Vermilion dominates Willard

WILLARD — The start for Willard was rough. Vermilion scored less than a minute into the game and was up by two touchdowns just over two minutes in. The Crimson Flashes got its offense going a little bit, but when senior wide receiver Paxton Flores went down with an injury, Willard struggled. Vermilion running back Evan Kuhns scored four times in the first half as the Sailors cruised to a 60-22 win Saturday at Terry King Stadium. "He's who their offense goes around," said Willard coach Bill Speller of Kuhns. "I'm not saying that he's the only thing they got. They have some other nice kids to go to. He's the bulk of their offense and that was our focus. We didn't do a good job of bringing him down. That's the bottom line." It was the slow start that put the Crimson Flashes (2-1) behind the 8-ball immediately. After Micah Smith returned the opening kickoff past midfield for Vermilion (3-0), it took just two plays for Kuhns to explode for a 47-yard touchdown. Zack Werth added a two-point conversion run and Vermilion was up 8-0 just 54 seconds in. On the first possession for Willard, the Crimson Flashes looked to be in position for a first down on a pass from Jake Rothhaar to Chase Manlet. But, the ball was fumbled and Smith scooped it and returned it 30 yards for the touchdown. The extra point from Smith gave Vermilion a 15-0 lead just over two minutes in. Willard fumbled on its next possession with Chase Jackson recovering the loose ball for Vermilion. The Sailors couldn't do anything with it and punted. Vermilion then forced a turnover on downs by the Crimson Flashes' offense. This time, Vermilion went 51 yards in six plays, capped by Kuhns' three-yard rumble. The extra point missed, but the Sailors were up 21-0. "It felt like we had a good game plan defensively, but then we had guys not executing assignments," Speller said. "We had so many missed tackles. We had guys in the right places at times and let them run right by us. That's a frustrating effort, especially when you have a kid like (Kuhns)." From there, Willard got its passing game going. After a false start, Rothhaar connected with Flores on a pass. Flores broke a few tackles and navigated his way through the defense and scampered to the end zone for a 78-yard score. Flores then caught the two-point conversion as the first quarter ended. Vermilion responded with a 52-yard rushing touchdown by Werth, but Willard kept pace. The Crimson Flashes covered 77 yards in 10 plays. Rothhaar picked up 20 yards on a fourth-down play then scored from a yard out. The two-point run failed, but Willard was within 27-14. Flores had six catches for 153 yards, but had his ankle rolled up on the play before Rothhaar's 20-yard scamper. Speller said his ankle ballooned up pretty good and Flores didn't return to the game. He was on crutches the entire second half. "Losing Paxton, you're already down a couple starters so you have some new kids in there to begin with," said Speller, who noted his son A.J. was banged up earlier in the week with a knee injury. "The inexperience set in a little bit. "We dropped some balls. We had some guys open and we had some moments. If we could have been consistent with it, it could have been a different story." Vermilion dominated the rest of the first half from there. Kuhns had a 16-yard pickup before exploding through the defense for a 45-yard touchdown. Willard turned the ball over on downs on its next drive which led to Kuhns' fourth score of the half. He scored on a 21-yard run and Smith's extra point made it 41-14. Kuhns finished with 12 carries for 181 yards, sitting out the second half. "We know we have the explosiveness to get back in it," Speller said. "We felt like we could get back into it. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, offensively and defensively." The Sailors put the game into running clock mode after forcing a three-and-out defensively. Kuhns had another 16-yard run before Drake Hooks went over the top for a 60-yard strike to Brock Meyers. Smith made it 48-14 with the extra point. Vermilion scored twice in the second half. The first came on a 14-yard run by Isaac Kyser and the second on a five-yard burst from freshman Landon Mooney. Willard got its final score on a 29-yard rushing touchdown by Rothhaar. Rothhaar completed 11 of 18 passes for 184 yards, but just 3 of 6 for 22 yards in the second half without Flores. He ran 22 times for 97 yards. Willard opens Sandusky Bay Conference River Division action Friday at home against Margaretta (2-1). "We have to put this one behind us and start getting ready for Margaretta," Speller said. "There's no love lost between the two teams and we want to get ready for them. It's the last time we're going to play each other. "We're going to be at home and we want to represent and get that last win in the series." Vermilion 21 27 6 8 — 60Willard 8 6 0 8 — 22V — Evan Kuhns 47 run (Zack Werth run)V — Micah Smith 30 fumble return (Smith kick)V — Kuhns 3 run (pass failed)W — Paxton Flores 78 pass from Jake Rothhaar (Flores pass from Rothhaar)V — Werth 52 run (kick blocked)W — Rothhaar 1 run (run failed)V — Kuhns 45 run (Smith kick)V — Kuhns 27 run (Smith kick)V — Brock Meyers 60 pass from Drake Hooks (Smith kick)V — Isaac Kyser 14 run (kick failed)V — Landon Mooney 5 run (kick failed)W — Rothhaar 29 run (Chase Manlet pass from Rothhaar)