Little Muskies Hold On In Second Half To Defeat Electrics
By: Jimmy Fister
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DUNCAN FALLS, Ohio- Tonight’s MVL matchup featured two very evenly matched teams as the Philo Electrics and the John Glenn Little Muskies met in the Gridiron Glory Game of the Week.
Philo came into the game riding a huge shootout victory against Crooksville 49-43 where senior quarterback Hunter Adolph accounted for seven of the teams touchdowns, and a 49-7 shellacking of West Muskingum. John Glenn comes into the game on a different note, dropping a very close game the previous week to Sheridan 13-12. John Glenn is looking to avenge last week’s loss and get back on the winning track after a 1-2 start.
The first few possessions of the game saw neither team able to generate much on the offensive side of the football. It looked as if John Glenn was going to go three-and-out for the third consecutive possession until on third down quarterback Evan Williams found wide out Reece Perkins streaking across the middle for a 58 yard touchdown to open up the scoring. The ensuing Philo possession just boosted the momentum John Glenn had already built after the score as a Hunter Adolph pass was intercepted by linebacker Brady Emerson and taken into Philo territory, giving John Glenn excellent field position. John Glenn didn’t take long to capitalize on the turnover as Evan Williams would loft a beautiful back shoulder throw to Reece Perkins who made an acrobatic catch for his second score of the night. The Philo defense could not generate a pass rush all night as the John Glenn O-line did an excellent job protecting Williams and giving him plenty of time to throw.
On the flip side, Philo couldn’t muster much firepower of their own. The John Glenn defense stifled the Electrics all half, which kept Philo’s own defense on the field, tiring them out. Philo didn’t do themselves any favors on offense, either, as they racked up 37 yards in offensive penalties. Both teams offenses started to sputter as the first quarter came to an end and it really became a war in the trenches as each team battled to gain any sort of ground on offense. John Glenn became the first to breach the defense as they drove down into the Electrics’ red zone. The Philo defense bent, but it forced a John Glenn fourth down and could have swung momentum to their side. Unfortunately for Philo, John Glenn quarterback Evan Williams rolled out and threw a 5 yard dart to wide out Score Perkins for John Glenn’s third passing touchdown and put John Glenn up 21-0.
Philo finally started to generate some offense towards the end of the quarter as Casey Munyan, who had been bottled up by John Glenn’s defense up until this point, caught a screen and broke free across the middle into John Glenn territory. A few plays later, Hunter Adolph would go to the air and find receiver Zak Gianettino on a slant route to put Philo on the board for the first time. After a Little Muskies turnover, Adolph and Philo would once again drive down the field and get in field goal range for a chance to cut the lead to 21-10. However, the ensuing 40-yard field goal would miss wide left and John Glenn would take a 21-7 lead into the half.
John Glenn ended up holding on for the 21-17 victory after a Philo resurgence in the second half to try and pull off the comeback. Philo’s defense came out firing, stifling John Glenn’s offense and holding them to 172 total yards for the game and forcing two fumbles and an interception in the second half. They also ended the game with three sacks after a stagnant pass rush in the first half. Meanwhile, Philo’s offense also took off in the second half, totaling 304 total yards for the game. Hunter Adolph finished the game with 114 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also pitching in 97 yards in the run game, making him Philo’s leading passer and rusher. Casey Munyan also had 77 yards on the ground for the game and leading receiver Eli Preston racked up 65 yards and a score.
John Glenn failed to score in the second half as the offense cooled off a bit after having their way in the pass game in the first half. John Glenn’s Evan Williams finished with 95 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while leading rusher Noah Wellmeier finished with 61 yards carrying the ball. Reece Perkins had a big night for the Little Muskies, coming away with 65 yards receiving and two scores.
John Glenn will look to turn this win into two straight when they hit the road to take on West Muskingum. Philo will look to rebound from this loss as they enter a hostile environment against a MVL powerhouse at Tri-Valley.