Woodmore had no time for plays to develop in loss
Before Friday’s 63-0 victory over Woodmore, Port Clinton’s defense hadn’t blanked an opponent on the scoreboard since a 35-0 win over St. Mary Central Catholic in Week 7 in 2011.
The Redskins forced the Wildcats to punt without a first down on their first seven possessions. Darius Daniels had a tackle for a loss and Corbin Winningham had a sack to force a punt that Nathan Stubblefield returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
Stubblefield’s feet were chopped out from under him near the goal line, but he put his hand on the field and kept his knee off the ground before extending the ball to break the plane. Stubblefield also made several people miss on two more punt returns to set the Redskins up with solid field position and kicked nine extra points.
Stone Scott stuffed Connor Bringman for a loss of 5 yards on first down to start Woodmore’s next possession. Bringman completed passes to Derek Wank and D.J. Wellons, but the Wildcats were stopped on fourth-and-1.
Winningham had another sack and Emerson Lowe broke up a pass before another Wildcats punt in the first quarter. Lowe helped force an incompletion on Woodmore’s next possession and scored from 42 yards out the first play after another punt.
Lowe added a 55-yard touchdown run on the first play after Port Clinton again regained possession quickly. Russell Demarco then had a sack on first down before Stubblefield intercepted a pass early in the third quarter.
“Coach (Beau Carmon) was most impressed with the defense,” said Redskins quarterback Brandon Moore, who threw two touchdowns without an incompletion and rushed for another. “He expected the offense to put up points but he wasn’t expecting the defense to pitch a shutout.”
The Redskins’ starters at the skill positions were done after 42 points, but the defense kept up the pace. Demarco chased Bringman into a sack for Trent Williams, and defensive back Bryce Jackson closed to upend Bringman with a big hit just shy of a first down on third down.
“Our defense has come along,” Demarco said. “We get to see the hard work paying off. It makes things easier. ... We don’t have to rely on the offense. We picked up where we left off last season.
“We lost some key guys, but the guys we plugged in are good leaders. We work together as a family and each one of us knows their responsibilities.”
The Wildcats turned it over on downs the next play.
Woodmore was held to 127 yards of offense. The Wildcats had 75 of those yards on their last possession of the first half. Bringman ran for 35 yards and completed passes to three receivers, but the drive stalled as time expired when Woodmore reached Port Clinton’s 7.
Ross Weirich had two catches, and Dustin Haar and Mason Beachler had one apiece as Bringman misfired on only one pass during the drive. Weirich had five catches and Wellons four as the Wildcats had a little success on quick throws.
“We’ve got three freshmen up front so pocket protection won’t be what it should be,” Wildcats coach Brian Spicer said. “Our freshmen will get better. It takes game experience to get better. Part of the gameplan is to get the ball to Ross and DJ and Beachler, but we have to be consistent with that.”
Stone York returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
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