Sat Nov 21 2009
By TIM McDONOUGH
mcdonough@crescent-news.com
KENTON — Anyone who knows anything at all about Western Buckeye League football knows that Kenton loves to throw the football in their 5-wide, spread attack. On Friday night at Robinson Stadium in Kenton, that aerial attack led by sophomore Maty Mauk was on display against Defiance.
The Bulldogs got pretty good pressure on the young signal-caller most of the game, but unfortunately for the visitors, it wasn’t enough as Mauk was 33-of-52 passing for 412 yards and 5 TDs, while also hitting paydirt on the ground in a 40-21 victory for the state-ranked Wildcats.
Kenton (7-1, 7-0 WBL), ranked No. 9 in the state in Division IV, remained in the driver’s seat in the league, while it was another disappointing loss for the Bulldogs (4-4, 4-3 WBL), who have dropped two straight.
“I thought we put pressure on the quarterback well and we didn’t quit, but when you play a team like Kenton you have to keep the ball out of their hands and we didn’t do that in the first half,” commented Defiance mentor Jerry Buti. “Even when we got great pressure at times, Mauk made big throws and that’s why they’re good.
“I thought we did everything we could to try and win this game, that doesn’t mean it all worked, but we tried everything we could to try and win,” continued Buti. “We brought pressure, we dropped back into zones, we tried to possess the football, but let’s give Kenton credit. Plus their defense was very good tonight.”
The Wildcats put the Bulldogs in an early hole.
After starting the opening drive of the game at its own 46, it took Kenton just three plays and 29 seconds to grab an 8-0 lead. Mauk went deep for 44 yards to Max Morrison for 44 yards, hit Daniel Lombardo for 16 more before finishing it off with a 4-yard run to paydirt. Mauk then hit Morrison for the 2-point conversion and the 8-0 advantage with 11:29 to go in the first quarter.
“I don’t know about our defense, but my confidence was shattered,” joked Buti about Kenton’s opening drive. “We told the kids before the game that they would need to adjust to Kenton’s speed because we can’t simulate that in practice. When we play a team that’s faster than us and skilled like that, it’s tough.”
Offensively in the first half, Defiance tried to milk the clock as much as it could to keep Kenton’s offense off the field, but the Kenton defense led by middle linebacker Mark Fackler kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard until late in the second quarter when Aaron Swanson scored on a 5-yard run with 2:10 left to play in the first half.
The problem?
Kenton was already in front 20-0 following a pair of TD tosses from Mauk to Andrew Tillman and Morrison, who finished the game with 11 catches for 127 yards and 3 TDs. Tillman added 6 catches for 135 yards and a score, while Lombardo had 9 receptions for 116 yards and a score.
“When we brought all that rush like we did tonight, what impressed me about Maty Mauk was that he was still able to find the open guy,” said Buti. “Geez, the Browns would probably like to have him ... today. For a sophomore to find that open guy in all that, wow. What a tough competitor.”
Kenton added a pair of scores in the third quarter to move in front 40-7, before Defiance closed the gap with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one on an 11-yard run from Derron Pritchett and the other on an 11-yard TD toss from Sean Murray to Alex Nofziger, who finished with 6 catches for 82 yards and the score.
“I give Kenton credit, their defense was good and that’s something nobody ever talks about,” concluded Buti. “It was a case where we couldn’t keep the ball out of the hands of their offense, they just had too many shots at our defense. The bottom line is we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Swanson led Defiance with 113 yards on 30 carries and the one score to go over the 1,100-yard mark on the year. The Bulldogs return to action next Friday when the hit the road for the final time of the season to take on the Bulldogs of Elida.
DEFIANCE KENTON
First Downs 14 11
Rushing Yards 51-182 9-(-5)
Passing Yards 82 412
Total Yards 264 407
Passing 6-21-1 33-52-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-1
Penalties 10-72 13-139
Defiance 0 7 0 14 - 21
Kenton 8 18 14 0 - 40
Kenton - Mauk 4-yard run (Morrison pass from Mauk).
Kenton - Lombardo 6-yard pass from Mauk (pass failed).
Kenton - Morrison 16-yard pass from Mauk (run failed).
Defiance - Swanson 5-yard run (Koester kick).
Kenton - Tillman 37-yard pass from Mauk (pass failed).
Kenton - Morrison 1-yard pass from Mauk (Morrison pass from Mauk).
Kenton - Morrison 5-yard pass from Mauk (pass failed).
Defiance - Pritchett 11-yard run (Koester kick),
Defiance - Nofziger 11-yard pass from Murray (Koester kick).
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Defiance - Swanson 30-113; Pritchett 6-41; Murray 12-21; Stuck 2-7. Kenton - Castle 2-3; Mauk 7-(-8).
PASSING: Defiance - Murray 6-20-82-1; Belau 0-1-0-0. Kenton - Mauk 33-52-412-0.
RECEIVING: Defiance - Nofziger 6-82. Kenton - Tillman 6-135; Morrison 11-127; Lombardo 9-116; Howell 7-44.
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