Perrysburg junior wide receiver J.D. Zeeb (6) trying break loose from Toledo Whitmer tacklers in a 27-13 loss at Steinecker Stadium Friday. (Drake Harlett | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PERRYSBURG — A pair of long drives in the first half that resulted in failed fourth down conversions set the tone Friday as Perrysburg football suffered a 27-13 loss to Toledo Whitmer inside Steinecker Stadium.
On back-to-back drives that spanned the first and second quarters, the Yellow Jackets combined for 18 plays and 111 yards, but they stalled out on a reverse turned incomplete pass and a stuffed QB sneak at the one-yard line.
“We lost the line of scrimmage on a lot of crucial short-yardage situations, and we can’t (do that),” Perrysburg head coach Dirk Conner said. “We tell our guys that we don’t want to have to get creative in those situations. We want to win it physically, but maybe I’ll have to get creative.”
Both drives stalled inside the five as Perrysburg trailed by just six at the time. After the Yellow Jackets forced a three-play, seven-yard drive for a punt following the failed back-to-back drives, the offense got the ball back with 2:26 left in the half.
On a fourth-and-5 from Whitmer’s 39, however, Josh Takats was intercepted by Camar Burton as the Panthers went to the half retaining a 6-0 lead.
Whitmer, which initially took the lead on a five-yard rushing touchdown from Brady Ford with 1:44 left in the opening quarter, opened up a two-score lead just under five minutes into the second half on a one-yard touchdown plunge from Joey Morales.
Following that score, Whitmer initially recovered a surprise onside kick, but after a lengthy delay that included a consultation of the rule book in the North endzone, the Panthers were called for an illegal block and Perrysburg gained possession following another kickoff.
On the sixth play of Perrysburg’s ensuing drive, Takats completed a six-yard pass to JD Zeeb on a fourth-and-3, but Zeeb was stripped and Whitmer recovered the fumble.
After another defensive stop, the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over on downs on their next possession.
“We are going to look ourselves in the mirror,” Conner said. “It was a good football game where we didn’t execute sometimes. I have to do a better job of calling better plays.”
The visiting Panthers took advantage as Isaiah Hayward rushed 53 yards around the left side for a touchdown on the first play of the ensuing drive, which was the final play of the third quarter, as Whitmer took a 20-0 lead.
After a third quarter that featured 17 plays and just 48 yards offensively, Perrysburg exploded for 133 yards over 20 plays on their final two drives.
On the first of those drives, Takats rushed for a six-yard touchdown to cap a nine-play, 53-yard surge. He then completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Ethan DeVries on a third-and-goal to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive with 2:35 remaining.
“There was fight the whole game,” Conner said. “I’m not worried about our team in terms of fight, but our execution has to be better in big-time situations.”
The Panthers got another touchdown run from Morales sandwiched in between those two drives and ultimately ran out the final 2:32 on the clock.
Perrysburg outgained Whitmer 321 to 304 in total yards, but had three drives end in turnovers on downs, while two more ended in turnovers, and they punted three times.
Nico Walkosky rushed 16 times for 61 yards to lead Perrysburg’s ground attack, while Takats finished 15-of-28 for 156 yards through the air.
Outside of Whitmer’s four touchdown drives, Perrysburg’s defense held the Panthers to just 32 yards on their seven other drives.
