Indians manhandle Dreadnaughts

Channel 13 ABC Sports from Toledo featured Tecumseh High School junior Mitch Meger returning Dexter’s second-half kickoff to the end zone on Friday, Oct. 3, as the Indians easily manhandled the visiting Dreadnaughts for a big 38-9 homecoming victory.Tecumseh coach Al Romano liked the fact that the Indians didn’t give up a touchdown until the game was well in hand late in the game.“I think our defense certainly needed that lift after some struggles,” said Romano. “Our defense had great effort all night and played really well.”Romano had kicker Piet Stohschein attempt a 27-yard field goal with 6:49 left in the first quarter and the foreign exchange student from Germany centered the ball through the uprights to give the Indians a 3-0 lead.“We’ve been kicking the ball pretty well,” said Romano. “I think Piet’s done a great job. He missed his first extra point of the season — welcome to America — and hasn’t missed since.” With less than a minute remaining in the opening quarter the Indians went to punt the ball and for the third straight game, bad ball handling gave the Indians’ opponents an opportunity to put some points on the board. A high snap went over the head of punter Jeff Arnett and after picking it up he was tackled on the Indians’ 17-yard line, giving the Dreadnaughts the ball inside the red zone. The first quarter closed with the Indians carrying a 3-0 lead but early in the second quarter (10:14), Dexter tied the Southeastern Conference (SEC) contest 3-3 with a field goal.Tecumseh fumbled the ball on the Dreadnaughts 35-yard line on their following possession but didn’t allow Dexter anymore points in the quarter while adding 14 more.“Our offensive line blocked really well, we moved the ball pretty well,” said Romano. “We were sloppy on offense in the first half, certainly in the red zone.”Wyatt Cadmus scored a touchdown on a 15-yard run with 6:30 remaining in the first half and Stohschein connected on the point after touchdown kick (PAT) for a 10-3 Tecumseh lead. Cadmus hit the end zone again on a 35-yard touchdown run just over five minutes later (1:11) and Stohschein made good on the PAT to put Tecumseh up 17-3 by the end of the first half.Nate Brady recorded five solo tackles, three assists and three sacks in the game and was crowned homecoming king during halftime festivities. Claire Burnett was named Tecumseh’s homecoming queen.Dexter was held from scoring in the third quarter while the Indians struck the end zone twice in the frame. Tecumseh defensive standout Landon Pelham (6 solo tackles, 11 assists, 2 sacks) helped stop the Dreadnaught’s ground attack while Silus Rebottaro (1 assist) was busy breaking up Dexter’s pass plays.Meger opened the third quarter and deflated the Dreadnaughts enthusiasm by returning the kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Stohschein center the PAT kick and Tecumseh held a 24-3 lead only 15 second into the second half.Dexter was facing a 4th and 5 on the Indians’ 25-yard line and quarterback Tristan Staebler threw a pass that was intercepted and returned 85-yards to the end zone by Tecumseh’s Sam Benschoter. Stohschein’s foot gave the Indians a 31-3 advantage on a good PAT kick with 9:54 remaining in the third quarter.“We did the same thing in the second half that we did in the first half. We just hung onto the ball better and execute a little better,” said Romano.With 58.5 second left in the third quarter, the Indians were on a fourth down on Dexter’s eight-yard line and Stohschein was sent in to attempt a field goal. Tecumseh missed out on the scoring opportunity when his kick went wide left.After recovering a Dexter fumble, the Indians closed the third quarter with the ball inside the Dreadnaughts red zone. Just two plays into the fourth quarter, Meger rushed into the end zone for his second touchdown of the contest. Stohschein’s PAT was good and Tecumseh increased its lead to 38-3 with 11:29 remaining in the game.The Dreadnaughts added their only touchdown with 3:59 left in the game on a three-yard run by Josh Kimball. Dexter attempted a two-point conversion pass to follow but it was incomplete.“It was a good win for us to come off of two tough games against Lincoln and Ypsi,” said Romano. “We are right where we want to be. We’re 4-2. Everything’s right in front of us. All we’ve got to do is do what we do.”Tecumseh (4-2, 2-1 SEC) plays next in a SEC contest at Chelsea on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.