GALION — For Galion quarterback Wilson Frankhouse, one loss fueled his competitive fire for the next season.
A year ago, the Tigers dropped a 28-17 decision in the opening round of the playoffs to Ottawa-Glandorf.
Frankhouse never forgot.
In two-and-a-half quarters, the Galion quarterback completed 11 of 15 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers blasted Rocky River Lutheran West, 55-7, in the Division IV, Region 14 playoff game Saturday night.
With the win, the Tigers (4-3) will travel to Bellevue (6-0) and will face the top seeded Redmen next Saturday night.
That loss to Ottawa-Glandorf was the catalyst, according to Frankhouse.
“I try to put things in the past when it happens but that kind of gave us the motivation to really work hard this week and make big plays and give us a win,” Frankhouse said.
Galion coach Matt Dick agreed with his quarterback.
“It was huge, a couple of our coaches brought it up,” Dick said. “And to get to play at Heise Park, that was a big deal for our seniors. It was great for them to get that win and they would have done anything to get back into this situation after we lost last year to Ottawa-Glandorf. We didn’t play very good football.”
The Tigers also welcomed back star wideout Hanif Donaldson, who helped the Tigers shock Lucas a week ago. The Cubs were Division VI state runners-up a year ago.
“I thought our passing game started up,” Frankhouse said. “We had everybody back and we got things rolling and we made big plays.”
He also felt that Donaldson’s return was critical.
“Obviously, it’s really important,” Frankhouse added. “Even when he’s the one not making the plays, he takes defenders with him. And that’s huge to open up our other receivers.”
“Nobody has a player like Hanif and doesn’t design offenses around him,” Dick added. “I don’t care if it’s NFL or in college, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, he’s a big part of our offense. Sometimes we use him too much, sometimes we use him the right amount. Tonight, we blended some other guys into it, and it worked well.”
The Tigers played well but got a lot of help from the Longhorns. Galion’s first two scoring drives were 10 and 14 yards.
In fact, Galion didn’t snap the ball in its own territory until midway through the second quarter. The Tigers added drives of 46. 42, and 52 yards en route to a 41-7 lead at the half.
“They were all pretty good,” Dick said of Galion’s offense, defense, and special teams. “It was starting to click. We still have things to clean up, we keep working on discipline. It’s been a point all year long, when we play clean games, we can compete with anyone.”
Galion got the ball at the Longhorns’ 10-yard line after Gage Vanderkooi picked off a Greg Fuentes pass.
From there, Frankhouse hit Jackson Staton from four yards out and a 7-0 Galion lead.
On the next possession, Jacob Williams recovered a Lutheran West fumble at the West 14. One play later, Donaldson scored on a 14-yard run and a 13-0 lead.
The Tigers’ next two possessions were on the Longhorn 47 and 46. Frankhouse hit Donaldson from 44 yards out and scored on a three-yard run. After one, the Tigers led, 27-0.
Galion increased the lead to 41-0 in the second quarter on a 27-yard toss from Frankhouse to Staton and a 41-yard strike from Frankhouse to Williams.
Lutheran West got on the board right before the half on a 49-yard pass from Fuentes to Eddie Lewis. At the break, the Tigers led 41-7.
With a running clock in the second half, neither team ran a lot of plays, but the Tigers scored on a 32-yard Frankhouse-to-Donaldson pass and a three-yard run by Tyler Wall.
“I think a lot of people are doubting us after being shut-out for two weeks,” Frankhouse said. “We really got a lot of momentum from (the win over Lucas), we made some big plays and I think that really carried over into this game.”
In Bellevue, the Tigers will face a team that enters the playoffs with a 6-0 record.
“It’s awesome but next week we’ll play a real team, the number one seed in the region and they’re going to give us everything we can handle,” Dick said.
Score by quarters
Lutheran West 0 7 0 0 — 7
Galion 27 14 7 7 — 55
Scoring summary
First quarter
G — Jackson Staton 4 pass from Wilson Frankhouse (Dominic Pittman kick), 8:05.
G — Hanif Donaldson 14 run (pass failed), 7:03.
G — Donaldson 44 pass from Frankhouse (Pittman kick), 4:26.
G — Frankhouse 4 run (Pittman kick), 1:34.
Second quarter
G — Staton 27 pass from Frankhouse (Pittman kick), 11:16.
G — Jacob Williams 41 pass from Frankhouse (Pittman kick), 4:56.
LW — Eddie Lewis 49 pass from Greg Fuentes (Tyler DeSimpelare kick), :53.
Third quarter
G — Donaldson 32 pass from Frankhouse (Pittman kick), 7:04.
Fourth quarter
G — Tyler Wall 3 run (Jackson Hart kick), 10:26.
Individual statistics
Passing
Lutheran West: Greg Fuentes 6-12-1 97. Galion: Wilson Frankhouse 11-15-0 243, Sam Wegesin 1-1-0 5.
Rushing
Lutheran West: Eddie Lewis 18-45, Eli Burns 5-30, Manny Diaz 2-0, Fuentes 9-(-28). Galion: Gage Vanderkooi 7-50, Tyler Wall 5-28, Hanif Donaldson 3-28, Frankhouse 7-23, Kooper McCabe 3-11, Wegesin 3-7.
Receiving
Lutheran West: Lewis 2-43, Burns 2-33, Diaz 1-16, Jacob Parrella 1-5. Galion: Donaldson 4-99, Jackson Staton 4-72, Jacob Williams 2-47, Dominic Pittman 1-25, Gabe Ivy 1-5.
Team statistics
LW G
First downs 7 9
Rushing 34-47 28-147
Passes 6-12-1 12-16-0
Yards passing 97 248
Total yards 144 395