TOLEDO – It couldn’t possibly happen again, could it?
Hayden Lehmann throws a pass during Ross’ 23-20 win over St. John’s. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Coming off back-to-back rip-your-hear-out losses, Fremont Ross couldn’t fall victim a third time, right?
Trailing by three points in the closing minutes, St. John’s Jesuit twice converted on fourth-down and 2 to go to keep its hope alive, and keep Little Giants’ fans on the edge of their seats.
But with 36 seconds to play, a 49-yard field goal by St. John’s fell short and the Little Giants held on to a 23-20 victory.
“They were driving an everything and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, is this going to happen again?’” Ross head coach Chad Long said. “I’m proud of our kids, to be able to bounce back from two close losses, devastating losses, to win a close one.”
The victory snaps Ross’ two game losing streak, one that saw the Little Giants blow a lead to rival Sandusky in the last minute of the game and then lose in triple overtime to Findlay.
Getting back into the win column, and in such dramatic fashion, no less, was sweet vindication for the Little Giants.
Ross went ahead for good in with 7:29 to play in the game when senior kicker Mikey Contreras booted a 24-yard field goal to break a 20-20- tie.
Roger Burling catches a pass for a 33-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of Ross’ 23-20 win over St. John’s. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Contreras, who missed two field goals last week, one that could have won the game, said he had to put last week’s misses out of his mind as he lined up for his game-winning kick Friday.
“I was always told to just forget about it, forget about what happened and focus on what’s next,” Contreras said. “That’s basically what I did. I focused on the next kick.”
After Contreras’ three points gave Ross the 23-20 lead, it came down to the Little Giant defense to make it stand up. St. John’s moved the ball quickly on the drive, moving the chains on the first play of the series and later picking up eight yards on a quarterback scramble on fourth-and-2. Ross again faced a fourth-and-two situation, this coming at its own 42, when the Titans again converted, this time on a 13-yard pass to get within field goal range.
Finally, St. John’s attempted a game-tying field goal from 49 yards out, which fell well short, sending Ross on to victory.
“The relief off your chest is great, to know we won the game and the offense could come on the field in victory formation, that was nice,” senior linebacker Ben Rozzell said.
Ross started out quickly out of the gate. The defense forced a Titan three-and-out and the offense took advantage of good field position, at St. John’s 35-yard line. On its third play of the game Ross scored from 33 yards out on a Hayden Lehmann pass to Roger Burling for a 6-0 lead.
The Little Giants struck again midway through the second quarter. Lehmann bought time rolling out of the pocket, which allowed Bryce McKinstry to break away from coverage for a 33-yard gain. Three plays later, Lehmann connected with Noah Hotz for a 10-yard strike and a 13-0 lead.
Ross’ Garrett Schneider tackles St. John’s Christopher Valentine. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Lehmann frequently extended the play Friday night, buying time for his receivers to elude their coverage. The junior quarterback started the game by completing his first eight passes and finished the night 23-of-35 passing for 262 yards with three touchdowns.
“I know whenever we go empty, no running back in the backfield, I know they’re going to bring a blitzer off the back and they have some pretty good linebackers, like Dallas Gant, of course, he’s going to Ohio State, whenever he comes after me I feel like I have to get out of there and when I get out of there I keep my eyes down field and someone always finds a way to get open.”
Ross’ defense was dominant for the first 20 minutes of the game, forcing five Titan punts and limiting St. John’s to just 48 yards of offense. But the Titans struck back before halftime.
Quarterback Brady Lichtenberg scored on a 1-yard sneak just a couple plays after a 51-yard run by Alex Gayle. After a fast three-and-out by Ross, St. John’s struck again. The Titans picked up 33 yards on a fourth-down-and-8 at their own 40-yard line. The following play, Lichtenberg hit Sam Swift for a 27-yard touchdown with :02 seconds to play before halftime. St. John’s finished the half with 175 yards, with 127 coming on its last two possessions.
“That drive me nuts. We can’t do that,” Long said. “A good defense never gives up two touchdowns, let alone one, in the last three minutes going in at the half.”
While the pass game was strong for Ross in the first half, the Little Giants rushed the ball eight times for -4 yards. The lack of a run game le to several quick three-and-outs.
Despite the lack of success, Ross stuck with the run game and found some room in the second half. Shawn Newsome, who was held to -2 yards in the first half, finished the game with 45 yards on 16 carries, which was enough to make the Titans at least respect the run game.
The Little Giants caught a break on the opening kickoff of the second half. St. John’s appeared to recover a surprise onside kick, but after a lengthy discussion by officials, Ross retained possession at midfield. The Little Giants quickly took advantage as Lehmann moved Ross down field and six plays later found Noah Hotz for a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 20-13 lead.
St. John’s immediately answered back with a 9-play 78-yard drive to knot the game once again, 20-20, on a 1-yard run by Christopher Valentine.
St. John’s next possession took the Titans deep into Ross territory before a Titan 37-yard field goal attempt sailed wide.
Ross responded by driving down into St. John’s territory where Contreras knocked in his decisive field goal.
“Our kids, at some point, we have to come out on the winning side,” Long said. “The kids have a lot of heart, they play hard. They make dumb, bonehead mistakes sometimes but we were able to make stops when we needed to and first downs when we needed to wear some of that clock off.”