St. Henry’s Carter Laguire gathers in a catch off ‘the old flea flicker’ to score the game’s first touchdown just prior to halftime. St. Henry would go on to defeat Anna, 28-7. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jeff Gilbert)
The Redskins made the most of a first-half moment when they needed something exciting to happen. And it gave them the momentum they needed against Anna to earn their second MAC victory.
St. Henry, OH – Football was anything but fun for almost an entire half on homecoming night, a night meant to produce fun memories.
Unless you enjoy punting contests, three-and-out possessions and a fast-moving game clock. Then the Wally Post Athletic Complex was your fun house. But you were alone in your glee.
Something, anything, had to give. Just one exciting play, please, for either St. Henry or Anna to break the monotony. St. Henry coach Josh Werling sensed everyone’s boredom.
“You’re looking for a spark,” he said.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
How about the old flea flicker.
“I like that play,” quarterback Charlie Werling said with a broad smile.
And soon everyone in red and white was smiling right along with their senior quarterback.
Werling handed off to sophomore running back Will Speck. He turned around and pitched the football back to Werling. And Werling threw to an open Carter Laguire about 20 yards down field. Laguire did the rest and escaped the Anna defense down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead with 2:50 left in the half.
“That was fun,” Charlie Werling said. “No other words to describe it.”
More fun was to be had in the second half for the Redskins with touchdowns on their first three possessions, some exciting defensive plays and “Hail to the Redskins” on repeat.
Football fun, missing for a while in this part of Mercer County, is all the way back. And Anna was the latest team to walk off the field unhappy against St. Henry, a 28-7 winner that no one left on their schedule is looking forward to play.
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“Their safeties were starting to get a little aggressive on run fits, which I would do that too on a scouting report reading our offense,” Josh Werling said of the flea flicker. “They executed the play. It was a big jolt for us going into half.”
Anna coach Nick Marino knew that call was in the Redskins’ bag of tricks.
Reserve running back Will Speck became the main running back…filling in for injured Drew Langenkamp.
“We practiced it, but you got to play it in the game,” he said. “It’s just execution and staying locked in, being disciplined. It would’ve been nice to keep it 0-0 at the half.”
Instead, the Redskins rode that momentum to a 4-1 start to their season and a second straight Midwest Athletic Conference victory since a 21-14 loss to Marion Local. The Redskins haven’t let the loss haunt them.
“We’re confident because we were in that game,” Charlie Werling said. “We know we could have won that game. We’re not going to let one loss in Week 3 determine the outcome of the rest of the season.”
No one would be surprised if St. Henry and Marion Local (5-0) meet again the Division VII, Region 28 final. But that possibility is over two months away.
“We’re all kind of aware of that, but we all know that time will come,” Charlie Werling said. “Right now we have to focus on right now. People talk about playoffs and all that, but you can’t get to that far in the playoffs unless you win this one. People talk about winning the next one, but you got to win this one.”
Anna’s Zeb Pleiman caught five balls, and almost six with this one-hand grab attempt.
And everything the Redskins did on the football field Friday made sure this was one that wouldn’t get away. Division VI Anna (3-2, 1-2 MAC), likewise, came in confident coming off a win over Coldwater.
The St. Henry defense knew what to expect from Anna. So they made sure to have fun by getting sacks, tackling running backs for losses and batting down passes. But the trick play was what this game needed to generate excitement.
Laguire, in his first full game back from injury, made another explosive play on St. Henry’s first play of the second half, catching a short pass and turning it into a 28-yard play to the Anna 23.
“He’s a really good football player, obviously,” Charlie Werling said. “He’s my best friend. I love throwing him the football, just seeing him on that field, seeing him happy again. It’s awesome.”
Werling carried the ball on the next four plays and scored from the two for a 14-0 lead.
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Anna responded with its best drive, mixing runs with completions by Logan Ziegenbusch and finishing it with a one-yard touchdown run by receiver Zeb Pleiman. Otherwise, the Rockets struggled. Ziegenbusch ran for 62 yards on 17 carries and passed for 146 yards on 10-of-22 completions, mostly to Pleiman (five catches for 91 yards).
“Being physical and playing fast solves a lot of problems, especially for our defense,” said outside linebacker Anderson Kramer. “We just go out there, swing our sword and keep playing.”
St. Henry’s Charlie Werling leaps through the line to gain first down yardage in the second half of Friday’s win over Anna.
The offense did the same. More running by Werling and Speck led a 77-yard drive that Werling capped with a 12-yard touchdown run. The next drive was similar, but this time Speck scored from the eight, and the lead was three touchdowns with 4:10 left.
Werling finished with 126 rushing yards on 21 carries and completed 8 of 15 passes for 125 yards. Speck gained 67 yards on 10 carries.
“Will was really great for us there with fresh legs, he doesn’t dance, gets north and south,” Josh Werling said of Speck in the second half. “And the offensive line started to figure out a few things. They do some unique stunts and twists.”
St. Henry was simply stout against the run, holding the Rockets to 87 rushing yards.
“We didn’t run the ball well most of the night,” Marino said. “We need to do a little bit better job of that. We had to get to the air a little bit to move it. We knew it was going to be a tough run box all night.”
The Redskins’ defense tracked down Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch.
Kramer and his defensive pals knew what to expect and executed their game plan. Part of the plan was for Kramer, who plays on the right side, to be disruptive.
He doesn’t wait for the football to find him. What’s the fun in that? He’s free to get into the backfield where he batted down a pass and was in on two sacks. Those moments are fun for him, taking him back to the days when he dreamed of playing on the varsity.
“It’s definitely getting in there and smacking someone,” he said. “Growing up we used to play tackle football in the backyard. It was always that pop noise. I just can’t get over that. It’s the best feeling.”
The fun doesn’t end there for Kramer or the rest of the half-dozen or so two-way players. He plays right tackle on offense.
“It’s just the constant adrenaline rush,” he said. “I mean, you never get out, so you don’t get a breather. But you don’t need it whenever you have that adrenaline run through your veins. The feeling is amazing.”
And fun.
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