By John Bombatch, Staff Writer 1:10 AM Saturday, September 12, 2009
MONROE — It had been four years since Monroe High School’s football team had defeated Valley View, and coach Ken Meibers made sure his Hornets knew it.
Monroe responded with what the coach termed a “total team effort” to pound the visiting Spartans 41-26 on Friday night, Sept. 11.
“We used that as motivation this week a bit. Tonight we played a complete game. Offense, defense, special teams … each of them came through tonight for us. This is a great win for us,” Meibers said.
The Monroe offense scored on runs by quarterback David Routson and running back Devin King, and a Routson pass to Travis Hacker. Even the defense got into the act when Ryan Leahy snared a pass and returned it for a 19-yard score.
And then special teams got involved as well. Zac Eckert nailed field goals from 43 and 30 yards out, and Ben Leahy returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a score.
“I think Ben Leahy’s kickoff return was the back breaker,” Meibers said. “He played a heckuva game for us, and that return was huge. That’s the third week in a row that we’ve returned a kick for a touchdown.”
Valley View made an effort to dig out of a 41-6 fourth-quarter hole, scoring 20 points in the final quarter on a pair of Kyle Pohl passes (one each to Andrew Zellner and Jordan Crouse), and a Brandon Fox 3-yard run. Zellner also scored the Spartans’ first TD of the night in the first quarter.
“There’s not a whole lot to say about this one,” Valley View coach Jay Niswonger said. “Monroe took advantage of two interceptions we threw and a fumble we gave them, and that’s what good teams do. You take away those three turnovers and it’s a 10-6 game at halftime and we’re still in it.
“That’s not to take anything away from the way Monroe played tonight though. Our inexperience showed tonight and Monroe really took it to us.”
A total of 28 penalties were called, including six unsportsmanlike penalties.
Ben Leahy said the Hornets goal was to put pressure on Valley View quarterback Kyle Pohl. And it worked. Pohl tossed two interceptions, both of which led to Hornet scores.
“We knew (Pohl) was a great quarterback, but we felt we could put some pressure on him and we did,” Leahy said. “Especially after the disappointing loss last week at Fenwick, and then to come home and play the kind of game we did against a very good Valley View team, this win means a lot to us.”
Meibers said it means a lot to the Monroe program, too.
“I think this game could show that we’ve turned the corner with this program, but we’ll be back to work on our next opponent, Bellbrook, on Saturday,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
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