Sports
Sheridan Overcomes Turnovers to Top Philo
By: Blake Baker
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The Sheridan Generals racked up 72 yards in penalties and coughed the ball up twice in the opening quarter, both times in their own end of the field, but they got away with it.
Sheridan (5-2, 5-0) overcame a sloppy start to top Philo (3-4, 2-3) 20-17.
Sheridan gave up ten points off of turnovers, all in the first half. Philo recovered Sheridan’s first fumble and turned it into a 17-yard field goal early on. Sheridan fumbled again on its first possession of the second quarter and Philo converted it into seven points, courtesy of a Dylan Tweedy five-yard touchdown scamper.
After the second fumble, Sheridan’s rushing attack hunkered down and came alive. Sheridan’s Deryk Grosse got going and finished the game with 164 yards and one touchdown, spurring the offense to several lengthy drives.
Sheridan climbed back into contention after one of those lengthy drives concluded with a Dylan Dupler one-yard sneak, bringing the score to 10-7.
Philo responded immediately, thanks to a Jacob Mohler 85-yard kickoff return touchdown. Philo took a 17-7 lead into half.
In addition to Mohler’s return touchdown, special teams played an unconventional role in the game. After the score, Philo recovered its own onside and on the ensuing drive, things got wacky.
The punt hit a Sheridan player deep in its own territory and Philo jumped on the fumble. What would have been a red zone possession was overturned after an officials meeting. Referees claimed there was an inadvertent whistle, forcing Philo to re-punt and taking the turnover off the books.
Sheridan comfortably fielded the next punt, taking a key opportunity away from Philo.
The sequence of events turned the tide as Sheridan would go on to hang 13 unanswered points on Philo, including a 46-yard Dupler touchdown scramble during the third quarter.
The Electric offense gained 223 total yards, but it couldn’t find its spark in the second half and would not score again.
Sheridan finally took the lead when Grosse found the end zone from 27 yards out late in the third quarter, putting the Generals up for good.
Sheridan will host Tri-Valley next Friday while Philo travels to New Lexington.