Before the start of the season, Rossford High School Head Football Coach Todd Drusback predicted the Bulldogs were going to lean on the athletic ability of senior quarterback Alex Williams.
In the season opener for both teams last Friday, Williams ran and passed RHS to victory over Swanton, 34-0.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs exploded for 20 second quarter points with Williams guiding the offense downfield by connecting with receivers Jake Morrison and Brenden Revels and then picking up the tough yards on the ground when necessary.
Rossford scored on its first drive of the second quarter. They took possession at their own 48, and Williams found Morrison on two short passes.
On third and nine, Williams carried the ball into the red zone for first and goal. On the next play, he powered his way in for a 6-yard touchdown run.
On the point after, the hold was bobbled and a forced pass fell incomplete to make the score 6-0.
It was time for the Rossford defense to step up as they forced a three and out. The offense took over again, this time on the Swanton 43.
After a receiver screen to Revels went for a first down, the drive seemed to stall. But on fourth and seven, a middle screen to running back Grant Eckel pushed the ball to the Swanton 21 and another Rossford first down.
Two plays later, Eckel bullied his way to the fouryard line for another first down, and Williams carted it in for his second rushing TD of the night. This time kicker Jonah Shafer made good on the point after to push the lead to 13-0.
On the next possession, Swanton ran two plays that produced little yardage. On third down, Morrison made a diving interception and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs with 1:40 remaining in the half.
Following two incomplete passes, Williams found Morrison wide open and deep for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 remaining.
With Shafer’s second point after, the team held a commanding 20-0 advantage.
Swanton came up empty on its last possession of the half when Ayden Wilson broke through the line and sacked the quarterback. Rossford took possession to start the second half, but what seemed like a promising drive was suddenly cut short when an errant pass by Williams was picked off by the Swanton secondary. Still, the Swanton offense could gain no momentum from the play. They again went three and out and suffered another sack when Brandon Swope and Eckel teamed up to bring the quarterback down in the backfield.
Following the punt, Rossford took over on its own 19. On the second play of the series, Williams lofted a pass downfield to Morrison, who snared it for a reception at the Swanton 35.
Williams and the Bulldogs then provided a balanced mix of short passes and quarterback runs until they reached the Swanton 11.
The quarterback then swung a pass to receiver Wes Ellison, who evaded tacklers for the touchdown. A third PAT by Shafer boosted the score to 27-0.
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, Swanton was forced to punt.
Rossford started their drive on the Swanton 37. With a hard run by Eckel and another short pass to Ellison, Williams went back to pass. Finding no receivers, he scrambled loose, blew past defenders into open field, and strode into the end zone for his third score of the night.
Shafer made good on his final PAT, and the Bulldogs held a 34-0 lead.
The RHS defense sealed the deal with Wilson recording another hard sack on the Swanton quarterback.
From then on, the two teams inserted a mostly reserve lineup as the clock ran out.
“It was a good win,” Drusback said. “Defensively, we settled down after the first series. We started to get after them. The last two years have been challenging because of the lack of preparation we had going into the season. So, there is a lot to be happy about. We still need to improve some areas to compete with better teams, though. We need to work on some of the mental stuff more, but we progressed in the last week.”
Rossford was led by Williams, who produced on the ground and in the air. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 217 yards, two touchdowns and he had two interceptions.
The physical quarterback also led the team in rushing with 117 yards on 14 attempts and scored three TDs. Morrison caught 11 passes for 154 yards and one score to lead all receivers.
Drusback was pleased with Williams’ performance.
“He made an unbelievable accomplishment,” he said of the statistics. “He’s doing it with his arm and his legs. The quarterback position is possibly the toughest position to play in all of sports because of not only the physical aspects but also because of the mental aspects, the decision-making that has to be done. Alex is really leaving a strong legacy for that position.”
In addition to the offense’s exploits, the defense shined as well. The unit held the Swanton offense to just 35 yards of total offense and made plays all night. Wilson led RHS with four solo tackles and two assists, including two sacks and four tackles for loss. Zaydin Morrison added three solos and five assists, Swope made two solos and four assists, and Hughart contributed six assists to lead a balanced defense that saw 19 Bulldogs in on at least one stop. “Swanton’s game plan was to slow the game down, and they did that for the first quarter. I thought defensively we did a nice job,” Drusback explained. “We did what we’re supposed to do. We were also able to rotate some guys to keep people fresh. Hopefully, guys will continue to improve and develop.” After the victory, Rossford turns its attention to the next opponent, the Port Clinton Redskins. The game will be tomorrow night at Jackson-Ferguson Stadium with kickoff at 7 p.m.