Celina downs Cougs in WBL match-up

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

CELINA — Mistakes again, many of those on the defensive side of the ball, but one big one on special teams, were key factors in Van Wert’s 43-12 road loss to Celina in a Western Buckeye League contest on Friday.

The Cougars did get a break early on, when a Jacoby Kelly interception resulted in Van Wert scoring the first touchdown of the game when quarterback Nate Place hit Evan Williams for a score. The point-after attempt failed to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Bulldogs shook off their miscue, putting together a drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown by Ryan Harter — the first of four TDs for him on the night — less than four minutes later. Kole Murlin kicked the PAT to give Celina a one-point lead, 7-6.

Van Wert returned the turnover to the Bulldogs on its next possession, when Murlin picked off Place, giving Celina the ball in Cougar territory. The Bulldogs scored, again on a 1-yard run by Harter, who had four touchdowns on the night. Murlin again kicked the PAT and Celina led 14-6.

The Bulldogs made it 21-6 when a bad Van Wert snap on a punt deep in their own territory gave Celina the ball on the Cougar 5-yard line. This time, Bulldog quarterback Bret Schwieterman found Murlin in the end zone for a TD pass that made the score 20-6. Murlin again kicked the conversion and Celina led by two touchdowns, 21-6.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard again when Place found Nick Gutierrez for a 13-yard scoring strike in the second quarter to make the score 21-12, after Van Wert again missed the point-after try.

The Cougars likely would have preferred to go into the locker room down by nine, but Celina had other plans. The Bulldogs’ Schwieterman found running room and scored from 31 yards out to make it 28-12 at the half after a Murlin kick was again good.

Celina scored two more touchdowns in the second half on short Harter runs, while the Bulldogs added a safety in the fourth quarter to put the icing on the victory.

Van Wert (0-8 overall, 0-7 WBL) will get one more chance for a win this coming Friday when the Cougars host Defiance (1-7, 1-6) in their final home game of the season. The following week, Van Wert will have to travel to Wapakoneta to play the league-leading Redskins.