Ontario overcomes early adversity, beats Richland County rival Lexington in Week 1

ONTARIO — The Ontario Warriors lost 22 seniors from last year's 10-win, Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship squad.

That is enough to absolutely gut a program, but not a program built on one single word: grit.

Before his team took the field to host Lexington in the season opener on Friday night, Ontario coach Aaron Eckert issued a challenge to his guys. The challenge was to show more grit and have more heart than their cross county rivals.

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The Warriors proved they did with a 31-14 victory in Week 1.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, the Warriors rattled off 31 unanswered points by finding their groove offensively and finding some grit on defense.

"This is a gritty group of kids," Eckert said. "Grinding it out the way we did, I think we are on to something there. We have a lot of new guys and new faces, but the grit is still there which is what we want to make our identity."

Lexington struck first when junior Seven Allen returned an interception 82 yards on Ontario's first offensive possession. He later added a 37 yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Joe Caudill to build a comfortable lead, until it wasn't comfortable anymore.

Ontario senior quarterback Bodpegn Miller connected with senior Noah Poole on a 56-yard strike to make it 14-6, where the score stayed until the intermission.

The Warriors created a turnover to start the second half when Mason Vantilburg came away with a fumble recovery. A few plays later, Miller and Poole connected again for a 23-yard strike to cut the Lex lead down to one. Miller came up with a huge interception on the next Lexington possession and the momentum was completely on Ontario's side.

"That pick was huge for us, but I think we smelled blood in the water when we came out and scored on our first possession in the second half to make it 14-13," Eckert said. "Then, it was on. We talked all week about the team that is the most gritty and tough-nosed is going to win. Tonight, we were fortunate enough to be that team."

Miller, who finished 3-for-12 passing for 94 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while also running for 96 yards on 19 carries, made his biggest play of the game on the defensive side of the ball when he jumped the route.

"I told my guys that I made a lot of mistakes in the first half and that was on me," Miller said. "The coaches believed in me and my teammates picked me up. I made mistakes but we were still in the game and we dug deep. The word of the week was grit. We wanted to me mentally and physically tougher and we showed we were in the second half."

Trailing 14-13 entering the fourth quarter, Vantilburg put the Warriors ahead for good with a one-yard touchdown run and Miller added the two-point conversion. After a Lex fumble, Vantilburg scored one play later from 15 yards out giving him two touchdowns on two carries. He finished with 90 yards on 14 touches.

"The outside run wasn't working very well so we went in at halftime and adjusted," Vantilburg said. "I suggested we just come out and run it down their throats and we did that in the second half. The offensive line kicked it up. They pulled better and moved guys around. They wanted to win and proved it."

The Warriors struggled in the first half, but finished with 327 total yards of offense behind powerful running and an offensive line that grew up as the game went along.

"Mason Vantilburg and Gavin Miller were phenomenal tonight," Eckert said. "It was a total team effort. Noah Poole had two big catches in one-on-one matchups. Collectively, our guys did a heck of a job especially that offensive line. We used seven different guys up there and they got after it."

Defensively, the Warriors allowed just 225 yards of total offense and only 38 rushing yards.

"Defensively, we didn't give much," Eckert said. "That team we beat has a zillion athletes and guys all over the place who can make plays. A lot of kudos goes out to our secondary guys. Bodpegn Miller played both ways tonight and he is a man amongst boys out there."

Caudill finished 14-for-30 for 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception and ran for two yards on 13 carries. Allan caught five passes for 98 yards while Brayden Fogle had four catches for 46 yards.

Despite having all of the momentum with the early Pick-6 and long touchdown pass, the Minutemen just couldn't get anything going in the second half.

"We struggled in the second half," Lexington coach Andrew Saris said. "We turned the ball over and never gave ourselves good field position. It makes it hard to do much when we put ourselves in a difficult spot. I thought the second half when we had a really early fumble was kind of the turning point. We turned it over a couple of times in the second half and they had a chance to grind it out. It was difficult."

Lexington (0-1) lost its third straight game to their rival, but have an opportunity to rebound next week at Shelby, another Richland County rival, which could give them momentum for the rest of the season.

"It is important to stress the idea that we are a family," Saris said. "When you go through difficult moments, everyone gets a chance to come back and the great thing about being a part of a family is you know you have support. We will continue to support each because that is all we got. It is on to Week 2."

Ontario (1-0) hosts Centerburg in Week 2, but took Friday night to soak in the victory over their rivals.

"This is a big game for us," Eckert said. "It is bragging rights for the year. They are right down the road. It is one we had circled all summer. It doesn't make or break a season, but it absolutely sets the tone for the team. I am super proud of my guys, my coaches and the community. Just a big win for Ontario as a whole."

Miller agreed.

"This rivalry is huge," Miller said. "I get the jitters every time I think about this game. All the guys were locked in, we had a great week of practice and we dug deep, found and extra gear we didn't know we had and won."

That gear was grit.

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario overcomes early adversity, beats Richland County rival Lexington in Week 1