×

Bears snap 13-game skid

WEIRTON, W.Va. – Freshman Collin Williams’ 22-yard field goal with no time left on the clock lifted the Oak Glen Golden Bears to a thrilling 17-14 win over the Edison Local Wildcats Saturday night. This was the opening game of the “Clash at the Carey” Kickoff Classic at Jimmy Carey Stadium on the campus of Weir High.

Williams actually made the kick twice, but just a fraction of a second before the ball was snapped for his first kick Edison Local head coach Derrick Stickles had called timeout negating the try.

Playing in his first varsity game, Williams was not to be denied, clearing the crossbar with ease on the second attempt.

“I had faith in him,” said Oak Glen head coach Ian Whittington. “I actually thought that his being a freshman may have helped, as he may not have realized how much pressure there actually was on him.”

For the Golden Bears, this win broke a 13-game losing streak that encompassed the final three games of the 2012 season and all of the 2013 season. Oak Glen’s last win was a 26-20 win over Tyler Consolidated in Week Seven of 2012.

“It feels like a 1,000-pound weight has been lifted off my back,” said Whittington. “We keep emphasizing every day that turnovers can make the difference and today they did.”

“As I told our kids in the lockerroom, there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser,” said the Edison coach. “Unfortunately, we came up short. We were down seven most of the game, but we kept on fighting.”

Three times, Edison was turned away in the Red Zone; once on an interception and twice on a fumble.

“Turnovers hurt us at very critical times,” said Stickles. “Cramping also became a big problem for us in the second half.”

The second fumble recovery was by Isaac Rosohac on the Golden Bears’ 25 yard line with just 49 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 14-14.

A 30-yard rumble by Alec Swiger with a screen pass from Chase Hartley gave the Oak Glen fans hope. Micah Swiger pulled in a Hartley pass for 22 more yards and another first down. Another Swiger catch moved the the ball to the Wildcat 15 with 21 seconds remaining. An 11-yard run by Alec Swiger ran the clock down to set up Williams’ heroics.

Micah Swiger scored twice in the second quarter for Oak Glen. The first tally was on a 39-yard pass from Hartley. Two minutes later, Swiger raced 82 yards with a punt return to give Oak Glen a 14-7 lead. Micah would finish with six catches for 97 yards. Cyle Perez pulled in nine of Hartley’s 19 completions for 79 yards.

Fullback Ethan Shannon notched both of Edison’s touchdowns. The first came at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter on a one-yard plunge. Shannon’s second score came with 2:54 showing on the fourth quarter game clock on a three-yard bolt. Cody Kosegi’s conversion kicks after both scores resulted in a 14-14 tie.

“Ethan is a great kid to have on this team,” said Stickles. “He is one of our team leaders.”

Carter Andreozzi intercepted a Hartley aerial with 2:14 remaining at the Wildcat 47, giving Edison the chance to take the lead. However, four plays later they committed their third turnover of the game, setting up the final Oak Glen drive.

Shannon rushed for 184 yards on 28 carries to lead all rushers. The hard-running back picked up 142 of those in the first half.

“We made some adjustments at halftime as to where the help was going to come from,” said Whittington. “We still wanted to keep the same number of people in the box, but we brought a different guy into the box.”

Edison quarterback Collin Skeeles connected on 17 of 29 passes for 141 yards in his first varsity start. Robert Daley pulled in four of Skeeles’ passes for 81 yards.

GAME NOTES

Edison travels to Carrollton Friday while Oak Glen hosts Beaver Local.

Prior to the game, fans were treated to a concert by Spinning Jenny. The group played a number of songs familiar to fans of all ages.

The game started at 4 p.m., with Weir hosting Steubenville Catholic Central in the nightcap.

Stickles was on Whittington’s initial coaching staff at Oak Glen in 2012 before taking the reins at Edison in 2013. The duo played together at Oak Glen and also at West Liberty State College.

Oak Glen’s Noah Miles was ejected midway through the first quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Edison’s Dakota Byron was injured in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg/ankle injury and was taken to a local hospital. His condition was not known.

OAK GLEN: 0-14-0-3-17

EDISON LOCAL: 0-7-0-7-14

SCORING

EL-Ethan Shannon 1 run (Cody Kosegi kick)

OG-Micah Swiger 39 pass from Chase Hartley (Collin Williams kick)

OG-Swiger 82 punt return (Williams kick)

EL-Shannon 3 run (Kosegi kick)

OG-Collin Williams 22 FG

OGE

First downs1316

Total Yards56-32770-371

Rushes-yards24-8941-230

Passing236141

Comp-Att-Int19-32-117-29-1

Punts 7-255-33

Fumbles-Lost 1-04-2

Penalties-Yards4-347-76

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING-Oak Glen, Alec Swiger 12-43, Dakota Price 3-(-2), Chase Hartley 8-43, Micah Swiger 1-3; Edison, Ethan Shannon 28-184, Dakota Byron 6-37, Carter Andreozzi 2-11, Collin Skeeles 5-(-2)

PASSING-Oak Glen, Chase Hartley 19-32-236-1; Edison, Collin Skeeles 17-29-141-1.

RECEIVING-Oak Glen, Micah Swiger 6-97, Cyle Perez 9-79, Aaron Gray 2-30, Alec Swiger 2-30; Edison, Dakota Bryan 2-7, Carter Andreozzi 5-19, Nick Glenn 2-5, Ethan Shannon 2-10, Dom Rogers 1-15, Robert Daley 4-81, Josh Oaks 1-4

INTERCEPTIONS-Oak Glen, Chase Hartley, Edison, Carter Andreozzi

FUMBLE RECOVERIES-Oak Glen, Isaac Rosohac

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today