LIMA – Just when it looked like another winnable game had slipped away from Fremont Ross, the Little Giants pulled off a miracle.
Ross drove 80 yards in three plays with less than a minute on the clock to stun Lima Senior, 28-24.
Key to the game
Ross began the game-winning drive at its own 20 after a Lima field goal gave the Spartans a three-point lead.
Quarterback Hayden Lehmann hit Roger Burling for seven yards. Then Noah Hotz bobbled a pass but hauled it in on the Lima sideline for a 50-yard gain to the Spartan 23. The next play, Lehmann was under pressure, escaped a sack and found Bryce McKinstry wide open in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown with 21 seconds to play.
First half highlights
The first half for Ross was defined by missed opportunities and big plays against on defense.
The Little Giants’ first two possessions of the game went inside the Spartans’ 2-yard line both a missed field goal and a failed fourth-down conversion saw Ross fail to score points on either drive.
Ross didn’t reach the end zone until 6:44 remained in the second quarter. Quarterback Hayden Lehmann found Bryce McKinstry from 14 yards out as McKinstry reached high over his head to haul in the score. The play was set up by a 37-yard pass from Lehmann to Noah Hotz, whose long run after the catch was aided by terrific downfield blocking by Chrystjan Mancini.
Ross’ lead didn’t last long as Lime answered right back with a 70-yard run on its first play of the following possession on a quarterback keeper by Adrine Mitchell.
Then it was the Little Giants’ turn for a quick comeback. Hotz took the ensuing kickoff from his own 34 down to the Lima 3-yard line. Mancini scored one player later for a 14-7 lead with six minutes to play.
Like last week against St. John’s, Ross had trouble closing out the first half. Facing a fourth-down and 10 to go, Lima dipped into its bag of tricks for a halfback pass from Jaleel King to Jermaine Daniel streaking down the Ross sideline for a 46-yard touchdown with 29 seconds to go and a 14-14 tie.
Ross, however, could have re-taken the lead before halftime. With good field position at midfield, Ross benefitted from a pass interference call against Findlay to get to the Spartans’ 19-yard line. But for the second time in the half, a field goal attempt was off the mark, this one wide left, as time expired in the first half.
Ross went into halftime with Ross with 117 total yards, though most of its possession began at midfield or deep in Lima territory.
Lima totaled 165 yards in the first half, with its touchdown play accounting for 116 of those yards.
The Spartans were flagged 9 times for 80 yards in the first half while Ross totaled 40 penalty yards on four penalties.
Second half highlights
Ross first possession of the second half was highlighted by a 58-yard pass from Lehmann to Roger Burling to set up Mancini’s second touchdown of the night, this coming from two yards out and giving Ross a 21-14 lead.
Lima answered early in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard run by Mitchell to tie the game at 21.
Lima then took the lead with 58 seconds to play on a 31-yard field goal by Cole Mericle.
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
FR – Bryce McKinstry 14 pass from Hayden Lehmann (Mikey Contreras kick), 6:44
LS – Adrine Mitchell 70 run (Cole Mericle kick), 6:19
FR – Chrystjan Mancini 3 run (Contreras kick), 5:59
LS – Jermaine Daniel 46 pass from Jaleel, (Mericle kick), 0:28
Third quarter
FR – Mancini 2 run (Contreras kick), 8:40
Fourth quarter
LS – Mitchell 6 run (Mericle kick), 11:23
LS – Mericle 32 field goal, 0:58
FR – Bryce McKinstry 23 pass from Hayden Lehmann (Contreras kick), 0:21
INDIVIDUAL STATS:
RUSHING – FR: Shawn Newsome 14-15; Chystjan Mancini 5-2; Remey Bulger 2-1; Hayden Lehmann 6 -(-60). Total: 27-(-42). LS: Adrine Mitchell 20-61; Xavier Nichols 19-114. Total: 39-175.
PASSING – FR: Hayden Lehmann 14-27 323. LS: Adrien Mitchell 9-18 86; Jaleel King 1-1 46. Total: 10-19 132.
RECEIVING – FR Roger Burling 6-165; Noah Hotz 4-96; Bryce McKinstry 3-66; Devyn Jagodzinski 1-(-4). Total: 14-323.
| Ross-Lima box score | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score by quarter | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Tot | ||
| Ross | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 | |
| Lima | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 | |
| Ross | Lima | |||||
| Total yards | 281 | 307 | ||||
| Rush-yards | 27- (-42) | 39-175 | ||||
| Pass yards | 323 | 132 | ||||
| Comp.-Att-TD-INT | 14-27-2-1 | 10-19-1-2 | ||||
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-1 | ||||
| Penalties-yards | 6-55 | 12-115 |