HAVILAND-It was a record high in heat on Friday night when the Spencerville Bearcats visited the Wayne Trace Raiders. The Bearcats got a late touchdown with 53 seconds left to defeat Wayne Trace 28-27.
It was the Raiders that got on the board first in the opening quarter as Amos Sinn nine yard run gave them a 6-0 before the two point conversion extended the lead to 8-0.
Spencerville responded with a long drive that concluded with a 19 yard touchdown pass from Carder Orr with his peanut butter jelly connection to Will Sensabaugh to bring the Bearcats within 8-7.
“It was a lot of trail and error in the first half,” said Spencerville head coach Kyle Koenig. “We ran a lot of crosses with our tight ends and it became really wide open in the middle and it was something we came back to the rest of the game.”
The quarter wasn’t quite over as Wayne Trace was backed up in their own territory and it led to a pick six from freshman Kolten Grigsby to put Spencerville ahead 14-8.
The second quarter belonged to the red, white, and blue. Wayne Trace tied the game at 14 on a 22 yard strike from Cole Morehead to Tyler Head but the two point conversion failed to keep it tied at 14. Both teams exchanged punts but a last second drive by the hosts led to a 21 yard run by Cole Morehead to give them a 21-14 half lead.
The heat began to get both teams in the third quarter with cramps but both defenses pitched the quarter shutout to keep it 21-14.
A Wayne Trace turnover gave the Bearcats great field position and they took advantage on a PB and J connection again from Orr to Sensabaugh this time from 17 yards out to tie it at 21.
After both teams traded punts, the Raiders looked to put a dagger on a 49 yard pass from Morehead to a wide open Brady Miller to put them 27-21 but a failed two point conversion kept the lead at six.
Senior quarterback Carder Orr set out to do what he has played out his whole life and drove them down the field. A pair of throws to Sensabaugh put the Bearcats in business and led to a five yard run from Zach Looser and an extra point from Orr to give them a 28-27 lead.
Wayne Trace had the bowl at their own 40 yard line but a “hit stick” hit from Orr put them at midfield with 15 seconds.
“Will and I connection was amazing tonight,” said Orr. “He was running his routes as hard as possible and I was getting great protection up front from my offensive lineman and being able to make the play for them.”
“It felt good to make that hit because I always get told that I’m soft and can’t hit at all,” Orr added with a chuckle.
A scramble play that resulted in a 12 yard pass from Morehead to Head ran out the clock and the Bearcats celebrated a 28-27 come from behind victory.
Spencerville improves to 2-0 on the season for the second straight season and will visit Riverside next week. Last season the Bearcats had a 10-3 halftime lead before the Pirates exploded for 42 unanswered second half points to pull away for the 45-10 victory.
“Riverside is going to be a solid team next week,” concluded Koenig. “They were a solid team last year and they will be a solid team this year and I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m sure our kids are looking forward to it as well.”
Box score
Spencerville 14 – 0 – 0 – 14 – 28
Wayne Trace 8 – 13 – 0 – 6 – 27
Total yards
Spencerville:286
Wayne Trace:306
Penalties
Spencerville:2
Wayne Trace:4
Turnovers
Spencerville:3
Wayne Trace:3
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