Anthony Wayne Unloads Frustrations On Overmatched Wildcats, 59-17
BY SCOTT CALHOUN — MIRROR SPORTS
After beginning the season with two exciting wins, Anthony Wayne suffered two straight losses, so the Generals were ready for a bit of a breather last Friday.
After a heartbreaking loss to state-ranked Central Catholic followed by a wipeout at the hands of another ranked foe in Northern Lakes League defending champion Southview, AW got just the antidote it needed with a sound 59-17 thumping of hapless host Northview.
Simply put, the season’s experience and the ever-productive wing-T attack administered by AW proved to be far too much for the young, undersized Wildcats to contain.
The special teams forces also showed up big in the game.
Once again, senior James Pollex engineered a rushing train for the Generals, this time gobbling up 136 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns on just 10 attempts. It was his fourth 100-yard game this season.
Senior Dave Birsen had a memorable performance as well. He racked up 161 yards on 11 carries, including a game-breaking 80-yard TD scamper on Anthony Wayne’s first play from scrimmage to start the third quarter.
The statistical anomalies hardly ended there.
Birsen and sophomore Alex Bridges formed a devastating return combo. Bridges broke free for an 82-yard kick return touchdown in the second quarter and gathered 108 yards on two returns in the first half.
He broke one open for a 78-yard TD in the fourth quarter to complement his 80-yard play earlier in the half.
In the third quarter alone, the Generals rushed for 229 yards, with four touchdowns collected by four different running backs. Junior Jordan Schwerer enjoyed a 62-yard breaker, Pollex added his third rushing score of the evening after delivering a 58-yarder in the first half and sophomore Sean Lubinski ran one in from the 1 for his first varsity six.
In all, Anthony Wayne gathered 420 yards on 36 team attempts, with eight different players getting carries. Schwerer finished with 68 yards on six rushes.
The Generals were a minus-two in the takeover department at halftime, after Schwerer fumbled the ball away and senior quarterback Kevin Pindoley tossed an interception.
AW gained all of that back by forcing three Wildcats turnovers in the action-packed third quarter.
Senior defensive end Ted Schumaker had the best of the deal, intercepting Northview QB Ryan Kremchek at the Wildcats 40 and returning the ball to the 35 with 8:04 remaining in the third.
Just under two minutes later at 6:11, Schumaker pounced on a fumble by Torrence Garland during a kickoff by AW, following the 8-yard TD by Pollex.
Senior cornerback Nathan DiPillo received Kremchek’s second interception with 1:52 remaining in the third, only to have Lubinski fumble the pigskin right back to Northview on the next play.
In all, despite the four turnovers, the evening proved to be a good time for Anthony Wayne, which improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the NLL.
Things were going so well that coach Craig Smith asked during the third quarter, “When was the last time we had a lead like this so we could just relax and enjoy it?”
It was a unique moment for AW, which has fought and clawed for every victory in recent years.
Garland had two touchdown receptions for the Wildcats, including a 3-yarder on the opening series of the game to give them a brief 7-0 lead. He added a 6-yarder at 10:19 of the fourth quarter against a substitute Generals defense.
Northview tumbled to 1-4 and is 0-2 in the league.
AW Spikers Rebound From Tough Loss With Home Win Over Perrysburg
BY SCOTT CALHOUN — MIRROR SPORTS
Anthony Wayne followed its worst outing of the volleyball season with a well-played 25-12, 25-21, 25-17 triumph at home over Perrysburg last Thursday.
The win completed a regular season sweep of the Lady Jackets and erased the memory of a 25-16, 25-16, 25-22 loss earlier in the week at home to Bowling Green.
After losing a heartbreaker at home the week before to Southview, the BG loss may have doused any chances the Lady Generals had of winning a Northern Lakes League title.
Instead of packing it in, however, the girls bounced back in style behind outstanding play from senior hitters Allison Papenfuss and Emily Schneiderbauer, senior setter Jordan Floyd, sophomore setter Molly Hilfinger and junior libero Alex Butts.
“This is a good win for us,” said Schneiderbauer, who registered 10 kills and five blocks against the Lady Jackets. “Our overall goal is to just keep working hard and get better daily.”
In the first game, Papenfuss and Schneiderbauer each laid down three kills early to get AW off to an early 8-2 lead.
Sophomore Jillian Pellek, a recent call-up from the junior varsity squad, entered the rotation and provided two consecutive kills to increase the advantage to 12-3.
Behind a beautifully placed two-hand shot by Floyd and a string of unforced errors by the Jackets, the Generals built a huge 18-4 advantage. Then Papenfuss, Schneiderbauer and Pellek added more strikes to wrap up the 25-12 win.
The ladies continued to roll along in game two, again building an 8-2 lead before increasing it to 14-4 on a pair of service aces by Floyd.
A Schneiderbauer block doubled up the Jackets 20-10, but then Perrysburg rallied.
Junior middle blocker Lauren Fruland and junior right-side hitter Cameron Gardner led an 11-4 charge that brought the Lady Jackets within 24-21, but Papenfuss nullified the rally with a game-ending kill to put AW ahead 2-0.
Gardner and junior middle blockers Bethany Wright and Erin Mesker kept Perrysburg on pace with the Lady Generals in the third game, as the teams battled to a 9-9 deadlock.
Two unforced errors and three Papenfuss kills set AW free, however, and the Generals stretched out to a 15-11 advantage.
Kills by Pellek and Schneiderbauer made it 19-13, and consecutive errant shots by the Jackets allowed Anthony Wayne to increase the advantage to 21-13.
Another Papenfuss kill made it 24-17 and Perrysburg couldn’t return a serve by Hilfinger, ending the match.
Hilfinger and Floyd combined for 31 assists at setter, with Floyd showing a newfound ability to set up passes backward instead of just right and left.
“Our passing has gotten a lot more consistent,” Schneiderbauer said.
Papenfuss finished with 12 kills and three blocks and Butts registered 20 digs. Sophomore Alexa Bowyer added three kills and eight digs and senior Dana Hilfinger posted five kills.
The Generals improved to 7-5 overall and 6-2 in league play.
Junior Varsity
In the JV match, Perrysburg lost the first game, but rallied for a 25-23 win in the second and then rolled 25-14 in the decider to upend Anthony Wayne.
AW Booters Hang With Wildcats For A Half, Succumb 4-0 In Second
BY SCOTT CALHOUN — MIRROR SPORTS
At its annual “Stuff the Stadium” night last Wednesday, Anthony Wayne gave perennial Northern Lakes League champion Northview all it could handle.
Although the Lady Generals lost, the final score of 4-0 does not indicate the true nature of the contest.
AW and Northview were tied 0-0 at the break, had a goal called back on a questionable offsides call in the second half and also conceded a penalty kick conversion through another debatable ruling.
Rather than a 1-1 tie or 2-1 defeat, AW instead succumbed by four goals.
The Lady Kats definitely proved they are still the superior girls Division I program in Northwest Ohio.
During the first 15 minutes of the match, Anthony Wayne controlled play and put together several legitimate chances to score in the process, with a 20-yard strike by junior Jordan Rees providing the closest chance.
Northview senior goalie Kelsie McCoy made the save on Rees’ attempt at the 27:15 mark, and after that the Lady Kats began to seize control of the pitch.
A series of three corner kicks by Northview between the 20:00 and 12:00 marks of the first half resulted in only a direct header saved by senior keeper Erika Schmidt on the third.
Northview senior Stephanie Rentschler provided her team with its most dangerous attempt with 10:45 to go before the intermission. Rentschler got through the AW defense on a break, but her shot from 12 yards out was saved by Schmidt.
Although the Generals became increasingly lax in the midfield for the latter portion of the first half, the defense held its own to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
The Lady Kats entered the second half, however, looking like the team they’re lauded to be. They fired off 12 shots while AW took none after attempting six in the first half.
Seven of Northview’s second-half shots were on frame, with four finding the back of the net.
Junior Kate Schmidt struck first 2:34 into the latter half, redirecting a rebound past Schmidt to give the Kats a 1-0 lead.
Allen’s apparent goal came about 10 minutes later. She received a nice lead pass from sophomore Anna Coffman and broke past a defender marking her after the pass was delivered. Allen streaked past the defender and struck the far right corner of the net to apparently tie the game.
Instead, however, the far sideline official ruled that Allen was offsides.
The second deflating call for AW came with 20:24 remaining. A Northview attacker had solid possession of the ball while a Generals defender trailed right behind her. The attacker’s cleat collided with that of the defender in an accidental fashion just inside the box. The near sideline official waved his flag for a foul.
Senior Paige Maroney took the penalty kick and drove it home to put AW in a 2-0 hole.
That’s when the floodgates opened on the Generals. Freshman Courtney Hendrix chipped home Northview’s third goal on a breakaway with 16:02 to go and later assisted on a Rentschler tally with 5:26 remaining.
The Wildcats dominated the Generals 21-5 in shots, putting 11 of their efforts on goal to two for AW. Northview also owned the corner-kick category, 9-2.
Schmidt finished with seven saves, and McCoy had two.
Anthony Wayne moved to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in the NLL. Northview remained undefeated in its NLL title defense at 4-0 and improved to 8-2 overall.
