GALION — Galion stepped up when it needed to and was able to end a two-game skid at the expense of Highland.
The Tigers outscored the Scots 20-7 in the second quarter and slipped away with a 23-21 Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference win to move to 5-2, 2-2 MOAC.
“It’s easy for sophomores or guys playing new positions to shut down,” explained Galion head coach Matt Dick. “Tonight, they didn’t. That’s their character, that’s that Galion city in them.”
Adversity struck for the Tigers when they were hit with a key injury in the second quarter. Quarterback Braxton Prosser went down on the sideline and did not return to the game. To that point, Prosser had a hand in each of the three Tigers’ scores.
Highland quarterback Kolton Stover found Kadyn Reichenback on a 57-yard score off a tipped ball on third and long to start the game. The Tigers answered with a 21-yard run by Prosser to tie it up early in the second quarter.
A short time later, Prosser rumbled in from 62 yards out. The junior quarterback made multiple guys miss and kept his balance all the way. Overall, Prosser finished with 116 rushing yards in less than two quarters.
Galion capitalized again when Prosser found Elijah Chafin on a 37-yard go route.
A point of emphasis for the Tigers was to tame All-Ohio running back Dane Nauman. Just before the half, Nauman broke multiple tackles on his way to a 38-yard touchdown, his best run of the night. The MOAC’s leading rusher had 101 yards.
“We have a big D-line and some really good linebackers that I think really helped us.”
Midway through the third quarter, Highland (3-3, 1-3) regained their first lead since early on when Stover hit a 27-yard strike to Ladon Hayes. Stover completed 19-of-37 passes for 257 yards and had no turnovers.
Ultimately, the difference in the game came down to a 29-yard field goal from Allen Carver near the end of the game.
“We talked about momentum and riding that momentum,” explained Dick. “We got a little momentum and we let our defense win the game. That’s really cool to see because they’ve had some rough weeks the last couple of weeks.”
Highland had a chance to win the game with a couple of minutes left and Galion forced a turnover on downs near midfield. It was a step in the right direction for a team that gave up 110 points combined in the previous two weeks.
Ayden Schmidt stepped in for the Tigers and handled the quarterback role for the second half. The sophomore had 26 yards rushing and 40 yards passing.
Jimmy Hardy made his season debut at running back due to injuries and had a nice night with 56 yards on 9 totes.
“We’re really without our best offensive lineman really,” Dick said about success running the ball. “The kids just stepped up and battled.”
Additionally for the Tigers, Linkon Tyrell caught three passes for 42 yards and Coen Fuson grabbed two for 36 yards.
Galion travels to Pleasant next week. The Spartans are 4-3 coming off a 45-14 loss to Ontario.
Highland will have a chance to get back on track when it hosts River Valley on Friday. The Vikings pulled off the upset of the year in the MOAC, beating Shelby 27-23.