Bearcats struggle but pick up 2nd win

Published:  Monday, September 15, 2008 (2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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For The Delphos Herald

PAULDING — A week after fumbling seven times against Allen East, the Spencerville Bearcats forced six Paulding turnovers and came up with just enough offense to post a 13-8 win over the Panthers at Keysor Field Friday evening.
Spencerville’s defense recorded four interceptions and two fumble recoveries on the evening and limited Paulding to 76 rushing yards in the contest as the Bearcats moved to 2-2 on the year and 1-2 in the Northwest Conference.?
“Our defense was big for us this evening,” commented Bearcat head coach Bruce McConnell. “They gave up some yardage but we found ways to make big plays tonight, too.”
Chris Hood had an interception and a fumble recovery for Spencerville. Shawn Broecker also had a fumble recovery for the Bearcats. Tyler Keysor, Drew Ring and Trevor Arthur all had interceptions.
With a steady rain for most of the evening, neither offense was able to generate much of anything. Paulding finished with 257 total yards of offense, led by quarterback Haden Sholl who finished 18-of-36 for 183 yards.
Spencerville managed 212 yards of offense with signal-caller Tyler Deitering completing 7-of-18 passes for 85 yards.
“It was a tough night offensively for both teams,” added McConnell. “Neither offense was able to get into a flow with the weather and due to injuries we had before the game. Fortunately for us, we were able to generate just enough, though.”
Paulding’s Rodney Baxter got the Panthers on the scoreboard at the 8:44 mark of the opening stanza, recording a safety when tackling Trevor Arthur in the end zone.
However, Spencerville responded quickly. The Bearcats, taking advantage of a Hood fumble recovery, put together a 7-play, 61-yard drive that culminated on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Deitering to Keysor for a 6-2 Spencerville lead.
That margin would stand at the half as neither team generated much offense the rest of the first half. The Panthers ended the opening two quarters with 94 yards of total offense with Spencerville having 88.
“Defensively, we played pretty well,” commented Paulding head coach Chris Etzler. But we made a lot of mistakes offensively and you can’t do that.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Spencerville widened the margin to 13-2 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Deitering hooked up with Arthur for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 11:52 left in the contest.
“I thought our offense did some positive things but we still have a long way to go,” added McConnell.
Paulding would make things interesting in the final minutes. The Panthers took advantage of a Bearcat turnover to take over at the Spencerville 29-yard line with 5:18 remaining. Six plays later, Sholl plunged into the end zone to get the maroon and white within 13-8 at the 3:15 mark.
However, that would be as close as Paulding would get. The Panthers had a final drive but came up short on a fourth-down pass to Mott to seal the Spencerville win.
“We knew coming here it would be a tough one for us and it was,” concluded McConnell. “Now we have to get ready to play Columbus Grove and it will be a big challenge as well.”
Arthur led the Bearcats on the ground with 49 yards on 13 carries. As a team, Spencerville finished with 136 yards on 32 tries.
The Panthers will visit Delta in a non-league contest on Friday while the Bearcats host the Bulldogs.

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