Michael LaLonde (Krupp kick)
E — Kevin Lewis 5 run (Cam Schumaker pass from Luidhardt)
OH — Krupp 21 field goal
OH — Tyler Thompson 11 pass from LaLonde (Krupp kick)
E — Schumaker 11 pass from Luidhardt (Austin Miller kick)
E — Lewis 2 run (kick failed)
OH — LaLonde 8 run (Krupp kick)
