The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CHARGING DUKES
Wellington takes the field for its Week 4 game against Firelands on Sept. 10. Find out who won and check out the rest of high school football coverage beginning on
In a battle of tough defenses, it was Firelands that was able to take a 13-6 win over Wellington on Sep. 10 in a matchup against Lorain County 8 conference foes.
Firelands and Wellington are both 2-2 on the season thus far. Firelands is 1-0 in conference while Wellington is 0-1.
“Yeah the defense certainly stepped up,” Firelands head coach Ryan O’Rourke said. “We gave up a touchdown like a minute into the second half but this was kind of a coming out party for the defense. We have had some struggles getting off the field on third down and they did a great job.”
Firelands took the ball to start the game and drove the ball down the field and scored. Weston Strader finished off the drive with a touchdown from two yards out.
“We knew we were going to have to win ugly a little bit to get our confidence up and our kids had a nice first half,” O’Rourke said.
“Overall, I am just really proud of what they did,” O’Rourke added.
Firelands also scored with a Kyle Ransom quarterback keeper at the end of the half to take a 13-0 lead into the second half.
“That’s two weeks in a row that (Kyle Ransom) has taken us down the field and scored right before the half,” O’Rourke said. “Right now, we are doing some good things. Scoring on our first drive we are 4-for-4 and scoring before the half we have done that twice in a row now. We just have to sustain things.”
“The end of the half drive was big,” Ransom said. “We
had one last week against Vermilion and this one pretty much won u the game because without it, it was 6-6. They are huge for our team and getting us momentum going into the second half.”
Wellington opened the second half strong when Ty Moore found Jon Brasee for a 59 yard touchdown to make the score 13-6. However, the Dukes couldn’t find the end zone again and Firelands hung on for the win.
Wellington linebacker Nathan Patfield had a pick six in the third quarter, but the touchdown was negated
by a penalty and the Dukes drive eventually stalled.
“We did a good job moving the ball and then we had penalties,” Wellington coach Rob Howells said. “You can’t have penalties against good teams and that’s a good team. That’s costly.
“I thought our game plan was solid and for the most part we executed,” Howells added about the defense. “That’s a real dynamic team and offense and in general I felt like we were able to stymie them pretty well.”
Ransom had a great connection with Austin Copen all game, as Copen hauled
in five catches for 62 yards.
“I have been throwing to him for all of last year and now this year,” Ransom said about Copen. “After practice we stay after and get route work in and get our connections down.”
Ransom added “Austin is a great wide receiver and a great leader and we rely on him a lot in this offense.”
For Wellington, lessons can be learned no matter what the outcome.
“Just learn from our mistakes and get better,” Howells said about moving forward. “The league is tough this year and I don’t think the winner will be undefeated. So just learn and get better.”
For Firelands, they are looking to turn their first league win into more wins down the stretch.
“I expect a lot of dog fights every week and Wellington is a great football team so all the credit to them,” O’Rourke said. “I am excited to see how it turns out.”
“Winning the first game in the conference is just momentum for the next week and the next week after that,” Ransom added. “We play one week at a time.”