After three heartbreaking losses this fall, the Rossford Bulldogs rebounded with a win over Fostoria, 47-7, in a Northern Buckeye Conference contest last Friday night at Jackson-Ferguson Stadium.
RHS celebrated Homecoming with an offensive explosion that saw the team score in every quarter, racking up 364 yards of total offense.
The opening drive by Fostoria started promising, but ended in a punt from midfield. The Bulldogs were pinned on their own threeyard line to start their opening series.
Quarterback Alex Williams immediately went to work, firing passes to three different receivers.
Two consecutive screens to Brenden Revels and then Kaden Kirkman both resulted in first down yardage. A deep pass to Jake Morrison coupled with a personal foul penalty on the Redmen pushed Rossford into Fostoria territory.
On the next play, Williams hit Kirkman on a deep route to score the game’s first touchdown. The point after kick was no good, but the Bulldogs were on the board first, 6-0.
On the following Redmen possession, the Rossford defense had trouble containing the visitors’ running game. They reached the RHS 20 before a bad snap on second and long forced them to pass. They took a shot at the end zone on third down, but Rossford’s Revels intercepted.
The Bulldogs’ subsequent drive ended in a punt, and the score held up to close the first quarter.
As the second quarter took off, the Redmen were again forced to punt.
A run by Williams picked up the first down, but Rossford was whistled for a penalty. So on first and 15, he connected with Revels for a first down at the Fostoria 41.
The quarterback rolled to his right and tossed a short strike to Blake Dewey, good for another first down.
A pass interference call against Fostoria moved Rossford into the red zone.
Three plays later, Williams practically trampled defenders as he plowed in for a touchdown.
This time the Bulldogs went for two, but the try was stifled by the Redmen, and the lead moved to 12-0.
Both teams then exchanged punts. Fostoria took over on its own 17 and began a drive that successfully mixed the run and short passes.
With the ball near midfield, play became a little chippy. After what seemed to be a physical but clean hit by Williams, Rossford was tagged for a personal foul.
Two more personal fouls and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty followed, all levied on Rossford. The infractions moved the ball into the red zone for the Redmen.
They drove to the Rossford two before punching it in for the touchdown and cutting the lead to 12-7.
The Bulldogs responded with passes to Morrison and Kirkman, and had possession on the Fostoria 46.
Another personal foul was called, this time on the Redmen. It gave Rossford a first down, but an offensive pass interference penalty meant the Bulldogs were soon looking at third and 15.
Williams made up for it on the next play connecting with Morrison in the corner of the end zone for the score.
Jonah Shafer added the extra point kick, and the lead grew to 19-7.
With 1:22 remaining in the half, the next Fostoria drive was also stymied by penalties.
The Redmen were forced to punt from deep in their own end. A short kick gave Rossford possession on the Fostoria 42 with 52 seconds left in the half.
Williams tossed two passes to Kirkman, and on the second one, the wide receiver weaved through defenders and high-stepped in for the score.
Williams called his own number on the two-point conversion try, and Rossford took a 27-7 lead into the intermission.
The Bulldogs started with the ball on their own 40 to begin the second half. They quickly picked up where they left off.
After Williams gained just enough to move the sticks, he passed to Revels for a seven-yarder. He then ripped off a 24-yard run giving RHS a first down on the Fostoria 19.
On the next play, Williams lofted a pass to Morrison for a touchdown. With Shafer’s extra point, Rossford increased the margin to 34-7.
The next Redmen drive was turned away when Xavier Kellermeier pulled down a one-handed catch for the interception. The Bulldogs took over and threw for another score. This time Williams found Revels at the back of the end zone. The extra point gave Rossford a 41-7 lead and as per OHSAA rules, the game converted to a running clock. The Redmen were stopped once more, and the Bulldogs started to filter in some of their reserves. They went into more of a ball control offense with a heavy dose of carries by running back Grant Eckel for the remainder of the third quarter. Fostoria opened the fourth quarter with the ball. After three promising plays, the Redmen worked their way into Rossford territory.
But Rossford’s Brock Queen knocked the ball free on the next play and came up with the recovery to give it back to the Bulldogs.
The predominantly reserve lineup for the Bulldogs had trouble moving the ball and were forced to give it over on downs. But on third and four, Rossford’s Brody Nusbaum picked off a Fostoria pass near the sidelines. With nothing but open field in front of him, he streaked into the end zone to finish the night’s scoring. “It’s always good to win,” Head Coach Todd Drusback said. “Once again, though, it took something negative for us to get going. Still, I’m happy with how we played from midsecond quarter through mid-third quarter. Once we got it going, things went pretty well.”
In a game that featured high-powered offense by the Bulldogs, it also was difficult to look past the penalties. It was clear that the officiating crew was busy all night.
Rossford was called for 111 yards of penalties and Fostoria for 86. Nine calls were for personal fouls, with another four unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Bulldog offense did put up good numbers, especially in the passing game.
Williams led the team with 287 yards passing by completing 19 of 27 attempts. He threw for five touchdowns.
Kirkman benefited most, grabbing seven receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Morrison added five receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
The RHS defense showed some improvement as they produced key stops and forced turnovers.
The Redmen were held to just 192 yards of total offense. Leading the team in tackles was senior linebacker Brandon Swope with nine tackles, including two for loss.
Kellermeier contributed eight solo tackles and one assist along with one interception.
The team stays home for its next game, tomorrow night, facing the Otsego Knights. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
When asked what to expect from the Knights, Drusback commented, “Their defensive front is really good. They might be the best we’ve seen up to this point. They really get off the ball and they are very aggressive. Offensively, they will want to mix up the run and the pass and put in some misdirection stuff.”
That being said, Drusback still believes the Bulldogs match up well with Otsego and he expects a good game.
“I think we match up well with them, but we need to stop the run. They will want to run the football, and we need to force them to throw. On offense, first down success has been important for us. We need to be consistent and maximize our opportunities. We need to have success on first down, so we’re not in second and long, or third and long situations.”