A big spark

ST. HENRY - The way Celina and St. Henry played defense in the first half, it appeared that just one little spark would be needed to get someone on the scoreboard.

That spark came from Jack Huelsman, whose 76-yard punt return in the final 40 seconds of the first half helped spark the Redskins in the second half en route to a 31-7 victory over the Bulldogs at the Wally Post Athletic Conference in the first gridiron meeting between the Mercer County schools.

"Great way to start the season," said St. Henry coach Josh Werling. "That's a great club (Celina). To get a win like that means a lot."

Both teams brought their defense in the first half. St. Henry forced Celina to go three-and-out on the opening drive of the game. St. Henry moved the ball to start its first possession, using solid running from Drew Langenkamp and Charlie Werling. When the Redskins got inside the 30, they tried the passing game, but the Bulldogs stood tough and stopped St. Henry at the 25-yard line.

The Bulldogs were forced to punt on their next drive, but the defense came up big as Cohen Harter picked off a Werling pass in the end zone. Celina was able to move the ball 14 yards on the next drive, but had to punt again. This time it was St. Henry forced to punt after gaining just seven yards on its drive.

Celina briefly made it past midfield on the next drive, but Parker Bertke was hit for a six-yard loss and later Parker Wynk was sacked for a nine-yard loss to put the Bulldogs on the other side of the 50 and forced a punt. The Bulldogs again came up big as Harter snagged another Werling pass.

"I thought overall in all phases (of the game), the energy was really good," said Celina coach Brennen Bader. "Defensively, we played pretty strong and made some plays. Got some picks and made some stops."

"Celina's defensive front gave us trouble tonight," said St. Henry coach Josh Werling.

Celina tried for a score with under two minutes remaining, but got stuck at the 40 and punted. Harter's punt was caught by Huelsman at the Redskin 24. Huelsman quickly found an opening and broke free for a 76-yard punt return score with 37 seconds remaining. After Celina was called for offsides on the point-after try, St. Henry decided to go for two. Owen Zimmerman took the snap and handed off to Werling, who went in unscathed to make it 8-0 heading to the half.

"When one phase (of the game) is struggling, it's great to have the other two pick you up," said Werling. "It starts with Jack's punt return."

The Redskins started on offense to start the second half, but went three-and-out. Celina did likewise on its first possession. On the punt, the Bulldogs were called for interfering with the returner, putting the ball at the 50. St. Henry wasted no time. Werling ran for a 32-yard burst to get the Redskins inside the 20. Three plays later, Schwartz took the snap and found Brayden Heath for a 16-yard score to make it 15-0.

Celina tried to pass on its first two downs without success, but the third one ended up in the hands of Redskin lineman Anderson Kramer, who snagged the pick at the Celina 45 and sprinted to the end zone to make it 21-0.

"Those are our captains," Werling said of Kramer and Huelsman. "Those are the guys who are supposed to lead up when we're slogging through. What a lift."

The Redskins got another turnover on the next Celina drive, recovering a fumble inside the Bulldog 20. After a couple negative-yardage plays, Werling found Schwartz for a 19-yard gain to get inside the 10. After Werling ran for eight yards, Schwartz then snuck the ball in to make it 28-0 with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter.

After the Bulldogs punted, St. Henry moved the ball down to the 11. After a Celina offsides call, Owen Zimmerman knocked in a 23-yard field goal to make it 31-0 with 8:48 to play in the game, starting a running clock.

Celina avoided the shutout, and stopped the running clock, on the ensuing drive as Noah Tallmadge ran in from 23 yards out to make it 31-7.

"We needed a couple of those plays to boost us in the first half," said Bader. "We had missed opportunities (with) a couple of dropped balls and played from behind the sticks (losing yardage) a lot."

Werling finished with 114 yards rushing to lead the Redskins.

Wynk was 13-of-23 passing for 125 yards, but was sacked three times and finished with minus-31 yards rushing.

St. Henry wraps up non-conference play next week with a road trip to Archbold. Celina opens Western Buckeye League play with a trek to Mercy Health/Wapak Ford Field to take on the Wapakoneta Redskins.