Turnovers Deny The Spartans Chance At State Title
Dayton, OH (Welcome Stadium) Sometimes you hunt the bear and sometimes the bear hunts you. The Watterson Eagles capitalized on five Valley View turnovers to down the Spartans 40-14 in Divsion III state semi-final action at Dayton's Welcome Stadium.
The crowd of 7,800 watched as the Eagles dominated the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, scoring on their first two possessions to claim a 14-8 lead. The Spartans then cut the deficit to 14-8 on an 8-yard run and two-point conversion run by quarterback Teddy Buehner who finished the game with 104 yards passing.
Watterson pretty much put the game away when when Jon Mills recovered a fumble from a botched snap, giving the Eagles the ball at the Valley View 22 yard line. Three plays later Eagles QB Dan DeLucia carried it in to put the Eagles up 20-8. The earlier momentum could never be regained by the Spartans.
The Eagles size and depth obviously outmanned the smaller Valley View team although the Spartan defense managed to hold the Eagles scoreless in the third quarter.
"They were just always on me," commented first-team Southwest District selection and Spartan defensive standout, Joe Swanson. " I was just never really a part of too many plays."
He wasn't the only one. The large Watterson defense pushed the Spartan offensive line around forcing Buehner to run for cover most of the evening. Junior standout Brock Bolen rushed for 108 yards but was always just one step away from breaking out of the pack for the big play. Buehner threw for 103 yards.
On the ground the Spartans had a difficult time containing the Eagles three running backs. Cory Wilson rushed for 99 yards, J.J. Koterba, 78 and Eric Hard, 69 yards while DeLucia completed 9 of 18 passes for 183 yards.
