WOOSTER – Orrville players knew exactly how much time had passed since they squandered victory against their biggest rival.
Three hundred and seventy-two days.
They made sure that there would be no further countdown after the first Friday night of the 2024 season.
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Orrville took an early lead and held on to it during a decisive 41-18 victory over Wooster, ending a three-game losing streak to the Generals and starting the year off with a bang.
“It means everything,” Orrville senior lineman Shane Troyer said. “We worked so hard. We gave them one last year that we should have had. It’s good to get one. It’s been bothering us for (372) days, we think about it every day.”
After watching Wooster come from behind to win with a walk-off field goal a year ago, Orrville made sure there was no doubt down the stretch by scoring 17 points in the first 10 minutes and not letting up as the game went on.
Orrville made all the right plays—turning three Wooster turnovers into points and recovering a surprise onside kick—while everything went wrong for the Generals almost from the start.
The Red Riders made two big passing plays early. Junior QB Cam Kraft – a starter in his first year – found Breylon McDuffie for a 66-yard touchdown to open the scoring with 5:39 left in the first quarter. And just over a minute later, one play after Troyer had made one of his two fumble recoveries, Kraft found Jax Haley for a 34-yard touchdown with 4:38 left in the first quarter to give Orrville a 14-0 lead and surprise the home Generals.
Kaleb Wayt also proved in the first half what a valuable weapon he will be for Orrville this year, kicking 47-yard and 49-yard field goals, with the 47-yard field goal clearing the crossbar by a good 10 yards.
But what Orrville showed most on Friday was his strength on offense and his ability to finish strong.
With four core offensive linemen who have been starting for three or four years – tackle Shane Troyer, guards Talon Beichler and Brahm Hostetler, and center AJ Hills – Orrville ran the ball at will against Wooster’s defense, gaining 404 total yards and keeping the ball for 30:26 of the game.
“Our offensive line, those guys have been through a lot for three or four years,” Zuercher said. “They worked their asses off. As the game went on, they really took control. Kudos to them.”
But Wooster still had a chance to get back in the game when Julian Franklin ran for an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half – his second 70-yard touchdown run of the game – to put the game at 20-12. Last year’s Orrville team saw several leads slip away in the second half and the Red Riders could have reverted to their old ways.
But it’s a new year and a new Orrville team. Instead of letting Wooster get back in the game, Orrville responded with its best drive of the game, methodically marching down the field to return the blow, with Parker Hostetler finding his way into the end zone on a 3-yard run.
Hostetler made one of the game’s most important plays on the next possession, intercepting a screen pass from Wooster and nearly returning it for a touchdown. Travis Pumneo’s 2-yard touchdown one play later gave Orrville a commanding 34-12 lead with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Jax Haley’s 49-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Kraft punctuated Orrville’s 21-point run on the final play of the quarter and sealed the win for the Generals.
It was exactly the kind of second-half performance that Zürcher and his staff wanted to see from their team.
“I honestly didn’t want to sub in on that last drive until we got the win,” Zuercher said. “That was kind of the final statement to ourselves. We had three opportunities to do that and we didn’t do it. Tonight we did that by finishing the drives.”
Although many things went wrong for Wooster, the Generals still moved the ball effectively and showed promise for the rest of the season. Franklin looked like a real star, rushing for 281 yards and two scores on just 16 carries. Hayden Meese also totaled 82 rushing and receiving yards.
However, Wooster still has a lot of work to do as the team looks to improve on last year’s three-win season.
“I was a little disappointed in our ability to play disciplined,” said Holter. “And that’s on me. It depends on the preparation. But I think we messed up and missed some tasks, obviously we missed the execution with the turnovers. That’s on me as a coach. I have to prepare them better so that they are ready for these situations.”
Top performers
Orrville: Cam Kraft 13-18, 261 yards, 3 TDs; Parker Hostetler 21 carries, 92 yards, TD; Travis Pumneo 8 carries, 34 yards, TD; Jax Haley 6 catches, 145 yards, 2 TDs; Breylon McDuffie 2 catches, 72 yards, TD; Shane Troyer 2 fumble recoveries
Wooster: Julian Franklin 16 carries, 281 yards, 2 TDs; Hayden Meese 3 carries, 51 yards, TD, 3 catches, 31 yards; AJ Likowski 8-16, 65 yards, INT
