Treece, Cowan lead Cougars past Defiance

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

DEFIANCE — Owen Treece fired two touchdown passes to Ian Cowan and ran for two more scores to help Van Wert defeat Defiance 32-7 at Fred Brown Stadium on Friday.

It was a big special teams play and the second touchdown pass from Treece to Cowan that changed the complexion of the game.

Leading 12-7 in the second quarter, Van Wert’s Cullen Dunn blocked a Defiance punt and pounced on it at the Bulldog 38 yard line with 4:45 left in the period. Roughly 1:50 later, Treece scrambled on fourth and seven, then lofted a 25 yard touchdown pass to Cowan. The PAT by Peyton McAlpine was good, giving the Cougars a 19-7 lead.

“That was big,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said of the touchdown pass. “Going in 19-7 at the half, Defiance probably had to push a little bit more and we were a little more in control.”

After forcing Defiance (0-2, 0-1 WBL) into a three and out to begin the second half, Treece returned a punt 30 yards to the Bulldog 34, then four plays later, the junior quarterback ran 25 yards for a touchdown and a 25-7 lead.

The final touchdown came after Colin Place recovered a Defiance fumble on the next drive. Starting at their own 27, the Cougars marched 73 yards in eight plays, including a pair of completions from Treece to Tanner Barnhart for 11 and 34 yards. Treece ended the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run up the middle. He finished 8 of 16 passing for 202 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries.

“He’s a gamer,” Recker said of Treece. “He practices hard, he understands the game. He was able to keep plays alive with his touchdown passes, and he just understands our offense and what we’re trying to do.”

Treece and Cowan combined for the game’s first score at the 11:16 mark of the first quarter, when Cowan caught a deflected pass and raced 66 yards for a touchdown. He finished with two catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s a nice athletic kid and he understands the game and I’m really proud and happy for him because he’s put a lot of work into it,” Recker said of Cowen.

After Treece was intercepted late in the first quarter, Defiance put together a six play, 40 yard drive that ended with a three yard touchdown run by quarterback Aaron Cruz. The drive featured fullback Tyrel Goings, who had back-to-back runs of 12 yards. He finished with 15 carries for 90 yards.

“He’s a load and he got yards tonight, but when it counted we hunkered down and were able to get some stops,” Recker said. “I thought defensively we played pretty well.”

The Cougars answered with a 10 play drive that included a 29 yard completion from Treece to Barnhart on fourth down. One play later, Levi Newell, who had 17 carries for 69 yards, scored from four yards out to give Van Wert a 12-7 lead with 9:08 left until halftime.

During the course of the game, Van Wert forced Defiance to turn the ball over on downs four times. The defense also held three quarterbacks – Cruz, Caden Kline and Drew Davis to 8 of 24 passing for 64 yards. The Bulldogs used 10 different ballcarriers who combined for 245 yards rushing.

As a team, Van Wert finished with 323 yards of total offense.

Van Wert (2-0, 1-0 WBL) will open the home portion of the schedule against Wapakoneta on Friday. The Redskins defeated St. Marys Memorial 19-13 in overtime.

Scoring summary

First quarter

11:16 – Owen Treece 66 yard pass to Ian Cowan (Peyton McAlpine kick)
00:00 – Aaron Cruz 3 yard run (Jake Hutcheson kick)

Second quarter

9:03 – Levi Newell 4 yard run (PAT failed)
2:57 – Owen Treece 25 yard pass to Ian Cowan (kick blocked)

Third quarter

8:18 – Owen Treece 25 yard run (PAT failed)
3:36 – Owen Treece 13 yard run (Peyton McAlpine kick)