St. Paul comeback falls short

NORWALK — Fate had been decided. With 12 minutes left in Saturday's season opener, the St. Paul football team trailed visiting Port Clinton by 28 points. The Flyers had been beaten routinely in the passing game, committed too many penalties, and turned the ball over deep in their own territory. Still, with under seven minutes remaining, St. Paul trailed the Redskins 37-16. But a big comeback gave the Flyers a chance, and they nearly completed it at Contractors Stadium. St. Paul had the ball inside the Port Clinton 40-yard line with under 30 seconds left with a chance to tie or win the game before ultimately falling 37-30 at the Warren Whitney Athletic Complex. "I don't think all of our kids thought they had a legitimate chance to come back," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "But as the second half went on, we continued to build. We had enough of our kids in that mindset, and it became contagious. "They realized, yes, we are capable. They continued to make plays, and we just fell a few plays short," he added. "But coming back and having a chance, I think our kids learned a lot about themselves." After the Flyers punted to begin the third quarter, the Redskins covered 63 yards in eight plays, with sophomore quarterback Landon Leis connecting with senior Gavin Cornell for a fourth touchdown pass. This one was from 11 yards out, and though the PAT was blocked, it was all Port Clinton with a 37-9 lead with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Both teams then exchanged punts before the Flyers covered 61 yards in nine plays on a drive that saw five penalties between the two teams. There were 34 penalties in the game that took three hours and 22 minutes to play. Junior quarterback Grant Kuhnle found Connor Lindenberger in stride up the left sideline for a 33-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. Nate Griffin's second of four PATs made it 37-16 at the 11:54 mark. Both teams again traded punts, and St. Paul was pinned at its own 8-yard line, down 21 points with 7:46 remaining. But a 20-yard pass from Kuhnle to Levi Rospert on the second play put them at the 29. The very next snap, Kuhnle avoided a sack and stepped into a throw that found Rospert, who made a leaping grab over a Port Clinton defender. The junior then did the rest. He outran two more P.C. defenders for the 71-yard TD pass and catch for a 37-23 deficit with 6:39 left in the game. St. Paul then forced a punt, but it appeared the 'Skins had righted the ship when Cornell intercepted a tipped Kuhnle pass on the first play of the ensuing possession. However, Port Clinton turned it over on downs at the St. Paul 33. Kuhnle and Rospert connected again for 31 yards, then the QB capped a six-play, 67-yard drive with a 33-yard TD pass to Lindenberger again. The senior receiver hauled in the pass back in the left corner of the end zone again when a P.C. defender had his back turned. That made it 37-30 with just 1:04 left, then the Flyers made it even more interesting. Griffin's onside kick attempt bounced off the knee of a Port Clinton player, and freshman Casey Fries was there to recover the ball for the Flyers at midfield. But three plays later, the Flyers were faced with a fourth-and-19 from their own 41. Kuhnle then again delivered a throw over a P.C. linebacker and in front of a safety, where senior Landon Fries made the catch for 20 yards and the first down. Just 17 seconds remained, however, after the Flyers got flagged for holding. Kuhnle was then sacked to end the game. "We would have liked to have seen a better start, but our kids never quit, and that carried over from last season," Doughty said. "Our kids understand what it takes to make plays in the clutch. We just fell short of what we needed to do." The Redskins led 3-2 late in the first quarter after a 24-yard field goal by Adam Fitt and a bad snap out of the end zone on a punt attempt that led to a safety for the Flyers. Leis then threw a 33-yard TD pass to Cornell, and Fitt's PAT made it 10-2 with 1:31 left in the opening quarter. Pinkleton then recovered a fumble at the St. Paul 39, which he returned for an apparent touchdown. But a penalty erased the score. Just two plays later, Cornell was again up to the task when he hauled in a 53-yard TD catch from Leis to extend the lead to 17-2 with 5:56 left in the half. After a three-and-out by the Flyers, Port Clinton went 32 yards in five plays as Pinkleton scored from the 1. Dylan Reynolds then handled a low snap and took off for the end zone and two points to make it 25-2 at the 3:32 mark of the second quarter. The Flyers then put together a sustained drive, moving 74 yards in nine plays. Kuhnle was 5-of-6 on the drive, which was finished when he found Rospert in the right corner of the end zone on a 3-yard TD pass with just 27 seconds left in the half. But that proved too much time for the Redskins and arguably produced the biggest moment of the game. Pinkleton returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the St. Paul 39. With 17 seconds left, Leis went to the end zone across the middle and found Cornell yet again for a TD pass with just nine seconds to go until halftime. The kick was blocked, but it was 31-9, and it was six points Doughty knew cost his team. "You can't give Pinkleton a running lane like that on a kickoff," he said. "He's too good of an athlete to not find a lane and go. That's one of those mistakes that are part of the game. "We knew that we had underperformed in the first half," he added. "We had some mistakes early and didn't handle them very well. We had a lot of penalties, and that's unacceptable. It was a night of flags on both sides, so there were a lot of things to clean up." Kuhnle finished 20-of-35 passing for 341 yards and 4 TDs. Rospert caught eight passes for 151 yards and 2 TDs, while Lindenberger had four catches for 94 yards and 2 TDs. Fries added five catches for 55 yards. "I can't say enough about how Grant handled the game tonight," Doughty said. "He did a fantastic job of stepping up and avoiding pressure. That's something he has more confidence in. His ability to extend plays and buy time, and for our receivers to be able to adjust and not give up on a play, was great to see. "I'm really pleased with our growth in the passing game, and I have no doubt our running game will improve. Our kids know what we need to work on to get better there." St. Paul will find it no easier next week when it heads to Edison (1-0). "The great thing about our mistakes tonight is it's the first game," Doughty said. "This is a 10-week journey, and we have another big test next. But I love the way our kids handled themselves tonight after a loss. "They know what we are capable of and see what it is we're trying to work toward." P. Clinton 10 21 6 0 — 37St. Paul 2 7 0 21 — 30PC — Adam Fitt 24 field goalSP — Safety (snap out of end zone)PC — Gavin Cornell 33 pass from Landon Leis (Fitt kick)PC — Cornell 53 pass from Leis (Fitt kick)PC — Malakii Pinkleton 1 run (Dylan Reynolds run)SP — Levi Ropsert 3 pass from Grant Kuhnle (Nate Griffin kick)PC — Cornell 39 pass from Leis (kick blocked)PC — Cornell 11 pass from Leis (kick blocked)SP — Connor Lindenberger 33 pass from Kuhnle (Griffin kick)SP — Ropsert 71 pass from Kuhnle (Griffin kick)SP — Lindenberger 22 pass from Kuhnle (Griffin kick)