MARION — Fifteen years ago this matchup might have drawn statewide attention as both programs were among Ohio’s elite small school programs. Ten-win regular seasons and postseason berths were the standard for both Wynford and Pleasant.
But both teams brought 0-1 records into the non-conference game at Don Kay Stadium Friday night amid rebuilding efforts. The host Spartans used a first-half safety and a late touchdown to edge the Royals 8-0 in a defensive battle.
Wynford head coach Cyle Skidmore admitted his team struggled.
“It didn’t go our way. Marion Pleasant. I know they got a good tradition and a good culture. They did it right tonight and they put it all together,” he said.
A Jace Trachteberg tackle for a safety at 9:26 of the second quarter put the Spartans in control.
The two teams combined for 88 total yards of offense in the first two quarters. Senior running back Kohan Keith accounted for 39 of Wynford’s 48 yards.
“It was a grinder of a game,” Pleasant head coach Kevin Kline said.
Skidmore said his team addressed the close contest at intermission.
“We just have to push through it (being in a defensive struggle). When things aren’t going our way, how do you push through it? That was basically the main thing we said. What do you do? How do you respond?”
The Royals relied on the backfield tandem of Keith and Kaiden Blair, in the third quarter. Both backs picked up yardage in the initial drive, but penalty flags stalled the drive.
Mistakes hurt the Royals, particularly in the second half. Two illegal motion flags pushed Wynford back and kept Pleasant in the game.
“The penalties got us tonight, that is for sure,” Skidmore said. “I mean, we struggled with the penalties. We’ve just got to be more disciplined and start doing things the right way.”
On the night Wynford had six penalties for 45 yards, but most came at inopportune times.
The Wynford defense was equal to the task. Brandon Garrett recorded a sack, and Blair and Keith each had a tackle for loss for the Royals.
Ashton Warren intercepted one of Owen Lowry’s passes in the second period. Wynford forced Pleasant to turn the ball over on downs twice and made the Spartans punt the ball on four other possessions.
A third-quarter drive featured Blair ripping off a 7-yard run, but two pass attempts to Sam Collene were incomplete and Wynford punted.
On its final possession of the quarter, Keith had runs 4, 4, and 16 yards (the longest run of the game to that point). But a false start penalty on third down and an illegal shift forced a fourth and 11 at the 38.
Pleasant took over on downs and went to work.
Sophomore quarterback Lowry directed his squad from that point and culminated a 62-yard, 5-play drive with a 1-yard burst into the endzone.
The key play was a 57-yard throw to senior Cadence Varner to the Royals’ 5-yard line. The kick failed, but Pleasant held an 8-0 lead with 6:42 remaining.
Wynford took the kickoff and moved the ball. Keith had runs of 6 and 9 yards and Warren ripped off an 11-yard run on fourth down and 8 at the Royals 42 to keep the drive alive.
It stalled, however, and Pleasant got the ball back … briefly.
Blair recovered a Spartans’ fumble at the hosts 15 with 1:03 to play. After two short gains on the ground, passes on third and fourth downs fell incomplete. Carter Mattix made the game-saving break-up in the end zone.
“We play good teams,” Skidmore said. “We just hope that we respond, and we see that we can get better and do it the right way.”
Wynford fell last week to Otsego and will return home Friday night against Lucas.
“Hats off to Wynford. They’re a tough team,” Kline said. “We knew coming in, size-wise, we gave up quite a bit up front to them. And they’re physical. They got after it. I think that’s what you saw.
“Honestly, that first half we didn’t move the ball much. I know they picked up a couple of first downs, but it really was a game of defense.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Wynford 0 0 0 0 — 0
Pleasant 0 2 0 6 — 8
Scoring summary
Second quarter
P — Jace Trachteberg safety, 9:26.
Fourth quarter
P — Owen Lowry 1 run (kick failed), 6:42.
Individual statistics
Passing
Wynford: Ashton Warren 2-12-0 9; Pleasant: Owen Lowry 5-11-1 86.
Rushing
Wynford: Kohan Keith 22-80, Kaiden Blair 8-16, Anthony Evans 2-17, Ashton Warren 6-(-3); Pleasant: Skyler Wolf 11-24, Owen Lowry 8-25.
Receiving
Wynford: Sam Collene Sam Collene 1-7, Kaiden Blair 1-2; Pleasant: Cadence Varner 3-69, Trenton Sparling 1-9, Carver King 1-8.
Team statistics
W P
First downs 6 14
Rushing 38-110 26-54
Passes 2-12-0 5-11-1
Yards passing 9 86
Total yards 119 140
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties 6-45 5-35