Key takeaways from Ashland's 61-28 season-opening loss to Norwayne in football
CRESTON – Ashland’s football team dug itself a deep hole early on against Norwayne and faced an uphill climb the rest of the game.
The Bobcats took advantage of seven turnovers by the Arrows, including five in the first half, in a 61-28 season-opening victory Friday at Norwayne High School.
Here are some takeaways from the game.
Nightmare first quarter for Ashland
After their initial drive stalled, the Arrows pinned Norwayne deep in its own territory. That wasn’t an issue for the Bobcats, who scored four plays later on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Stanley to Roman Portis.
On the first play of Ashland’s next drive, Portis jumped a pass in the flat and returned it roughly 40 yards for a touchdown.
The Arrows fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Jake Gill scored three plays later to make it 21-0 Norwayne just over three minutes into the game.
Ashland failed to recover the kickoff once again, giving the Bobcats the ball back at the Arrows 31-yard line. Thankfully for Ashland, its defense rose to the task and forced a turnover on downs to stop the bleeding.
The nightmare wasn’t over for the Arrows quite yet, though, as their ensuing drive ended with Jay Hanzie returning an interception roughly 75 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-0 Norwayne.
“Everything that could have gone wrong (at the start of the game) kind of did,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said. “... What happened tonight I don’t believe at all is our team. We had a really good scrimmage against (North Canton) Hoover and Dover.
“That first quarter happened, and we were kind of shellshocked. It was like, ‘Holy cow. What in the world is going on?’”
Crazy first-half stats
With the Arrows trailing 41-14 at halftime, one would assume Norwayne dominated in nearly every facet of the game. That wasn’t the case, though.
Ashland had success moving the ball in the first half. Taking care of the football and finishing drives plagued the Arrows offense.
Ashland actually outgained the Bobcats in total yards (344 to 307), had three more first downs (13 to 10) and possessed the ball nearly five minutes longer (14:27 to 9:33).
“There’s good things there (on offense to build on),” Seder said. “It wasn’t just a completely horrible night. … We did some really good things and made some really nice plays. (Our) finishing and execution (need to be better).
“If we don’t spot them 28 points and convert on three of those red zones, it’s really a one-score game. Even though the score was a running clock and we got a good old-fashioned butt whooping, I think Norwayne is a really good team.”
Five first-half turnovers were the difference in the opening 24 minutes and buried the Arrows in too deep of a hole to overcome in the second half. To Norwayne’s credit, it made Ashland pay for nearly all of its miscues.
The Bobcats also did a nice job of taking care of the football, committing just one turnover late in the fourth quarter with their second-string offense.
Ashland passing game shows promise
It can sometimes be hard to find positives in lopsided losses, but that’s simply not the case for the Arrows.
Luke Bryant started the game at quarterback and showed plenty of poise. Although the junior threw the two pick-sixes that he’d surely love to have back, he did a nice job making plays when he had time to throw. Before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury, he completed 12 of 26 passes for 204 yards.
Freshman Nathan Bernhard filled in for Bryant the rest of the game and also played well. Bernhard didn’t look like a newbie to high school football.
Several times he stepped up in the pocket or moved side to side to avoid a Norwayne defender, which isn’t something a young player usually does in the first start of his varsity career. He finished 6-of-10 passing for 191 yards and a touchdown.
“I felt like (Bernhard) did some really good stuff for a freshman,” Seder said. “Anytime you step into a game as a freshman in Week 1, that’s kind of crazy. He did some really good things, made some good reads and made some really good plays.”
Bryant and Bernhard benefitted from the playmaking abilities of receivers Jonathan Metzger and Grayson Steury. The seniors both picked up a ton of yards after the catch, showing plenty of fight each time they caught the ball.
Metzger finished with eight catches for 222 yards and a touchdown, while Steury caught four balls for 131 yards.
Running back Cayden Spotts helped keep the offense on task by rushing for 79 yards and three scores on 14 carries. Bryant and Bernhard combined for 35 yards on eight carries.
Norwayne’s offense is the real deal
A lot of hype surrounded the Bobcats offense entering the season, and it’s easy to understand why after its performance against Ashland. Norwayne averaged 10 yards per play, using a nice mixture of run and pass.
Gill led the way on the ground with 106 yards and three touchdowns, while Dillon Morlock added 91 yards. Four players rushed for at least 20 yards as the Bobcats racked up 291 yards on 38 carries.
Stanley was extremely efficient when his number was called. The senior quarterback completed 8 of 11 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns, hooking up twice with Lucas Dudte on scoring strikes of 71 and 45 yards.
Norwayne’s 61 points were the most allowed by Ashland since Week 10 of the 1991 season, when Madison scored 66.
“If Norwayne was in our conference, I think they would do really well,” Seder said. “I think they’re a deep playoff team. They’re not a bad football team.”
Bobcats opportunistic on defense and special teams
Norwayne recovered three kickoffs, converting two of the turnovers into touchdowns.
The Bobcats also had two interception returns for touchdowns.
And, for good measure, they recovered two fumbles.
That’s a whopping seven turnovers that they forced.
For as opportunistic as the defense was, it still has plenty of room left for improvement.
Ashland gashed the unit for 509 yards of offense, including 395 through the air.
Still, though, the Norwayne defensive coaches have to be feeling pretty good about how their players performed.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Top takeaways from Norwayne football's win over Ashland
