Perrysburg senior wide receiver Gavin Fenneken (1), right, celebrates scoring a touchdown on a catch and run play with teammate junior Iain Hall (11), left, during the third quarter of a game against Sylvania Southview on Friday at Steinecker Stadium. Perrysburg defeated Southview 56-27. (Scott W. Grau/Sentinel-Tribune)
PERRYSBURG — Looking at the score of Perrysburg’s 56-27 win over Sylvania Southview at Steinecker Stadium Friday, no one would ever suspect it was the defense that sparked the Yellow Jackets.
After Southview took a 14-7 first quarter lead, Perrysburg scored 28 second quarter points unanswered, including two defensive touchdowns that blew the game wide open.
First, to tie the game, Perrysburg junior quarterback Josh Takats scored on a 30-yard run on the first play after junior linebacker Joseph Seney recovered a fumble by Southview senior receiver Avery Offenburg.
Takats, who found a hole and broke a couple tackles on his way to the end zone, tied the game 14-14 with 9:47 remaining in the first half after senior Taylor Thomas’ conversion kick.
On the Cougars next possession, they marched to the Perrysburg nine-yard line, but senior running back Isaac Sexton was stuffed by the defensive line on a fourth-down-and-two.
On the ensuing drive, Perrysburg went 92 yards on nine plays, capped by a nine-yard TD run by Seney off a power I-formation with Takats taking the snap directly from behind center, giving the Jackets a one TD lead, 21-14 with under four minutes to play in the half.
Then, the defense really stepped up, as if it had not already.
A screen pass thrown by Southview junior quarterback Will Mayzes was intercepted by Perrysburg junior defensive back Lukas Pollock, who ran 58 yards to the house, putting the Jackets up by two scores with 1:20 remaining.
Pollock, at 5-foot-9, had been giving up six inches to the 6-3 Offenburg, but eventually Pollock made sure he got his moment.
“So, obviously we’ve been watching film, and in that look, they come out with trips (three receivers out wide) and they go screen left,” Pollock said.
“I watched the quarterback’s eyes and kind of jumped it and made the play, and tried to run as fast as I could into the end zone.”
Perrysburg coach Dirk Conner and senior defensive end Matt Hubbard knew Pollock’s moment was coming.
“We all kept our heads up the whole time,” Hubbard said. “I told Lukas, ‘Just keep your head up, keep playing,’ he came away with that pick-six and just kept going.”
Conner added, “Lukas Pollock is a real good corner for us, but his specialty is not going to be man-to-man against them. They took advantage of a match-up and good for them for doing that, and we adjusted and got what we needed to, and really after that it was to kind of just to knock it down a little bit.”
The Jackets’ defense was not done yet.
On the next play from scrimmage, Perrysburg junior defensive back Dylan Blubaugh just missed an interception, but another opportunity for a turnover was coming for the Jackets.
On the next play, Mayzes hit a quick out to Offenburg near the sideline, but after taking two steps the Southview receiver had the ball poked out from behind into the hands of Seney, who ran 37 yards for another Perrysburg TD with 1:04 still showing on the clock.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Seney and 6-4, 214-pound Hubbard were all over the field defensively. Conner says it is what the defense has been doing all season.
“They are impressive,” Conner said. “They’ve been good all year, so I don’t know if it was stepping up.”
Perrysburg’s offense added three more second half scores as the Yellow Jackets won the cross divisional game between the two Northern Lakes League teams and improved to 4-0. The Cougars fell to 2-2.
Perrysburg senior Samuel Lawanson III got the game started by returning the opening kickoff 93 yards untouched.
In the second half, Takats threw a 17-yard TD pass to senior receiver Gavin Fenneken, senior back Nick Oros scored from two yards out, and Oros had a seven-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
However, Perrysburg’s offense did not outshine Southview’s by significant numbers, outgaining the Cougars 344-282 in total offensive yards and earning 19 first downs to the Cougars’ 15.
Takats completed 12-of-20 passes for 184 yards with one TD and one interception and he ran for 67 yards on nine carries with one TD. Oros led Perrysburg on the ground with 77 yards on 19 carries and two scores.
Hubbard had two catches for 73 yards, including one for 56 yards in which he knocked over a couple bodies, gaining an extra 20 yards after contact.
“I just kept going my way, saw a defender, got an arm (stiff-arm) on him, and kept going,” Hubbard said.
The University of Toledo signed Hubbard to play baseball a few weeks ago, but they might want to think about trying him on the football field, too. Once he joined the Perrysburg football team, it did not take long for him to get hooked.
“These guys treat me like family,” Hubbard said. “I’ve been playing the last two years, but I came back right away. I love these guys.”
Fenneken had four catches for 40 yards, junior receiver Dominick Woods had two catches for 38 yards, junior Zach Schroeder had two catches for 17 yards, junior Iain Hall had a catch for 10 yards, and senior Abram Hire had a six-yard reception for Perrysburg.
Will Mayzes, the son of long-time former Southview coach Jim Mayzes who remains on the staff, completed 8-of-11 passes for 157 yards and three TDs, plus he ran for 33 yards on eight carries.
Mayzes completed his first two passes for touchdowns, first throwing to Offenburg on a 13-yard strike to tie the game, and then to Offenburg again for a 20-yard TD as the Cougars took a 14-7 lead with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter.
It was the first time that Perrysburg had trailed all season.
The first touchdown was set up by an interception of a Takats’ pass by senior safety Parker Sears, who returned it 47 yards to the Perrysburg 37.
The second Southview TD was set up when the Cougars’ defense stopped Perrysburg on a fourth-and-two at the Jackets’ 47-yard line.
Offenburg had nine catches for 97 yards, senior Zach Carter had a 27-yard reception, senior Cam Ramm caught a pass covering 22 yards, Sexton had one catch for 11 yards plus he carried the ball 31 times for 90 yards and one TD.
Conner said he knew Southview was going to give the Yellow Jackets a test.
“I’ve tried to say all week, but nobody listened, this is a much better football team on the other side than the score last week (Findlay 49, Southview 14) indicated,” Conner said.
“So, I was saying to our kids, ‘Hey, it is going to be a fight tonight.’ We needed something like tonight. I’m incredibly proud of our kids. It is the first time we faced any adversity at all.
“To respond and just have fun playing football, Man, that was an absolute blast tonight,” Conner added.
Pollock says that a little adversity was good for him and his teammates.
“We’ve been a group that has been really tight,” Pollock said. “We showed a lot of grit, and I think that was a good test.
“We gave them 14 points in the first quarter, just like that, and those points were on me and everybody, but we came back and played a great game and put the offense into position to score 56 points.”
