Dulay, Generals Edge Schneider, Panthers 49-43 In Double-OT Classic
BY SCOTT CALHOUN — MIRROR SPORTS
In a game sure to live long in the memories of many on hand, Anthony Wayne concluded its home schedule with an dramatic, action-packed 49-43 double-overtime Northern Lakes League win over visiting Maumee.
While the final score was a headline in and of itself, the game held many layers of impression, drama and circumstance.
There were six lead changes and three ties. Two-point conversions, missed extra points and missed field goals all played critical supporting roles in forcing the OT sessions. Two crucial holding calls also possibly altered the outcome.
AW senior running back Aaron Dulay carried the ball an incredible 39 times, racking up 309 yards and five touchdowns, including the game winner, as the Generals wing-T rushing attack collected just over 500 yards of total yardage and seven TDs on 72 attempts.
Dulay scored both of AW’s touchdowns in OT. His totals for carries and yardage rushing in a single game could be a school record, according to Generals coach Craig Smith.
“We have had numerous backs rush for over 200 yards, but 309 with five touchdowns is probably a school record,” Smith said. “What a great night (for Dulay).”
Senior back Zach Grohowski ran the ball 17 times for 108 yards and a 64-yard TD. Sophomore Sam Bruno added 81 yards on 11 attempts with a 4-yard TD.
Dulay, who finished with negative net yardage a week before in AW’s 36-14 loss at Southview, proved to be the unrelenting workhorse the Generals needed to outlast the Panthers and the equally superlative play of senior quarterback Jake Schneider.
Schneider had a whale of a game, completing 18-of-24 passes for 288 yards and rushing for another 105 on 12 keepers, throwing two TDs and running for two more. Schneider’s runs were highlight-reel material, his wily escapes from the normally bruising AW pass rush dastardly and his arm simply deadly.
“Schneider’s a great competitor,” said Panthers coach John Boles, “and he has a lot of tools that allow him to execute some pretty special plays.”
Many of Dulay’s carries were gritty, twisting, yearning runs to get an extra couple yards. That he could even keep his legs grinding into AW’s two extra possessions in OT boggled the mind.
“Dulay ran extremely hard, and obviously our offensive line was outstanding,” Smith said. “Everything starts with them and they controlled the line of scrimmage. Our inside running game was really there. They were overloading their defense outside, so we took what we could and Aaron ran great.”
Per the norm, however, turnovers were the essential difference in the game.
For the Panthers, the league’s best QB had a masterful first half but tossed three interceptions between the second half and OT sessions. Schneider’s last snuffed out Maumee’s opportunity to regain the lead in the second series of OT possessions.
Maumee, in fact, committed no turnovers in the first half but gave the ball away four times in the third quarter, allowing the Generals to chip away a 28-23 halftime deficit and establish a 36-28 lead.
Two of those were Schneider picks, but more importantly, the Panthers gave the ball away on consecutive kickoff returns, which kept Schneider and the Maumee aerial assault off the field for an extended span of the second half.
“We started to get excellent pressure on him in the second half, making him scramble some and move on his throws,” Smith said, “and we went to a zone package that seemed to be successful”
Despite the nip-and-tuck score, AW ultimately held a huge advantage of about 35 minutes (to 13 for Maumee) in time of possession.
The Generals struck first in their opening drive. Dulay offered a quick taste of things to come as his 3-yard run on first down and 56-yard TD on second down comprised AW’s two-play, 59-yard scoring drive culminating at 9:38.
Sophomore Jake Hartbarger’s point-after attempt veered wide right, however, leaving AW a 6-0 advantage.
After a forgettable opening possession, Schneider and the Panthers quickly replied with a three-play, 52-yard TD drive. Schneider’s 27-yard keeper set up his 17-yard scoring strike to senior back Brandon Phenix at 8:38. Senior Austin Rine’s PAT gave Maumee the 7-6 lead.
The makings of a shootout became apparent as the Generals countered right back with an eight-play, 63-yard TD march capped by Dulay’s 4-yard score with 5:00 remaining in the first stanza. Hartbarger’s kick made it 13-7 Generals.
AW held Maumee on the Panthers’ ensuing possession, however, and regained the ball at its own 20.
Grohowski garnered 68 of his yards on four carries, including his 54-yard burner with 36 seconds left in the quarter. Hartbarger converted the PAT to complete a six-play 80-yard scoring trek that suggested the Generals might engineer a rout with a 20-7 advantage.
Schneider wasn’t having any of that notion, though, completing passes to senior receivers Dakota Windnagle and De’onte Bryant for gains of 7 and 49 yards, before dazzling the stadium with a fantastic 15-yard TD keeper at 11:06 of the second quarter. Rine’s kick brought the Panthers back within 20-14.
The Maumee defense then forced the Generals to punt on their next possession and a Grohowski punt set up the Panthers at their 20.
Schneider wasted no time, finding senior Jon Gratcl up the sideline for a 74-yard gainer and then scoring again on another keeper, this time from 6 yards out. Rine’s extra point completed the 19-second, two-play drive as Maumee bounced back in front 21-20 with 7:12 to go in the half.
Feeling the momentum slipping away, the Generals needed a countering score and got it by gradually turning a 12-play, 68-yard trek into Hartbarger’s 26-yard field goal with 1:03 left in the half to get back on top, 23-21.
Schneider shrugged off the AW score, coming right back with a 7-yard keeper on first down at the Maumee 36 before completing a 38-yard pass to junior Sean McGovern, a 21-yard strike to junior Dominique King and then a 3-yard TD screen to Bryant with 13 ticks still left in the half. The point-after completed a mesmerizing four-play, 64-yard scoring drive that left the Generals’ heads shaking down by five at halftime.
In the first half, Schneider completed 10-of-11 passes for 230 yards and two TDs and ran for the other two on 50 ground yards through five carries. He was simply unstoppable, and AW needed some way to slow him down in the second half if it hoped to avoid a second straight loss.
Senior defensive back Matt Granger and the Generals special teams provided that antidote in the third quarter.
AW received the opening kickoff of the second half but ended up with the very situation they didn’t need – a three-and-out to the credit of the Panthers run defense.
Fortunately for the Generals, Granger picked off a Schneider pass at the AW 34 on Maumee’s ensuing drive, just one play after Schneider had completed a 66-yard TD pass to King only to have that score called back for a holding infraction.
“We had that TD called back that would have put us up by 12 points, and then we threw the interception on the very next play,” Boles said. “That was a huge turnaround right there.”
The Generals didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, going three-and-out once again, but the Panthers muffed Grohowski’s punt at their 26 and AW suddenly had yet another new life.
It took eight plays, including a desperation rollout completion by senior QB Josh Lindke to Bruno for 9 yards on fourth-and-seven at the 13, but the Generals finally took advantage of the suddenly mistake-prone Panthers.
Bruno bounced into the end zone from the 4, but Dulay couldn’t score on the two-point try and AW led 29-28.
Schneider’s stayed off the offensive side of the field, however, as a Maumee player fumbled the ensuing kick at the Panthers 41 and sophomore Eric Zelina recovered the ball at the 44 for the Generals.
A Dulay 4-yard run set up his 40-yard TD burst up the right hash marks and Hartbarger’s PAT gave AW a solid 36-28 advantage with 2:16 left to play in the third quarter.
Maumee began from its 34 on the ensuing possession but held the ball for just three plays over 49 seconds before Granger again picked off a Schneider toss, this time down at the AW 12.
When all was said and done during the first 13 minutes of the second half, the Panthers held the ball for just three minutes due to turnovers.
“The turnovers were huge,” Smith said. “Special teams (play) is so critical to success and we made the most of our opportunities.”
Maumee bounced back, though, constructing an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive behind the incredible scrambling of Schneider. Phenix finished off the drive with a 3-yard TD and then Schneider rolled left and found Sean McGovern in the end zone for the game-tying two-pointer with 6:39 remaining.
Keeping with the absolute drama running full force all night long, it only stood to reason that one of the teams would have a chance to win on the final play of regulation, and that opportunity came down to Hartbarger and the Generals.
Starting from its 25 after the Panthers’ tying drive, AW marched down to the Maumee 13, but there it faced a fourth-and-7.
Smith sent Hartbarger out to try his first-ever game-winning FG attempt with just one second left on the clock. Boles wasn’t having it, using all three of Maumee’s timeouts consecutively to try and freeze the sophomore.
The strategy worked. Hartbarger finally got his chance but missed the 27-yarder to the left as time expired, appropriately sending the game into OT.
The Generals got first crack following the coin toss and scored on Dulay’s 8-yard TD. Hartbarger nailed the PAT.
The Panthers moved down to first-and-goal at the 1 on their first possession, but Schneider was somehow stopped twice by the Generals line. Phenix scored on third-and-goal and Rine knocked in the PAT to make it 43-43.
Maumee took first possession in the second OT and scored on a 16-yard keeper to the left on third-and-six, but his would-be go-ahead TD came back on a holding call.
On the next play, Schneider threw a pass over the middle that was slightly tipped and deflected. Sophomore cornerback Josh Schwerer slid down to pick off the ball at the 4.
With AW’s first play from scrimmage on their second possession, Dulay kept the storyline true to form, bursting up the middle for the clinching 20-yard TD.
“We just didn’t play well enough defensively,” Boles said, “and we gave away some really big turnovers.”
The intense victory vindicated the Generals after their loss to Southview the week before doused their hopes of claiming at least a share of a long-sought NLL championship.
“It’s great for our kids and coaches,” Smith said. “We work extremely hard and have a very successful program. Quite honestly, it felt great.”
Bryant caught five passes for 135 yards, Windnagle two for 24 and a TD and King had six catches for 67 yards. Phenix’s lone reception was his 17-yard TD to go along with his rushing tally. The Panthers accumulated just 13 additional yards on the ground beyond Schneider’s runs.
The Generals improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the NLL. The Panthers dropped to 5-4 (2-4).
AW closes its season on the road at Springfield on Friday, while Maumee finishes at facing Perrysburg in the annual Maumee River rivalry.

Anthony Wayne Drubs Findlay In Boys Soccer Sectional Opener
BY SCOTT CALHOUN — MIRROR SPORTS
Lower-seeded Anthony Wayne avenged an early season loss and weathered brutal weather conditions to orchestrate a complete game in defeating Findlay 6-1 in a Division I sectional opener at Findlay High School.
The Generals (10-7) completely dominated the perennial host Trojans as neither Findlay’s home field advantage nor the blustery, frosty sheets of rain held AW’s attack back all night long.
The Generals outplayed a handful of its toughest opponents all season, only to end up on the short end of the final scores, but on this night they put together arguably their best full 80 minutes of the season, and it showed across the board.
“We finally put together a complete game,” said AW coach Vince Laverick, whose team fell to the Trojans 2-1 at home back on August 25. “Our better players played better and looked the best on the field.
“When that happens, it makes us very tough to beat.”
AW outshot Findlay 24-6 overall with a decisive 14-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Generals really could have left the pitch with an even larger victory, but Trojans goalkeeper Jake Hardesty made five outstanding second-half saves to keep the margin from expanding.
Senior Austin Combs played just 60 minutes of the contest but came away with a pair of successful strikes and an assist to lead the Generals. Sophomore Ben Conkin, sophomore J.J. Fortney, senior Josh Meyers and sophomore Andrew Yokum also tallied for AW.
Anthony Wayne essentially controlled the run-of-play from the outset, but didn’t begin its scoring barrage until the 18:29 mark of the opening half when Conkin redirected a nearside cross by junior Nick Frank into the net from 5 feet out.
Just over two minutes later, Fortney scored what may have been the most critical goal of the night when he unloaded a beautiful 23-yard arc into the upper-90 at 16:25.
Just 1:43 later, Findlay countered when senior Mark Sleasman tallied low off the inside left post on a one-timer from senior James Rooney, cutting AW’s lead back in half as three goals were registered in less than a four-minute span.
The score remained 2-1 at halftime, but the Generals soon cushioned their lead in the early stages of the second half.
First, Conkin appeared to get a legitimate goal on a short drop pass from Meyers at the 36:30 mark, but the score was waved off by an official who whistled AW for a questionable offside infraction.
As if by fate, just 1:24 later the Generals got that third tally when Combs took a nearside cross from Meyers on the right side of the goal mouth and wrested his first shot off the gloves of Hardesty to poke in his second chance of the sequence.
The pair switched roles just 1:07 deeper when Meyers knocked home the rebound of a Combs shot saved by Hardesty at 33:59 to give AW a commanding 4-1 advantage.
The Generals went silent on the scoreboard for a long span as Hardesty made some fantastic saves, but in the closing minutes, AW rubbed salt in Findlay’s gaping wounds.
Combs beat Hardesty low from 12 yards away on an assist from Yokum with 2:51 to play.
Within the same minute, Yokum rewarded his efforts with a 25-yard lofting beauty over an ill-positioned Hardesty with 2:06 left.
“Our seniors played very well, but so did a lot of our younger guys,” Laverick said. “That was a good team, but we just took advantage of our opportunities.”
Hardesty finished with eight saves. Sophomore keeper Austin Kaminski made three saves in getting the win. Corners favored AW 2-0.
With the loss, the Trojans’ season ended at 10-4-3. The Generals advanced to face Northern Lakes League rival Perrysburg in a Lexington district semifinal on Wednesday back in Findlay. The Yellow Jackets blasted Lima Senior 15-0 in the other sectional final.