Ross defense steps up big in win

TOLEDO - Fremont Ross wasn’t able to move the ball much at all in the second half against Toledo St. Francis but it was the defense that paced the Little Giants to a win.

Ross forced seven turnovers by the Knights and forced St. Francis into a key missed extra point as the Little Giants picked up a 21-20 Three Rivers Athletic Conference win on Friday at the University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl.

Despite the win, Ross is now mathematically eliminated from any playoff contention.

“We had to make some adjustments with them going empty so much and trying to throw the ball,” Ross coach Chad Long said. “We just put an extra guy in there and played nickel and I think we confused them a bit in the second half.”

Ross (3-6, 2-4 TRAC) led, 21-14 when Lonnie Wyse threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Kory Schaefer with 1:46 remaining. The extra point by Caleb Meister was no good as the Little Giants clung to a one-point lead.

Ross attempted to run out the clock after recovering the short kickoff by the Knights (0-9, 0-6). St. Francis used its timeouts wisely and got the ball back with 45 seconds left at its own 39-yard line. However, Roger Burling went high for his second interception of the night off the arm of Wyse to seal the win.

“We had enough guys back there to pick off some balls,” Long said. “Our front four guys did a nice job getting pressure on the quarterback and that’s what we went with.”

With the score knotted at 14-all after three quarters, it was the Little Giants’ defense that got on the scoreboard. A snap on a punt by St. Francis sailed high but initially, the Knights recovered. Shawn Newsome stripped the ball away and fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown. Michael Contreras made his third PAT in as many tries for a 21-14 lead with 10:50 left.

Knights’ quarterback Ethan Hertzfield threw his fourth interception of the night on the ensuing possession but Ross couldn’t capitalize. The Little Giants gained just 25 yards of offense in the second half.

“We switched quarterbacks and went from a senior (Boston Swaisgood) playing to a freshman (Jaedyn McKinstry),” Long said. “We have a lot of things we need to correct and things we need to get better at.”

St. Francis opened the scoring in the first quarter when Hertzfield hit Romeo Taylor in stride for a 31-yard score. The Little Giants responded with a 10-play (nine runs), 76-yard drive that was capped by Remey Bulger going two yards for a score to tie the game.

“The defense was pretty big,” Long said. “We’ve been playing pretty good defensively for the most part all year. Sometimes we give up big plays and we did tonight as well. The kids kept their composure and we came up big on special teams. It was a whole team effort tonight.”

The Knights jumped ahead again in the second quarter when Wyse connected with Adam Bihn on a 41-yard score.

That’s when Long inserted McKinstry into the lineup. He went 5-of-6 for 63 yards on his first drive, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Burling to tie the game at halftime.

The Little Giants held St. Francis to 43 yards rushing on 31 attempts and will attempt to finish their season on a high note when they host Findlay (6-3, 3-3) next Friday.

“We’re happy to get the win and we have go continue to get better,” Long said. “We have a big rival game against Findlay and we want to take these seniors out with a win.”