Spartans Can't Overcome Aerial Assault
Germantown, OH (September 11, 2004) One thing you can say about last night's game against the Fairborn Skyhawks is that the Spartans never gave up.
The tone of the game was set on the Skyhawks first possession when in two plays, they took the ball to the Spartans four-yard line before scoring the first of six touchdowns.
It was a night of long passes. The first touchdown occurred after a combination of 13, 45 and 2 yard passes.
"Our defense broke down at crucial times," Coach Jay Niswonger said.
The Skyhawks had the speed and hands they needed to consistently pull off gutsy bombs of 30 to 50 yards down the field.
The Spartan special teams gave the offense excellent field position on the ensuing kick-off. Spartan QB, Blake Newsock, got things rolling with a 14 yard pass to Curtis Moore and then on the next play moved the ball to the Skyhawks six-yard. It was there that on third down, Newsock would throw his only interception of the game, killing the drive and ending an almost sure scoring opportunity.
The Sky Hawks ran the ball back to their own 47 where Fairborn QB Nico Yantko on the first play from scrimmage, releases a 48-yarder for the second TD of the evening. The Spartans quickly found themselves down 14-0 and the Skyhawks clearly had the momementum.
Valley View's next possession ended when they turned the ball over on downs by virtue of a series of incomplete passes.
The Spartans' defense finally looked as if they had risen to the occasion by holding the holding the 'Hawks to eight yards on their next possession. However they elected to go for it on the fourth down, and go for it they did, with a 47-yard bomb that ended in the end zone.
Despite blocking the extra point, the damage had been done and the score stood at 20-0.
The View was not ready to throw in the towel.
Fourth time's a charm. The Spartans finally saw the end zone, mostly on the efforts of a Lucas Kramer 44-yard reception and nice gains by Curtis Moore out of the backfield that eventually led him to score, cutting the deficit to 13, 7-20.
"We put in a new formation that we're hoping to continue working on," Niswonger said.
The Skyhawks couldn't move at the start of their next possession as the Spartans made some big stick hits. John Rupp, Todd Bowling and Chase Collins each had sacks in the backfield. None of those seemed to deter Yantko as he once again aired it out for 50-yards to lead Fairborn back inot the end zone. With 3:17 remaining in the half, the two-point conversion gave the Skyhawks a 28-7 lead.
After trading possessions, the Spartans took the ball back in the red zone on the strength of a Lucas Kramer punt and a brilliant defensive effort. With less than a minute to go in the half the Spartans were determined to close the scoring gap.
Newsock's pass to Moore, standing in the endzone with only a second remaining, made the score 13-28. The Spartans two-point conversion attempt failed, but the TD would hopefully provide some much needed momentum.
That momentum would soon be reversed on Fairborn's first possession of the second. The Spartans appeared to have stopped the Skyhawk's QB when on 3rd and long, Yantko lobs a 54-yarder that manages to find its way to the endzone. As the ball cleared the uprights, the score became 35-13 and the first signs of realization were beginning to set in among the fans.
Despite the lapse on the opening series, the Spartan defense held strong the remainder of the quarter.
It was at the opening of the fourth quarter that the Skyhawks, who at this point were looking more like the Spartans of seasons past, recovered a fumble on the Spartans 27-yard line where they would eventually up the score another notch, 13-42.
And still, Valley View never gave up. The defense continued to put pressure on Yantko, sacking him several times in the backfield, slowing down the aerial onslaught that had taken place the majority of the game.
The Spartans would get one last chance when the special team recoverd a fumble on the punt return and on the next series of plays, Curtis Moore would ramble eight yards into the endzone to make the score 19-42.
Fairborn's passing game made the difference during the entire game and that's something the Spartans' defense backs will need to concentrate.
They threw a 64-yard bomb and we had him (Yantko) in the backfield, but didn't stop it," Niswonger said. He continued, "Our o-line and defensive front seven played very well. It's our skill positions that got beat tonight."
Valley View may have suffered a difficult loss, but they also had the chance to see some things that they haven't seen before. And because this was only week three, they now have the rest of the season to build on what they have.
"We have got to take what we did right and repeat it and take what we did wrong and correct it," Niswonger stated.
They will get that chance when Madison comes to visit this Friday at Barker Field.
