Bellbrook ousts Wapak
Golden Eagles rally past Redskins in 3rd quarter
BELLBROOK — The third quarter was a roller coaster ride for No. 6-seeded Wapakoneta in a 42-35 loss to No. 3-seeded Bellbrook during an
OHSAA Division III Region 12 Tournament quarterfinal game Friday night.
Tied at 14 at halftime, the Redskins began the third quarter in explosive fashion. After receiving the second-half kickoff, WHS immediately grabbed a seven-point lead as quarterback Braeden Goulet ran 22 yards for a first down before running back Jace Mullen did the rest with a 42-yard touchdown run 38 seconds into the third quarter.
An extra-point kick from Nikane Ambos handed Wapakoneta a 21-14 cushion at the 11:22 mark.
“We knew that deferring the ball until second half was going to be crucial but giving up the touchdown right before
halftime hurt us,” Redskins coach Travis Moyer said. “We were able to come out in the
second half run two plays and
score a touchdown, which allowed us to take the lead. Our kids fought extremely hard and this game became a shootout toward the end. We just couldn’t make enough plays.”
The Golden Eagles responded with a vengeance, scoring 21 consecutive points for a 3521 lead early in the fourth
quarter and Bellbrook did not look back.
“It doesn’t matter what you say to our kids in a situation like this because our kids are
hurting,” Moyer said, “We are disappointed in the outcome (Friday night), but we are
proud of this football team with how the players handled themselves the entire year. We continued to fight, and it was
no different in this game. I think our community can say that it was proud to be a Redskin tonight.”
Quarterback Luke Benetis used a six-yard toss to Gavyn Roop to allow the Golden Eagles to tie the game at 21 on Conner Peh’s PAT kick with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
The next two Wapakoneta possessions ended with Bellbrook’s defense creating a pair