Daniels leads Port Clinton to victory

Darius Daniels couldn't see well as he rushed 62 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter Friday.

Daniels removed the visor from his helmet at the half and returned the third quarter kickoff for a touchdown as visiting Port Clinton defeated Huron 31-28 in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Things are looking good for the Redskins.

Daniels dropped the pitch on a reverse but the ball bounced right up into his hands an he scampered for the score and a 14-7 deficit with 6:23 left in the half.

"My visor was foggy," Daniels said. "I picked it up and ran as fast as I can. The coaches told us history needs to be made (at the half). We hadn't beat them in 20 years. Coach said, 'Let's get one right here.' Emerson (Lowe) had a great block. I bounced to the sideline and kept going."

Daniels again cut the margin to seven with his return in the third quarter. Huron quarterback Kyle Kovach, however, capped the ensuing drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

Lowe ran 48 yards with a fake punt late in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Joey Brenner, who took over for Brandon Moore after Moore tweaked an injury before Daniels' first touchown, completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Rospert two plays later.

"He's stepped up a lot," Daniels said of Brenner. "I believe in him 100 percent."

Skyler Cook helped force an incompletion just outside Port Clinton's end zone to set up possession at the Redskins' 30 early in the fourth quarter. Brenner rushed for 10 yards to the 25 on third-and-9 and completed a 19-yard pass to Nathan Stubblefield on third-and-5 from the 20.

Lowe rushed in on the next play for a 28-28 tie with 4:21 left. Port Clinton then forced the Tigers into a three-and-out possession.

Port Clinton set up on its own 39 with 2:35 to play. Lowe rushed for 28 yards on three carries, Stubblefield had a reception for 18 yards and Brenner ran for nine yards to set up Stubblefield's go-ahead field goal from 22 yards with seven-tenths of a seconds remaining.

"That's the best feeling in the world after my team played so hard for the victory," Stubblefield said.

Port Clinton (6-1, 2-0) defeated Perkins on the road in Week 6. It visits Clyde next week.

"We've got two of the big three down," Daniels said. "Our focus right now is the Clyde Fliers."

mhorn@gannett.com

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Twitter:@MatthewHornNH