Cavs get past Tigers

COLDWATER - It came down to which team had the momentum swing its way when Versailles and Coldwater squared off on Friday night.

Coldwater had it early, then the Tigers came back to tie the game late in the third quarter, but it was the Cavaliers taking the final swing in the fourth quarter. Baylen Blockberger's ran for a five-yard score with 5:46 remaining, and two big defensive stops gave the Cavs a 21-14 win at Cavalier Stadium.

The win keeps Coldwater perfect at 9-0 and 7-0 in Midwest Athletic Conference play and sets up the winner-take-all championship game next Friday at Booster Field in Maria Stein against equally unbeaten Marion Local. The Tigers drop to 7-2 and 5-2.

"We just hung tough," said Coldwater coach Chip Otten. "We talk about making teams work. We gave up a couple long passes, but for the most part we made them work real hard."

The Tigers were in the mood to start the scoring, taking the ball to start the game. Michael Osborne and Joel Gehret divided the running chores on the first six plays, with Osborne breaking free for a 31-yard run to put the Tigers at the Coldwater 9. But on the next play, the handoff was misplayed and Coldwater's Andrew Jones snagged the fumble to end the Tiger drive.

Coldwater followed with a seven-minute drive, moving the ball from the Tiger 13 thanks to runs by Jack Ebbing and Cody Depweg and Blockberger finding his key receivers at different times to get to the Tiger 19. The drive stalled when Coldwater came up a yard short on a fourth-and-5 to give the Tigers the ball at their 14.

Unlike the first drive, the Tigers were stymied by the Coldwater defense and punted on two successive drives. After Blockberger was picked off by AJ Griesdorn on one drive, the Cavaliers bounced back after Leland Bolin punted the ball into the end zone for a 66-yard boot.

Blockberger found Mason Welsch for a 47-yard strike, then hit AJ Harlamert for 21 yards to get inside the Tiger 10. The Cavaliers nearly had a touchdown on a pass to AJ Harlamert, but were called for illegal motion. The Tigers declined the penalty to make it third down, but Blockberger went back to AJ Harlamert on the opposite side of the field for a nine-yard score with 5:32 remaining in the half.

Versailles got back into a groove on the ensuing drive, with Osborne mixing the runs with passes to Jace Watren, Gehret and James Schmitmeyer to get Versailles to the Coldwater 20. The first three plays resulted in a loss of a yard, and Osborne's attempt to scramble on fourth-and-11 resulted in a five-yard loss with 39 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers ran out the clock to take the 7-0 lead to the break.

Coldwater took the ball to start the third quarter and quickly put up seven more points. AJ Harlamert worked the jet sweep for a 40 yard gain. On third-and-9 from the Tiger 16, Blockberger found Braylen Harlamert in the end zone. Bryce's Couchot kick made it 14-0.

The Tigers struck right back with a 43-yard strike to Lane Bergman that put them at the 1, where Gehret ran in for the first Tiger score. After the Cavaliers were called for encroachment, Versailles decided to go for two, which Osborne got with a run to cut it to 14-8.

Coldwater went three-and-out and punted into the wind to the Tiger 43. Osborne converted a third-and-9 with a 33-yard strike to Jace Watren. After a holding call moved the Tigers back to the Cav 33, Osborne hit Watren for 15 more yards before calling his own number for a 15-yard run-in score to tie the game. Going for the PAT, a high snap was followed by a blocked kick, keeping the game tied.

That was exactly what Coldwater needed. Instead of being down one with 15 minutes remaining, it was as if it was 0-0.

"We didn't have to go out and be crazy," said Otten. "That gave us a little life."

The teams traded two punts before Coldwater starting at the Tiger 49 with 9:31 in regulation. The Cavaliers tried a trick play with a double reverse to Braylen Harlamert, whose pass to twin brother AJ just missed.

The Cavs then went to the run, with Cody Depweg and Jack Ebbing providing big yards to get to the 5. After a no-gain run by Ebbing, Blockberger, not primarily known for his running, took off and put his shoulder down to bull his way into the end zone with 5:46 remaining. The point-after made it 21-14.

The defense then held firm for two Tiger possessions. On the first, Gehret fumbled with Brady Lefeld recovering. The Cavs managed just two yards in less then a minute before punting from their 28, with the shanked punt ending up at the 50.

Osborne gained 11 on the first play to get to the 39, but Will Barry got a sack for a two-yard loss, then after an incomplete pass, Osborne was sacked by Ebbing and Noah Welsch at the Cav 46 to give Coldwater the ball with 1:53 to play.

Miles Pottkotter, Ebbing and Depweg got 16 yards on three runs to get the first down to run out the clock, with Pottkotter kneeling twice to end the game.

"I always say Versailles is similar to us," Otten said. "Similar towns, similar kids. Big tough kids that know each other, like each other and play hard."

Blockberger was 14-of-25 for 163 yards and two scores. Ebbing had 97 yards rushing and Welsch had 77 yards receiving.

"Lot of guys made plays," said Otten. "Baylen is playing really well. We had about 200 yards rushing (214 on 33 carries), which is unusual for us."  

Osborne passed for 145 yards and rushed for 106. Gehret added 58 yards on 18 carries with Watren tallying 73 yards on three receptions.

While Coldwater is at Marion, Versailles will wrap up the regular season at home with 8-1 Minster coming to town.