Griffin, Flyers roll by Cougars

NORWALK — Things went so well, St. Paul went deep into the rulebook. Leading 35-0 in the final minute of the first half against Crestview, the Flyers' coaching staff opted for the fair-catch free kick. The obscure rule in high school football is rarely attempted. St. Paul had All-Ohio kicker Nate Griffin try the uncontested field goal immediately after making a fair catch on a Crestview punt with four seconds left in the half. Griffin then made the kick from 45 yards to give the Flyers a 38-0 halftime lead. St. Paul (3-3, 2-1) dominated in all phases for the 45-0 win in Firelands Conference play Friday night over the Cougars at Contractors Stadium. "We did a good job of establishing the run game early," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "The line got a nice push, and the backs hit the holes hard and broke some tackles in the open field. Anytime you can do that, you're going to have a successful night on offense." St. Paul set the pace with its rushing from the opening play. The Flyers took the opening possession 62 yards in eight plays with a heavy dose of Casey Fries to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Zeke Dvorak. Griffin added the first of his six PATs for the 7-0 lead just 3:01 into the contest. After they held the Cougars three-and-out on offense, the Flyers needed just three plays to cover 54 yards. Fries ran for 15 yards, and two plays later, Abel Couch broke two tackles and was up the right sideline for a 39-yard TD run to make it 14-0 at the 6:32 mark of the first. Crestview (1-6, 1-2) picked up a first down on its following drive, but it was short-lived. St. Paul got the ball back at its own 12 and quickly went to work. Back-to-back passes from Wyatt Houser to Griffin covered 40 yards to move the Flyers into Crestview territory. Couch finished off the drive with a 14-yard TD for a 21-0 lead with 16 seconds left in the first quarter. Couch then intercepted the Cougars near midfield, and the Flyers moved 51 yards in four plays. Fries caught a 13-yard pass from Houser, then rushed for 24 yards before scoring on a 14-yard run for a 28-0 lead with 9:42 left in the half. The Flyers then stopped the Cougars on a fourth-and-1 at the Crestview 28. The very next play, Houser found Griffin up the right sideline for a 28-yard TD pass and a 35-0 lead at the 7:29 mark. Both teams then traded possessions. After the Flyers were intercepted in the end zone with 2:06 left, another defensive stop gave them the ball back with just four seconds left at the Crestview 35. Doughty elected for Griffin to try a free kick, which he pushed through the uprights as time expired on the half for a 38-0 lead. "Nate is quite a weapon for us and made a lot of plays on offense and defense as well," Doughty said. "The free kick was something we brought up as a coaching staff with looking at the clock. We practice it in the summer and have done some for probably 20 years. "We know the situation that has to present itself for it to be even a possibility." In the second half, the lone score came when Couch intercepted his second pass. But he returned this one 54 yards for a touchdown at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter. Because of the defensive touchdown and a running clock, St. Paul did not run an offensive play in the second half until there was 7:40 left in the game. "Our defense played with great energy and identified things and put themselves in position to make great plays," Doughty said. "We came away with some forced turnovers because we got great pressure, which allowed our linebackers and secondary to make plays." Fries ran 10 times for 113 yards and a TD, while Couch had eight carries for 71 yards and 2 TDs. Houser was 8-of-9 passing for 116 yards with the TD to Griffin, who had four catches for 69 yards. "Wyatt plays quarterback exactly how we want a St. Paul quarterback to play," Doughty said. "He trusts what we are doing offensively and is able to make the right reads and put the ball where he needs to put it. He's done that all season for us, and he continues to progress for us."