MARIA STEIN – The recurring theme of big plays and mistakes cost the Versailles Tigers again Friday night.
The Tigers gave up a 58-yard pass to Marion Local to get behind 7-0 less than a minute into the game.
The Tigers seemed unfazed by the quick score. The Tigers drove 71 yards on their first possession to tie the game with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
“I thought we came out with good intensity,” Versailles football coach Adam Miller said. “We thought we could do some things.”
Neither team would score for the next 12 minutes. The Tiger defense would bend but not break.
The Flyers were able to get another score with 6:57 left in the second quarter. The Flyers started in Versailles territory and methodically marched down the field, scoring on a 1-yard sweep.
The Tigers needed to find an answer, and seemingly did when Kyle Subler took the kickoff deep into Flyer territory. A block in the back call negated the return, though, and the Tigers instead started at their own 10 yard line.
The Tigers would punt, and the Flyers would score in only 53 seconds to take a 21-7 lead.
A Tiger interception on their last possession of the half allowed the Flyers to kick a field goal as the half came to a close.
The Tigers always seemed to be a step away from keeping a drive going or breaking a play for a score.
“In a big game mistakes get multiplied,” Miller said. “We felt we were one guy away, but that one guy’s making the tackle.”
The Flyers were able to make the one guy miss and get touchdowns out of it. A 41 yard pass put the Flyers up 30-7 in the third quarter.
The Flyers put the nail in the coffin with 6:18 left in the game, going up 37-7. The 30-point margin ensured a running clock. From that point, the reserve players finished up the night.
The Tigers are still not out of playoff contention. A win over 7-2 Fort Recovery on Friday and a few teams losing would leave the door open for the Tigers to slide into one of the final spots. Last year the Tigers were in a similar spot and came out of Fort Recovery with a 20-0 win.
The Tigers will look to get back to .500 on the season and let the players go out winners at home.
