Tigers take advantage of four Jets fumbles

Undefeated West Liberty-Salem sits alone in first place in OHC.

West Liberty-Salem's Zach Konkle loses the ball after being hit by Northeastern's Josh Rowe during a kickoff return in the second quarter on Friday. Both players were injured on the play. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY RANDY HILT

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By By Brian Plasters, Staff Writer 12:02 AM Saturday, October 1, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — In a back-and-forth game played in wet conditions, the Tigers held onto the football. The Jets didn’t.

The West Liberty-Salem High School football team recovered four Northeastern fumbles — including two in the third quarter to end long drives — to beat the Jets 27-13 on Friday in an Ohio Heritage Conference game at Conover Field.

The Tigers trailed 13-10 early in the third quarter when David Branham scooped up a Northeastern fumble on fourth-and-4 and returned it 60 yards for a 17-13 lead.

On Northeastern’s next drive, a fumble on the Tigers’ 16-yard line killed another scoring opportunity. It was the Jets’ last good chance to score.

“We just tried to survive,” WLS head coach Toby Smith said. “We went in at halftime (down 13-10) and said, ‘We have to settle down and do what we have to do.’ We did enough to win, and we’ll move on.”

Northeastern surged to the first-half lead after a 57-yard touchdown run from Brentyn Stoops and a Brad Orahood 4-yard run. Both scores came in the final minutes of the half.

Northeastern (2-4, 1-2 OHC) couldn’t keep the momentum because it couldn’t hold onto the ball. The Jets finished with more rushing yards (233-203) and passing yards (28-26).

“You can’t give a good team like that opportunities,” Northeastern head coach Scott Rolf said. “We did a lot of good things tonight, but we also made some mistakes.”

Stoops rushed for a game-high 184 yards, and teammate Brad Orahood had 55.

Travis Mayse led the Tigers with 123 yards rushing, including a 71-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that put his team up 24-13.

Both teams suffered a scary moment when the Jets’ Josh Rowe tackled Zach Konkle on a kickoff return in the second quarter. The ball was loose and Rowe returned it for an apparent TD, but the ball was ruled dead.

Konkle left the game after the play and Rowe sustained a possible concussion and did not return for the second half.

West Liberty-Salem (6-0, 3-0) is alone in first place in the conference after Mechanicsburg lost to Cedarville (28-14).

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