By Scott Hayes, Staff Writer 2:07 AM Saturday, October 24, 2009
WAYNESVILLE — Smart money said if the Monroe High School football team held Waynesville’s high-octane offense to a single touchdown, the Hornets would win.
That would have been a losing bet.
Waynesville moved into a tie for first place in the Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division on Friday, Oct. 23, with a 7-3 victory over the visiting Hornets.
The Spartans (7-2, 4-1 SWBL Buckeye) swarmed the Hornet option attack, holding Monroe to an unofficial 96 total yards.
“Our defense played lights out,” Waynesville coach Glen Burchfield said. “I can’t say anything more than that.
“I think if we had played another five minutes of football, Monroe would have won. Our kids were worn out, but they reached inside and got every last bit of energy they had to finish this game.”
Monroe (7-2, 4-1) marched to the Waynesville 5-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. But a holding penalty, a fumbled pitch and two incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs.
Waynesville then ate up five minutes of the clock, moving the ball from its own 17 to the Hornet 5, where the drive ended in a missed field goal with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining.
The Hornets’ desperate last drive ended in two incomplete passes, a quarterback sack by Waynesville’s Mike Tarkany and an offensive pass interference call.
“Our hats are off to them,” Monroe coach Ken Meibers said. “They out coached us and they outplayed us. They deserved the win.
“We struggled to get any momentum on offense, but our kids battled to the end. They came out on top. We’ve been on the other side of that coin a few times this season. It happens.”
Both teams capitalized on good field position to score in the first quarter. The Spartans put a touchdown on the board on a 7-yard run by Seth Millar, while the Hornets settled for a 25-yard field goal by Zac Eckert.
Millar finished with 114 yards rushing on 24 carries, while Waynesville quarterback Cory Young rushed for 98 yards on 20 carries.
Monroe’s Devin King was held to 43 yards rushing while David Routson ran 12 times for 27 yards.
Josh Powell led Waynesville’s defense with nine tackles and Young had seven.
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