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Fremont Ross Class of 1985

Fremont Ross Class of 1985
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Ross rolls over Tornadoes

TIFFIN -- It was a rainy night as Fremont Ross and Tiffin Columbian met in a game that was expected to be an offensive slugfest.


However, it was not the case, as the Little Giants defeated the Tornadoes 28-6.

"Our defense was amazing tonight," said Ross coach Derek Kidwell. "I am very proud of this defense, we seem to be getting better every week."

Tornadoes (2-1) senior quarterback Ethan Kagy was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage by Tylor Trautwein, who returned the ball 10 yards, setting up the Ross offense with good field position on the Tornadoes' 26-yard line.

The Little Giants (3-0) scored on the very next play, when Cody Foos connected with Jordan Jones for a touchdown pass.

Penalties and mistakes plagued both teams, as the Tornadoes started their next drive with a two-yard loss when Kagy slipped on the wet turf. Tiffin Columbian quickly gave up the ball to the Little Giants, who decided to use their running attack, led by James Spencer, who busted a 22-yard run for a touchdown, but was called back on a penalty.

The Tornadoes would force a punt by the Little Giants, and offsetting penalties of running into the kicker and interfering with the catch kept the ball in Columbian's hands.

The two teams would continue a back-and-forth, but Foos and Spencer would continue to lead the Ross offense. Foos hit Jones in the end zone once again, putting the Little Giants up 14-0, which was the score at the end of the half.

The Tornadoes appeared determined in the second half, though. The Little Giants received the kickoff and returned it 26 yards. Senior Jordan Bishopp sacked Foos for a four-yard loss, followed by Mark Van Horn -- who was all over the field Friday -- forcing the Little Giants to punt.

Senior Phil Chavez blocked the punt, setting up the Tornadoes with great field position at the Ross 20-yard line. Big rushes by Kagy and Chavez set the Tornadoes up in the endzone for the first time, but would miss the extra point making it a 14-6 game.

The Tornadoes would have another good defensive series, forcing a turnover on downs, but the Tornadoes could not pull together another scoring drive and were forced to punt.

As the fourth quarter began, the Little Giants would find the offensive ruse they were looking for as a reverse to Terence Davis on a fourth and five play, find themselves in the endzone putting the Little Giants up 21-6.

Brown who would return it 32 yards all the way down to the Ross 20-yard line. Foos would then take over the game, as he ran and passed his offense down the field, finishing the drive himself with an 11-yard touchdown scramble putting the Little Giants up 28-6.

The Little Giants then surprised everyone in the stadium as they came out on the next kickoff and performed an on-side kick, recovering the ball and sealing the game.

Spencer would take his 24th rush of the night for a touchdown, but once again mental mistakes called it back. At this point in the game without the penalties, Spencer would have 185 yards rushing, and four touchdowns.

The Tornadoes would get the ball back for a chance to try to take it in, but a fumble by Derek Kneeskern would be recovered by Brett Mierke and would all but end the game for the Tornadoes. Foos would then take a knee to run out the clock and end the game.

Coach Derek Kidwell could not be more proud of his still undefeated team.

"This was a hard-fought game," said Kidwell. "Our offensive line controlled the game tonight. We felt that on film we could control them, and we did."

The winning streak is over

FREMONT - With Cleveland Benedictine clinging to a 6-0 lead with less than seven minutes left, Bengals defensive back Bob Conroy dealt Fremont Ross a crushing blow.
On second-and-9 at the Bengals 19, Conroy burst into the Little Giants' backfield and stole the ball away from wideout Terrence Davis and ran 75 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown.
It was the deciding play in a non-conference football game that resulted in a 12-0 Benedictine win over Ross on Friday night at Don Paul Stadium.
"We got a lucky break," said Benedictine coach Art Bortnick of Conroy's return. "It helped that we were able to get into their backfield because there were times during their drives when they threw the ball that we able to get pressure and get to the quarterback.
"But we got a lucky break, and we were fortunate it turned out the way it did."
On the flip side, Ross coach Derek Kidwell praised the Little Giants' defense, blamed himself for the loss.

"I thought our defense played outstanding," Kidwell said. "To hold Benedictine to six (offensive) points and to give us a chance to win at the end of the ballgame is outstanding. If we get that effort for the rest of the season, we're going to be pretty good.

"I'll take credit for this loss because I didn't have our offense prepared and I made some bad calls down the stretch," Kidwell said. "I'm not going to fault any of our kids because I thought we got a great effort for everybody."

After a scoreless first half, the Bengals used a 14-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Anthony Urbania's 20-yard touchdown run at the 7:47 mark of the third quarter.

Urbania, who played less than 12 minutes this season after spraining an ankle in Week 1, returned to the Benedictine lineup to carry the ball 21 times for 136 yards.

The Little Giants countered Urbania with the running of tailback James Spencer, who gained 114 yards on 26 carries.

After Urbania put the Bengals ahead 6-0, Ross rallied behind Spencer and quarterback Cody Foos in the fourth quarter.

The Little Giants took over at their own 20 and were stalled after running a trio of plays. But on fourth-and-12 from the Ross 18, Brad Woleslagel stepped in front of a snap intended for punter Mike Showman. With Jordan Jones running down the near sideline, Woleslagel stunned everyone in the stadium when he lofted a 26-yard pass that Jones hauled down.

Spencer and Greg Brown ran to get Ross across midfield before a penalty for a personal foul against the Bengals gave the Little Giants a first down at the Benedictine 20.

Two plays later, Foos pitched the ball to Davis on a reverse before Conroy stepped in and swiped the ball away from the Ross wideout.

"(Against Ross), we had to defend so many different weapons," Bortnick said. "Spencer and Foos were very good this evening. We had no answer to stopping Ross's running game, and they moved the ball up-and-down the field against us. When they got into the red zone, we were able to defend them a little better and keep them out (of the end zone)."

Foos, who added 42 yards on 14 carries, was 13-of-27 passing for 132 yards and no interceptions.

Benedictine, which improved to 3-1 overall, held a 213-160 edge in yards rushing, while Ross outgained the Bengals 321-245 in total yards.

After Ross (3-1 overall) began the 2008 season with three straight wins with an offense that averaged 38 points-per-game, a shutout in Week 4 -- the second year in a row the Little Giants were blanked by the Bengals -- was tough to swallow.

"(Our offense) didn't take advantage of what was there," Kidwell said. "Our playmakers have to make plays and we have to make good decisions. There were a lot of things out there for us, and we didn't capitalize on them."

The first half was a scoreless battle.

Of Benedictine's first four drives, the Bengals' deepest penetration came at the Ross 20. On third-and-11 from the Little Giants' 39, Urbania ran for 19 yards to put Benedictine on the edge of the red zone with about six minutes left in the first half.

But that's where Benedictine's offense stalled, partially because of penalties. After Romel Dismuke ran for a 1-yard loss, quarterback John Hromulak completed a pass to Marty Sweeney at the Ross 15, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty eight yards behind the line of scrimmage.

When game officials sorted it all out, Bendectine had a third-and-29 at the Little Giants' 39. During the first half, the Bengals were flagged seven times for 40 yards.

Ross responded with a 10-play, 48 yard drive that began at its own 20 and found itself at the Benedictine 22 before Foos was sacked on third-and-8 for a loss of seven. On fourth down, Foos' pass attempt to Davis in the left corner of the end zone was broken up by Dismuke.

Ross routs Saints

Ross routs Saints
The Fremont Ross Little Giants defeated the Lorain Southview Saints 41-7 Friday night at Don Paul Stadium.


Lorain received the opening kickoff and proceeded to go three-and-out before punting the ball. That was a theme that the Little Giants defense made sure was going to happen early and often.

The Saints had eight offensive possessions in the first half. Four of them ended in three-and-outs and the Ross defense forced a turnover in two others.

Fremont Ross coach Derek Kidwell knows there's a lot his defense can improve on. "We didn't play close to our potential on the defensive side of the ball," Kidwell said. "Our defense gave up a lot more yards than they should have and were going to strive in practice to improve that."

Tyler Troutwein had a big first half for the Little Giants. He had two rushing touchdowns and intercepted a Lorain pass that led to a 1-yard TD run of his own. He also capped off a 26-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run that was set up by a Terrance Davis punt return.

Cody Foos also had a huge first half, connecting with three different receivers (James Spencer, Jordan Jones and Brent Murkey) for touchdown scores of 18, 31, and 44 yards. Matthew Andjuar hooked up with Anthony Browning on a 20-yard TD pass, the Saints only score of the game.

"We have a great quarterback in Cody Foos and we knew he was going to get us receivers the ball. Lorain's defensive backs weren't as strong as our usual competition and we knew we had to take advantage of that," said senior receiver Jordan Jones.

The teams exchanged punts to start the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Foos found Terrance Davis on a 72-yard score. If Foos has a favorite receiver, he didn't show it tonight as he had four TD passes to four different receivers.

"Cody Foos played a great game for us. We knew they were going to run a lot of man free defense and he exploited that," said Kidwell.

Southview had a long drive in the fourth quarter, but it ended with a Little Giant interception by Michael Shoemaker.

Ross drove the ball downfield, but Cody Foos threw an interception around midfield.

Not to be outdone, the Little Giants recorded another turnover on a Brent Murkey interception in the end zone as Southview was driving.

Ross ran out the rest of the clock to secure the victory. Fremont Ross improves to 4-1 overall heading into Grerater Buckeye Conference play, meanwhile, Lorain Southview falls to 1-4.

The Little Giants' defense forced four turnovers

Little Giants fall to Trojans

FINDLAY - The playoff chances of the Fremont Ross Little Giants may have been severely damaged after a 37-34 loss at Findlay on Friday night.


Skyler Roberts hit a 21-yard field goal with 1:33 left to hand the Trojans (3-4 overall, 2-0 Greater Buckeye Conference) a vital league win.

Coming into the game, Ross (5-2 overall, 1-1 GBC) was ranked sixth in the Division I, Region 2 standings. But the loss to Findlay will drop the Little Giants on the playoff ladder.

The top eight teams in each of four Division I regions make the playoffs.

Leading 26-21 at the start of the third quarter, Mandela Sheaffer returned the second-half kickoff 84 yards to help the Trojans take a 28-26 advantage.

"The difference in this game was special teams," Ross coach Derek Kidwell said. "We totally had meltdowns tonight in our special teams. Our kickers choked, our coverage wasn't good on the kickoff to the second half. And we didn't win the defensive battle, either."

The Little Giants were trailing 21-14 with 8:55 left in the first half, when Ross embarked on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that was aided by the running of Ross rusher James Spencer and a Findlay penalty for roughing the passer, which put the ball at the Trojans' 17-yard line.

Ross quarterback Cody Foos thought he had a 17-yard TD run on the next play, but the attempt was nullified by a holding penalty. Two plays later, Foos rolled out to the right side and found Brett Mierke wide open in the middle of the end zone as the Little Giants pulled within one point of Findlay's 21-20 lead.

Ross failed to tie the game when Ken Hamilton's PAT attempt went wide left with 3:52 remaining before halftime.

But Ross would get another chance before the break.

As the Trojans were driving in the final seconds of the first half, Brown intercepted Gilbert and ran 87 yards to the end zone. Ross had a 26-21 lead after Foos's conversion run failed as no time remained.

That was erased by Sheaffer at the start of the second half.

The Little Giants rallied with 2 minutes left in the third quarter after completing a 12-play, 64-yard drive that was capped by Foos on a 15-yard TD run. When Spencer ran for a 2-point conversion, Ross built a 34-28 lead.

Findlay tied the game in the fourth quarter as 6:49 remained on Wade Arredondo's second TD run - this one of 4 yards - in the game. He finished with 155 yards on 28 carries.

But when the Trojans attempted to take the lead on Roberts' PAT try, Little Giants defensive back Justin Hines blocked the kick.

Little Giants hammer Presidents

Little Giants hammer Presidents
By JEFF ARENZ • Sports Writer • October 11, 2008

Jones was a game-changer Friday night for the Fremont Ross Little Giants.


With the third quarter winding down, Jones picked off Marion Harding quarterback Asher Rumple, allowing Ross to re-establish itself during the second half of a 38-21 Greater Buckeye Conference victory over Harding on Friday at Don Paul Stadium.

"As a team, we had great pressure on (Rumple) from the defensive line and the linebackers," Jones said. "He just threw (the ball) up for grabs and I just went to go get it."

When the Little Giants took over at their own 48, quarterback Cody Foos got to the end zone in four plays, which allowed Ross to take a 17-point cushion on running back James Spencer's third TD of the game.

"We we're playing like we should have been playing in the first half," Spencer said. "At halftime, we came in (to the locker room), had a talk and we said we wanted to be more aggressive on the (offensive) line."

Spencer finished with 134 yards on 17 carries. He scored on runs of 5, 12 and 3 yards, respectively. His second and third TDs came in the third quarter after Ross had built a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Mason Lindsey had touchdown runs of 4 and 8 yards and helped Harding control most of the first half with an effective ground game.

When Lindsey scored after a 4-yard run with 4:46 left in the third quarter, the Presidents kept themselves in the game by trailing the Little Giants 23-14. He had 109 yards on 20 carries.

"It was our game plan coming into the week to take (Ross's) quick, fast guys who like to spin a lot and just run the ball right at them," Harding coach Heath Hinton said. "We knew we were bigger than them up front, but they did a good job of adjusting to it after halftime and taking some plays away from us."

But Jones shifted the momentum in the favor of Ross.

"We challenged our team because I felt we came out flat in the first half," Fremont Ross coach Derek Kidwell said. "I don't know if we re-established ourselves because you have to give Harding a lot of credit for playing as hard as they did after having the season they've had. It says a lot about Coach Hinton, his coaching staff and the character of Marion's kids.

"They busted us in the mouth in the first half and we really didn't have an answer for it. The only difference was that we have playmakers at skill positions that made plays for us."

tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the game, including a 32-yard strike to Brett Mierke in the second quarter and a 50-yard bomb to Terence Davis with 8:27 left.

Foos finished 13-of-18 with 246 yards and no interceptions.

"(Ross) took care of business in the second half," Hinton said. "They protected their quarterback a lot better and they hit their open wide receivers.

Rumple, who threw his 11th and 12th interceptions this season, was 5-of-15 passing with 97 yards and one touchdown. His 10-yard strike to Alex Harb in the first quarter gave Harding a 7-3 lead at the 6:42 mark.

The Little Giants won the battle of total yards 404-267, but allowed the Presidents to control much of the game on the ground. Harding held a 170-158 edge in rushing.

Ross pounced on Harding from the opening kickoff, when Cory White fumbled the ball away to Phrederic Schumacher.

After the Little Giants set up their offense at the Presidents' 28, Ross marched 24 yards in seven plays before Ken Hamilton kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead early in the game.

"I thought the game could have been a little closer if we would have gotten the turnovers that either we created or they had," Hinton said. "They wouldn't have had that second score in the first half."

Both teams had defensive stops before Harding's offense came to life. The Presidents took over at their own 46, where Harding defense stopped Foos for no gain on fourth-and-inches.

Rumple converted on third-and-10 by hitting White with 32 yard pass to the Little Giants' 21. Five running plays later, Rumple was successful on third-and-9 at the Ross 10 after firing a touchdown pass to Harb.

Harb kicked extra point before the Presidents took a 7-3 lead with 11:55 left in the first half.

But Ross answered with touchdowns on two of its next three possessions.

Spencer capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive that ended with his 5-yard TD run with 6:42 left before halftime.

Then, after Little Giants forced the Presidents to punt, Foos used three plays to put Ross into the end zone. Mierke caught Foos' 32-yard pass for a TD with 1:16 remaining in the first half.