Saturday, October 7th, 2023
Indians pick up first win
By Colin Foster
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Parkway quarterback Fletcher Smith keeps his eyes upfield as he tries to evade Fort Recovery defensive lineman Austin Steinbrunner.
ROCKFORD - Fort Recovery's players were hooting and hollering when they left the rain-soaked field Friday night.
Winning has that effect.
The Indians celebrated their first win of the season on Parkway's Homecoming Night, defeating the Panthers 29-14. After losing three of their first seven games by eight-or-fewer points, they got off the schneid thanks to a gritty effort by the line and a number of back-breaking third-down conversions.
"I'm really proud of those guys," Fort Recovery coach Brent Niekamp said. "It's hard when you have some close, tough losses. Those kids never blinked and didn't waver at all. This is the reward they get."
The Panthers trailed 22-14 when they turned the ball over on downs at the Indian 22-yard line with nine minutes left in the contest. Fort Recovery (1-7, 1-5 Midwest Athletic Conference) took more than eight minutes off the clock as it marched down field and iced the game on Reece Wendel's 10-yard touchdown.
Wendel rushed 21 times for 133 yards and a score. Troy Homan ran for 81 yards and passed for another 104. He rushed for a touchdown and threw a 26-yard scoring strike to Reece Guggenbiller. Ethan Hartnagel added a rushing score, and Conner Kaikala had two sacks as the Indians extended playoff-bound Parkway's losing streak to four games.
"I take responsibility as leader of this program," Parkway coach Jake Circle said. "We haven't won on Homecoming in 30-some years. This one hurts. But I told them that all of our goals are right in front of us. We're locked into the playoffs. Next time we hear that alma mater, it's got to be after wins."
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Fort Recovery running back Reece Wendel carries the ball as Parkway's Parker Lyons tries to get off a block at Panther Stadium on Friday. For more photos of Friday's games, go to www.dailystandard.com/albums/
A four-yard run by Hartnagel capped a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive for Fort Recovery to start the game. The Homan-Guggenbiller duo was lethal on that drive, combining for three completions and 58 yards. A 26-yard screen pass from Homan to Guggenbiller kept the possession alive on a third-and-15.
The duo was at it again on Fort's next possession, after the Indians quickly forced a Panther three-and-out. Homan broke a few tackles on his way to a 17-yard scramble on a third-and-15. Later, the quarterback scrambled to his right, then directed Guggenbiller to go deep and hit him in stride for a 26-yard TD pass.
Parkway's offense had some big plays in it, too. Logan Green took the next Parkway touch 70 yards untouched to the end zone.
Fort's Alex Gaerke kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 16-7 halfway through the quarter.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Logan Green tries to break a tackle by Fort Recovery linebacker Breaker Jutte at Panther Stadium on Friday.
Parkway (2-6, 1-5 MAC) had an 81-yard touchdown from Fletcher Smith to Landon May negated due to a block in the back. The play stood for 61 yards, and the Panthers eventually scored on a 10-yard pass from Smith to Landon Younker that made it 16-14 at the intermission.
There was no scoring in the third quarter, but Fort had its wheels turning entering the fourth. Wendel took a handoff for 30 yards on a fourth-and-long just before the end of the third. A seven-yard run by Homan gave the Indians an eight-point lead with 11:52 left in the contest.
Smith got the Panthers into Indian territory with a 46-yard run, but they stalled out on downs at the 22 to open the door for Fort's finishing drive. The Indians faced a fourth-and-5 from Parkway's 37 when Homan grinded through the teeth of Parkway's defense for six yards.
"I trusted the way we were moving the ball," said Niekamp. "Plus, if we did get stopped, our defense was playing really good. I thought we had a decent chance to stop them at that point. … But our offensive line played the best game they've played all year. Sometimes it's just a feeling. You just know when you can get a good push and get those yards."
The Indians, who outgained the Panthers 379-259, went 9-of-15 on third-down conversions and 3-of-5 on fourth.
"In big-time situations, we're not making plays," Circle said. "This was a good, defensive battle after the first quarter. I thought we made them earn it. We just continued to get them in third-and-13 or a fourth-and-16 situations and we'd give it up. We don't tackle. We don't do the little things right in key situations. That was the story of this game."
Next Friday, Parkway visits Stadium Park to face Delphos St. John's (3-5, 1-5 MAC). Fort Recovery visits Anna (3-5, 2-4 MAC).
