Quakers give Warriors all they can handle
Trending
SALEM -- For West Branch, No. 50 never looked so good.
Warrior junior quarterback Dru DeShields scored on a two-point conversion run in overtime to lift the Warriors to a 43-42 overtime win over arch-rival Salem before a rocking standing-room only crowd at Sebo Stadium Saturday night in their 50th meeting.
The come-from-behind thriller for the Warriors capped the school's third 10-0 unbeaten regular season in school history and its first since its 1994 Division II state championship team accomplished it.
"There's was no doubt (we were going for two and the win)," said DeShields, who passed for 214 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 126 yards and two scores in the game. "I said, I'm getting in and that's all I said," he added. "This is just awesome, especially with a rival too."
"What a great atmosphere and we overcame a lot of adversity," smiled West Branch head coach Ken Harris. "When we got the ball, we said if we score, we're going for two and I said get one ready Coop (offensive coordinator Tim Cooper)."
The heartbreaking loss for Salem saw the Quakers finish the regular-season with a deceiving 7-3 record as two of their three losses were in overtime.
"Two really good teams playing," praised Salem head coach Ron Johnson whose Quakers gave West Branch its biggest scare of the year. "It's a tough one," added Johnson. "To play as well as we did and not make mistakes it's really unfortunate for our kids (to lose) but I couldn't be more proud of them for the way they fought, coming from behind."
West Branch was down by eight points late in regulation and came back to tie it on a one-yard run by DeShields with 31 seconds left and a clutch two-point conversion pass from DeShields to running back Steven Marra in the right corner of the end zone, tying the game at 35-35.
Salem scored first in overtime as Quaker standout quarterback Jackson Johnson, who had a great game with 356 total yards, scored on a four-yard run and Hayden Tomidajewicz added the PAT kick as the Quakers went up 42-35.
The Warriors then got the ball and scored on a 16-yard pass from DeShields to Marra, and at that point, West Branch decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win. DeShields took the snap on an iso play and rolled left and into the end zone for the win.
"They (Salem's defense) banged him up," praised Harris of Salem's great effort. "it was a tough game and he (DeShields) hung in there. He's special. That was good old-fashioned Woody Hayes football with an iso play."
"It was a great atmosphere and it was just great to see all the people here," said Johnson of the jam-packed stadium. "What a perfect night for football, it was just the wrong team won."
In the wild offensive shootout, West Branch led in total offense, 509-444.
"It's amazing," said Marra, who had 147 yards rushing on 19 carries. "It was such a close, good game. I knew we could do it, we've had minute drives before."
Johnson praised West Branch's effort.
"They (the Warriors) have a lot of good players, they believe and it's a special season for them and they had players make plays," said the Salem coach.
Harris said he has an excellent blend of leadership on the team.
"They are special guys, this whole team is special," said the West Branch coach. "Those seniors all bring a nice element to this team and it's a nice mix."
Salem struck first as the Quakers returned the opening kickoff to the West Branch 22 and two plays later, Johnson hit Caden Swiger with a 15-yard scoring strike. Hayden Tomidajewicz added the PAT kick and the Quakers took a quick 7-0 lead at the 11:14 mark of the first quarter.
But West Branch answered on its first series, marching 80 yards in six plays and scoring when DeShields scampered 12 yards up the middle. Ben Tolson added the PAT boot and the Warriors tied the game at a 7-7 at the 9:18 mark of the opening quarter.
After stopping Salem, West Branch scored again when Marra, who had 106 yards rushing in the first half, raced 41 yards to score. Tolson again added the PAT kick and the Warriors led 14-7 at the 7:06 mark of the first quarter.
Salem fumbled the ball away while driving deep into West Branch territory at the 24. The Warriors capitalized on the miscue, marching 76 yards and scoring on a 29-yard scoring pass from DeShields to wideout Nick Wilson in the right corner of the end zone. With Tolson's boot, West Branch went up 21-7 with 11:02 left in the second period.
But Salem, using an effective series of short passes to Blaize Exline, went right down the field to answer the West Branch score. The Quakers marched 90 yards and scored on a 7-yard scoring pass from Johnson to a diving wideout Austin Sinkovich in the right corner of the end zone. Hayden Tomidajewicz added the PAT kick and the Quakers were right back in the game, trailing 21-14 with 4:53 left before intermission.
West Branch led in total offense, 223-185 at half.
Salem came out with momentum in the second half and tied the game at 21-21 when Johnson scored from four yards out and Hayden Tomidajewicz added the kick with 2:40 left in the third.
The Quakers then added a four-yard scoring run by Johnson, a 17-yard scoring pass from Johnson to receiver Blaize Exline, who led all receivers with 16 catches for 190 yards, and a 44-yard run Johnson to go up by eight points before West Branch rallied to tie it in regulation at 35-35 and force the overtime.
"We really played well and we have nothing to be ashamed of," said Johnson. "We lost three games this year and three plays makes the difference in us being undefeated right now. We lost two games in overtime and we lost another on a tough play (vs. Carrollton). Salem is a great football team and we still have a lot of football to play."
"It (going 10-0) will hit me later," said Harris. "Thanks to everybody from West Branch, this is great," said the Warriors' coach, choking back tears.
Game notes
• West Branch won last year's meeting in Beloit, 44-20.
• In the past decade, the two teams have split their 10 meetings, with each winning fives times.
Both the Warriors and Quakers will be involved in Division IV playoff action next Friday night. Four of the seven members of the Eastern Buckeye Conference are playoff bound, including West Branch, Salem, Carrollton and Canton South.
• Salem will host Peninsula Woodridge at 7 p.m. on Friday at Sebo Stadium, while West Branch will host Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy at 7 p.m. on Friday.
CVCA beat West Branch 58-55 in a regular season meeting in 2020.
WEST BRANCH: 14-7-7- 7 8--43
SALEM: 7-7-7-14-7--42
SCORING
S -- Caden Swiger, 15 pass from Jackson Johnson, 11:14 1st (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick)
WB -- Dru DeShields, 21 run, 9:18 1st (Ben Tolson kick)
WB -- Steven Marra, 41 run, 7:06 1st (Ben Tolson kick)
WB -- Nick Wilson, 29 pass from Dru DeShields, 11:02 2nd (Ben Tolson kick)
SAL -- Austin Sinkovich, 7 pass from Jackson Johnson, 4:53 2nd (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick)
S -- Jackson Johnson, 4 run, 2:40 3rd (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick) after Oesch interception at 37
S -- Blaize Exline, 17 pass from Jackson Johnson, 8:45 4th (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick)
WB -- Wilson, 7 pass from Dru DeShields, 5:34 4th (Kick failed)
S -- Jackson Johnson, 44 run, 2:05 4th (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick)
WB -- DeShields, 1 run, :31 4th (Marra pass from DeShields)
S -- Johnson, 3 run, OT (Hayden Tomidajewicz kick)
WB -- Steven Marra, 16 pass from Dru Deshields, OT (Dru DeShields run)
------
WB S
First downs 26 26
Total yards 509 444
Rushes-yards 42-268 24-214
Passing 241 230
Comp-Att-Int 17-30-1 25-32-1
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-1
Punts 3-35 4-38
Penalties-Yards 4-55 5-60
------
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING -- West Branch, Steven Marra 19-147, Dru DeShields 22-126; Salem, Jackson Johnson 18-144, Dillon Monroy 3-12, Maniscalco 1-4.
PASSING -- West Branch, Dru DeShields 16-30-231; Salem, Jackson Johnson 25-32-230-3-1.
RECEIVING -- West Branch, Nick Wilson 5-73, Jaxon Hendershott 3-44, Steven Marra 3-64, Martin 6-60; Salem, Blaize Exline 16-190, Brock Young 3-16, Caden Swiger 2-21, Austin Sinkovich 2-14.
INTERCEPTIONS -- West Branch, Jaxon Hendershott; Salem, Donnie Oesch.