Tigers Rally Past Upset-minded Polar Bears
DOLA – The visiting Waynesfield-goshen football team tallied 21 unanswered points to close the second half and stave off upset-minded Hardin Northern 28-19 in a key Northwest Central Conference seesaw battle Friday night.
The comeback road victory over a fellow league unbeaten put W-G firmly in the driver’s seat early in its quest to repeat as NWCC champions.
With the win, the Tigers also improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in NWCC play this season, keeping them first in the league standings. Waynesfield also extended its regular season win streak to 16 games. HN fell to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the NWCC after the tough defeat.
“I am very proud of our team,” said W-G head coach Shane Wireman. “We were down 12 on the road, and to rally back for the win was a great effort by our kids.” The game was scoreless after the first quarter. Tiger Troy Spencer came up with a big sack late in the first period to thwart a Polar Bear drive.
But HN intercepted a Drew Breitigam pass and took possession at the 35-yard line.
The Polar Bears methodically drove to the Tiger two as the opening quarter expired. On second and goal, the Bears scored on a short run to put W-G behind for the first time this season.
The HN point after kick missed to keep their lead at 6-0 with 11:56 left in the first half.
W-G came back quickly with a 54-second scoring drive to seize the lead. Breitigam’s aerial over the middle was snared by Dalton Jordan for a touchdown to tie it. The Lane Steinke point after kick put the Tigers ahead 7-6 with 11L02 left before intermission. Northern drove back downfield and responded to regain the lead. A sweep around the left end resulted in a touchdown and a 12-7 Bear lead.
The two-point conversion try failed to keep the margin at five with 6:40 left in the half. W-G tried to answer with a scoring drive of its own.
Breitigam rambled all the way to the Bear 15 on a counter. But the Polar Bear defense stiffened and stopped Waynesfield on fourth down at their own 11.
HN gained some first downs but had to punt, pinning W-G took at its own two with just 35 seconds left in the half. The Bears took the 12-7 lead to intermission. Early in the second half, HN broke off a long touchdown run on third and five. The extra point kick extended the Bear lead to 19-7.
Grant Breitigam ignited the ensuing W-G drive with a 15-yard run. Jordan then hauled in a 21-yard reception. Drew Breitigam kept the chains moving with an eight-yard run on third down.
Quarterback Breitigam then capped the drive with a 24-yard scoring aerial to Jace Kaufman with 5:53 left in the third period. The PAT kick missed to keep the margin at 19-13.
The Tiger defense then stuffed HN on a fourth down try and took possession at the 42-yard line. Waynesfield drove to the Bear 20 and converted a first down behind a Grant Breitigam run to the 17. Grant Breitigam then carried some HN defenders into the end zone on a 17-yard TD run to tie it.
Steinke then scooped up a bad snap on the PAT try and ran it in for a two-point conversion to give W-G a 21-19 lead heading to the fourth quarter. The Tiger defense held, forced a punt and took over on its own 20. But after the Northern defense forced a punt, a bad snap gave the Bears possession at the Tiger 14. But the W-G defense stiffened and forced a field goal try, which HN missed wide left with 5:05 left to play.
The Tigers then converted a clutch third and eight play on a 19-yard Breitigam pass over the middle to Carson Barnes with 3:27 left.
Drew Breitigam then connected with Grant Breitigam on a slant, and he sped 59 yards to the end zone to all but decide the outcome. Steinke’s PAT kick extended the lead to 28-19 with 3:06 left. Northern kept their hopes alive with a fourth and six aerial conversion to the 37 with just over two minutes left. On fourth and three, a pass interference penalty advanced the ball to the Tiger 22 with 91 ticks remaining.
A big tackle for loss by Drew Breitigam forced fourth and goal from the nine at the 51-second mark. W-G then stuffed HN to turn the ball over on downs inside the 10 and seal the verdict. Tiger signal-caller Drew Breitigam completed seven of 13 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 10 times for 58 yards. Jordan snared three aerials for 93 yards and one TD. Kaufman had one reception for a score.
Grant Breitigam caught one pass for 59 yards and a TD. He also netted 66 yards on nine carries. Running back Barnes added one reception for 19 yards.