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ASHLAND, OH - It took 41 seconds for Bellevue to jump on top of the Ashland Arrows. It took 43 points to make it official. The Redmen won program game number 499 Friday night in front of an announced crowd of 3, 215 at Ashland Community Stadium. Bellevue took the opening kickoff and fired up its offensive engine. Following a quick Matt Lepley run, Jon Journay lofted a pass towards the home sidelines. Junior wideout Cody Koselke snared the ball, and then outraced the Arrow deep men for the score. The timer read 11:19 and following Mike Snyder's point after, Bellevue had the 7-0 lead. Things looked grim for Coach Scott Valentine on the very next series. After the kickoff, junior quarterback Greg Tomasek threw an errant pass into the hands of Redmen defensive back Cody Koselke, who returned the pick to the Arrow 18. A quick slant to Matt Lepley took the ball to the ten, and then Lepley finished the quick strike with a ten-yard scamper. Snyder added the second of five perfect extra points, and with 8:09 to play in the first quarter, Bellevue had a 14-0 advantage. It got even worse on the next series. Arrow signal-caller Greg Tomasek zipped another bad pass, this one to Bellevue's Matt Lepley. He raced 32 yards to the score, and with 6:47 to go, the Redmen were seemingly in control, 21-0. The Bellevue defense again held Ashland in check, and forced the Arrows to punt. However, return man Matt Lepley mishandled the ball during the return, giving the ball back to the men in black. The Arrows turned the turnover into points, and cut the deficit to 21-7 in the waning moments of the first period. On the next offensive series, there came an amazing play - a play that perhaps symbolized what a crazy evening we would ultimately have. QB Jon Journay, working from the Arrow 12, fired a bullet over the middle. The pass deflected off an Ashland defender, into the hand of receiver Jarrid Breyman, who made the catch at the goal line and scored. Snyder added the point, and with 9:35 to play until halftime, Bellevue was back on top 28-7. However, Bellevue Redmen fans' hearts, so calm up to this point, were about to be set aflutter by a wave of events that turned the game around. Costly turnovers, fumbles to be exact, allowed the Arrows to close the gap. Leading now 28-14, Bellevue began a drive deep in its own territory, and sought to put together a time-consuming drive. Using well-timed runs, and on-the-mark passes, Bellevue inched into Ashland territory. However, a costly holding penalty killed the Bellevue drive, and after a punt, Arrow QB Greg Tomasek finally got the pass he was looking for - a 73-yard bomb to fellow junior Brian Stackhouse. The point after made it 28-21 in favor of the visitors with 3:42 to the half. Newcomer Greg Keys fumbled his next carry away, continuing the assault, and further energizing the previously slumbering Ashland fans. Following a pair of solid gains, senior Nate Summerfield bolted through the secondary to tie the game. Bellevue had blown a 21-point lead for the second time in the first half. The game was knotted 28-28 at the break. With one side of the field adorned in black and orange, the other in red and white and 56 combined first half points, neutral viewers could have believed they were at a Coldwater-Kenton game. However, a scoreless third period set aside those feelings, and midway through the final period, the game was still deadlocked at 28. Finally the Redmen would sustain a drive late in the fourth quarter. Chewing up some clock and marching downfield, Bellevue arrived at second and goal from the seven. Journay handed off to Shane Hamer who danced untouched to paydirt for the go-ahead score. The touchdown brought the Redmen fans to their feet, and Mike Snyder used his to put Bellevue ahead 35-28 with still over four minutes to play. Ashland looked as if it had done itself in on the next series as highly touted Nate Summerfield coughed up the football. However, Bellevue was unable to collect a first down. Punter Greg Keys shanked it, setting the Arrows up at midfield. A couple of key defensive plays and a penalty set Ashland up for fourth and 11 at its own 49. The play of the game to that point was then made as Tomasek found the outstretched fingertips of Stackhouse for a make-it-or-go-home first down. After Stackhouse's game-saving catch, Ashland had a first down at Bellevue's 23 with 1:14 to play. It would still take some hard work to knot the score. As the Redmen settled back into a zone, Tomasek began to knit and pick his way inside the 10. Then, there were 34 seconds left in regulation, and Ashland, without any timeouts had third and goal from the four. Two plays for a tie. The first attempt was a high, arching fade pass to the corner. At first, Ashland fans roared at what they thought was a completion. The official ruled otherwise, and the Arrows again faced a do-or-die fourth down play. An identical pass went up, with almost identical results. Arrow fans again roared, but this time, the official's arms went into the air. Ashland was a kick away from completing the biggest comeback in modern team history. As the kick split the uprights, the magical turnaround was complete. 35-35 and an extra session imminent. Bellevue took a knee and regulation ended in the 35-all standstill. The Redmen won the toss of the coin, and elected to play defense first. As they had done in the fourth quarter to tie the game, the Arrows quickly threatened. After a Summerfield run, he again took the handoff and burst into the end zone from seven out. Outstanding kicker Mike Krispinsky booted the point after, and Ashland had its first lead at 42-35. Operating from the Arrow 25, Jon Journay immediately went to the sky. The pass intended for Matt Lepley was under thrown, and grazed the top of senior Nick Stevens' helmet. Lepley alertly picked it off the helmet, and cradled it as he fell to the earth. Stevens countered the move by reaching back up above and at least getting a hand on the jump ball. The two wrestled in the end zone over possession as the line judge dropped a yellow penalty flag into the melee. As the two warriors continued to battle, the back judge slipped in and raised his arms signaling touchdown. As Arrow players pleaded their case, the officials had to determine what to do about the penalty. It was declined and the score stood Arrows 42, Redmen 41. In the 1996 season opener in Huron, Chad Kuhns broke a 26-all tie with a gutsy two-point conversion late in the game. Slightly more than seven years later, in even more dramatic fashion, Ed Nasonti again called for the two-point unit, even though Snyder had been five for five. As fans in two cities held their breaths, Journay turned and handed to senior Matt Lepley. The first contact appeared to leave him inches short, but a valiant second effort later, and Lepley's forearms landed clearly across the white chalk. Ashland players, coaches and fans collectively protested the call, and while the team clad in white rejoiced, the men wearing black could not believe their rally was denied. Bellevue's 43-42 overtime victory is the highest-scoring game since the 2001 Regional Championship slugfest, when the Redmen knocked off #1 Sunbury Big Walnut 42-35. That same year was Bellevue's last overtime decision, a 36-33 triumph over Galion at BAF. The heart-rending finish is made all the more memorable, as it served as program win number 499. The Redmen are now just a victory shy of the magical 500-win plateau. The mark could be set next week at Bob Bishop Stadium in Clyde, Ohio, where the Redmen haven't tasted defeat since 1995. |
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