FOSTORIA - Southington Chalker dominated all but the final seconds of the first half and padded its lead in the third quarter with the help of an interception and the recovery of its own squib kick Saturday in a 46-28 win over St. Wendelin.
The Wildcats (2-2) took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter on Dillon Nezbeth's 4-yard sprint and his conversion run, but they gained control in the second period.
Brendan Baugher (4 yards), Austin Casper (1 yard) and Nezbeth (8 yards) all scored on runs inside the 10 to build a 30-0 lead.
The last of those scores came with 18 seconds left in the half, and that was nearly too much time for St. Wendelin.
After being held to 18 yards yards rushing and 7 passing until then, the Mohawks drove 54 of the 55 yards needed for a score, with quarterback Zach Miller finding Austin Reinhart on three passes in a row, the threading its way through triple-coverage for a 20-yard gain to the 1 as time expired.
Casper picked off Miller early in the second half to set up his 6-yard TD toss to Chris Warnick. The Wildcats then recovered a squib kick, and Casper capped that drive with a 32-yard pass to J.C. Comella for 46-0 lead with 5:51 left in the third period.
Fact Box
| Southington Chalker 46, St. Wendelin 28 | ||||
| Chalker | 8 | 22 | 16 | 0 — 46 |
| St. Wendelin | 0 | 0 | 6 | 22 — 28 |
| First Quarter | ||||
| C — Dillon Nezbeth 4 run (Nezbeth run), 3:19 | ||||
| Second Quarter | ||||
| C — Brendan Baugher 4 run (Baugher run), 10:14 | ||||
| C — Austin Casper 1 run (Baugher run), 4:13 | ||||
| C — Nezbeth 8 run (run failed), :18 | ||||
| Third Quarter | ||||
| C — Chris Warnick 6 pass from Casper (Nezbeth run), 9:23 | ||||
| C — J.C. Comella 32 pass from Casper (Mike Moody run), 5:51 | ||||
| SW — Austin Reinhart 9 pass from Zach Miller (kick failed), 3:41 | ||||
| Fourth Quarter | ||||
| SW — Reinhart 9 run (Brad Buhrow pass from Miller), 5:16 | ||||
| SW — Reinhart 63 run (kick failed), 3:09 | ||||
| SW — Justin Walter 55 interception return (Miller run), 2:55 | ||||
| C | SW | |||
| First Downs | 15 | 12 | ||
| Rushes-yards | 39-173 | 35-138 | ||
| Passing yards | 145 | 113 | ||
| Comp-att-int | 11-17-1 | 9-30-3 | ||
| Punts-ave. | 3-30.3 | 4-29.3 | ||
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 0-0 | ||
| Penalties-yards | 6-55 | 5-35 | ||
| Individual Statistics | ||||
| RUSHING: Chalker — Nezbeth 12-57; Baugher 11-69; Casper 8-39; Zac Weaver 4-(minus 4); Moody 2-17; Tait Kline 2-(minus 5). St. Wendelin — Reinhart 17-131; Miller 8-7. | ||||
| PASSING: Chalker — Casper 10-14-0-137; Kline 1-3-1-8. St. Wendelin — Miller 9-30-3-113. | ||||
| RECEIVING: Chalker — Comella 5-80; Nezbeth 2-41; Warnick 2-15; Jacob Zolna 1-8; Baugher 1-1. St. Wendelin — Reinhart 5-98; Brady Rutter 2-7; Buhrow 1-6; Cole Williams 1-2. |
The Mohawks found their rhythm after that, thanks to Brad Buhrow falling on a muffed punt at the Chalker 40.
Miller's 34-yard toss on fourth-and-long to Reinhart a short time later set up a 9-yard scoring pass to Reinhart to put the Mohawks on the board.
A fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter set up 75-yard scoring drive, witih Reinhart racing in from 9 yards out.
He added a 63-yard scoring sprint later in the period, and Justin Walter returned an interception 55 yards for another score with just under 3 minutes to play.
Baugher (11-69) and Nezbeth (12-57) combined for 13 carries and 126 yards for Chalker. Comella caught five passes for 80 yards and Casper went 10 of 14 passing for 137 yards.
Reinhart led the Mohawks, rushing 17 times for 131 yards and catching five passes for 98 yards. Miller went 9 of 30 passing for 113 yards.
