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Upper Sandusky, OH - The Bellevue Redmen went into Upper Sandusky's Memorial Stadium Friday night and escaped with a hard-fought 21-14 decision spoiling Hall of Fame night, securing a spot in the upcoming playoffs and clinging to a hope of sharing the Northern Ohio League title. The Redmen hoped to capitalize early winning the coin-toss and electing to receive. After each team was hit with a penalty the Redmen dive stalled on their own 46 and was forced to punt. Junior Greg Keys nailed a 35-yard punt down to the Upper 19 where they took over. Bellevue's stingy defense forced a quick 3 and out during Upper's following series after Rams Junior QB Greg Micheli was flushed from the pocket forcing him to run for the first down only to come up 2 yards short. Micheli's 30 yard punt set up great field possession for the Redmen at their own 43. From the 43 the Redmen used ball control offense with timely passing to move the ball just inside the Rams 10. An illegal procedure call on 3rd down and a delay of game penalty on 4th down set up a 4th and 14 from the Upper 19. The Jon Journay pass which was intended for Senior wide-out Matt Lepley fell incomplete giving Upper the ball on their own 19. On first and 10 Micheli lateraled the ball, which hit the ground as the Redmen recovered. To the displeasure of the Redmen fans and coaches the ball was awarded back to Upper after the Refs conferred ruling it an incomplete forward pass even though there was no whistle or signal stating the play was dead. The call had no affect on the Redmen defense though as they came up with big plays from Junior safety Brian Palsa as he broke up a Micheli pass on 2nd and 10 and from Senior co-captain Aaron Decker when he batted down a pass from his defensive-end position. For the second straight time the Rams went 3 and out punting from their own 19. Micheli's 34-yard punt gave the Redmen excellent field position at their own 47 after Palsa called for the fair catch. Both teams exchanged possession after failing to pick up a first down. On their next series the Redmen looked to take to the air only to have a Journay pass intercepted by the Rams Greg Micheli. Upper starting with their best field position in the first half hoped to get something going from their own 35. Again it was the pressure from the Redmen "D" and snaps taken from the shotgun formation that killed any thought of moving the ball as an untimely snap and a fumble pushed the Rams back to their own 24 and forcing them to punt on 4th and 21. Matt Lepley taking the punt at his own 34 raced 25 yards down to the Upper 41 to continue the trend of the Redmen having great field position during the 1st half. The highly touted Rams defense again stiffened as the Redmen faced a 4th and 13 and another punting situation. Keys 25-yard punt set the Rams up at their own 19 as the cycle of horrible field position continued to haunt the Rams offense. On 3rd and 9 an apparent first down run on a reverse was nullified by two Upper holding penalties. After the 3rd and long pass fell incomplete the game looked like it would be the battle of the punters as the Rams had to punt. The 31-yard punt rolled dead at the Upper 40 where Bellevue would take over. Using 8 plays while covering 40 yards the Redmen marched down the field for the first score of the game. The swift legs of Junior Tailback Greg Keys accounted for 25 yards on the drive including a 4-yard run on 4th and 3 to keep the drive alive. From the Upper 9 it was Matt Lepley on the receiving end of a Jon Journay scoring strike. Mike Snyder's extra point split the uprights and with 21 seconds remaining in the opening half the Redmen took a 7-0 led. After receiving the kick to open the second half the Rams found themselves in all to familiar territory starting at their own 25. Changing philosophy from the first half Upper came out looking to run the ball. Twelve plays and 75 yards later it was Micheli calling his own number on a quarterback sneak from the 1 yard for the touchdown. Sophomore place-kicker Nate Blair's kick knotted the score at 7-7 with 5:39 remaining in the third. Offensively both teams struggled to get anything going on their next couple possessions going 3 and out twice. On the Rams following series Bellevue's Aaron Decker made what was probably the play of the game up until that point. The Rams facing 2nd and 7 on their own 30 when Micheli tucked the ball to run. Decker wrapped up Micheli and proceeded to rip the ball away from the Junior Quarterbacks hands to gain possession and set up 1st and 10 for the Redmen on the Upper 30. Journay on the first play hit an open Cody Koselke for a 17-yard pickup and a first down at the Upper 13. Matt Lepley three plays later took it in from the 2. The extra point was true and the Redmen regained the led at 14-7 with 7:49 remaining in the contest. Avoiding any possible return by upper the Bellevue coaching staff told kicker Mike Snyder to place the ball out of bounds and let them start at their own 35. The Rams only needed 2:35 and 7 plays to cover the 65 yards while using a nice combination of run and pass before Junior Greg Kimmel caught a Micheli aerial for an 8 yard score. The extra point was good and again we stood deadlocked with the score being 14-14 with 5:14 showing on the clock in the final quarter. The Rams then used the same philosophy as the Redmen coaches when the elected to keep the ball away from the dangerous Keys and Lepley. The kick sailed out of bounds and the Redmen started at their own 35. Bellevue headcoach Ed Nasonti like the Willard game called on Senior Matt Lepley to ignite the Redmen running game by moving the chains and running some clock. Following four straight run plays Senior Tight-end Jordon Berberick hauled in his second third down conversion of the game by picking up 12 yards out to the Upper 40. Three plays later it was (Mr. Clutch) Berberick again on the receiving end of a third and long pass that covered 24 yards. Upper was penalized at the end of the play for unsportsman like conduct. After the penalty was marked off the Redmen had the ball on the 8 yard-line, which was well within the range of Redmen place-kicker Mike Snyder as the game approached the final minute. A 3-yard run by Lepley set up 2nd and goal at the Upper 5 while Snyder warmed up on the sidelines. To the surprise of many, coach Nasonti abandoned the run and elected to put the game in the hands of Junior QB Jon Journay while showing confidence in the young signal caller. Journay dropped back and lofted a high pass to the goaline that only 6'3 wide-out Cody Koselke could get to. Koselke snagged the ball and fell into the endzone for the go ahead score as the Redmen crowd cheered on their beloved team. Snyder tacked on the point after and the Redmen had shocked the local crowd as they took a 21-14 led with only 48 seconds remaining in the game. Bellevue again didn't want anything to do with a possible return on the ensuing kickoff as they again kicked the ball out of bounds to give the Rams the ball on their 35. With no timeouts remaining the Rams had to move quickly but on 1st down Aaron Decker's 2-yard sack of Micheli made it difficult. Micheli spiked the ball on 2nd and 12 to stop the clock. After an incomplete pass on third down Junior Brock England was on the receiving end of a Micheli pass picking up the 1st down to the Upper 47. England on the next play caught another pass, this time for 13 yards to the Redmen 40. The threat and the game would end with three straight incomplete passes as time expired on the clock and on the Rams perfect season. The (8-1) Redmen come back home for their final regular season game while hoping to right the wrong that took place a year ago at Whitney Field against the Norwalk Truckers. A win and the Redmen are guaranteed a home playoff game the following week while a loss could put them on the road. The (8-1) Rams on the other hand will be playing for their first NOL title in 48 years. A win for upper and they likely will be hosting a playoff game while also creating a logjam at the top of the NOL standings with Bellevue, Tiffin and Upper all earning a share of the NOL title. |
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