Owen Davis (1) of North Union looks to avoid a tackle against Indian Lake. The Wildcats fell, 28-21. Also pictured for NU is Lincoln Harrah. (Photo submitted)
The fans who traveled to North Union High School on Friday to watch the Wildcats take on Indian Lake surely got their money’s worth.
Both teams were able to move the ball up and down the field for a good part of the game.
When the final whistle blew, it was Indian Lake that made a few more plays and defeated North Union 28-21.
The Lakers (4-0 Central Buckeye Conference, 7-2 overall) clinched at least a tie for the championship of the CBC’s Mad River Division.
The Wildcats (3-1, 7-2) have to rely on help if they want to share in the title.
To win the crown outright, Indian Lake must defeat St. Paris Graham next Friday.
A win by North Union over Urbana that same night and an Indian Lake loss would allow the Wildcats to tie the Lakers.
The second half went back-and-forth with each team gaining the momentum, only to see the other squad get it back.
A defensive stop by Indian Lake early in the fourth quarter led to a long game-winning drive by the Lakers.
Taking over at its own 25, Indian Lake used 15 plays to get into the end zone.
Elijah Slagle capped the more than eight-minute march with a three-yard run. Rece Kimmel kicked the point after with 1:27 left in the game.
North Union did not get a chance to answer on offense as it fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Indian Lake recovered to secure the victory.
“It was great high school football game,” North Union head coach Nick Hajjar said. “We came up a little short. Give Indian Lake credit for finding a way to win. We could not find that big stop.”
North Union scored on its first drive of the opening half and its last possession before halftime.
Controlling the ball for more than eight minutes to start the game, the Wildcats moved steadily downfield, even converting a pair of fourth-down plays.
Starting from its own 30, NU mixed the run with the pass for a 15-play drive.
While able to move the ball a bit on the ground, including a three-yard run by Owen Davis on a fourth-and-one from the Indian Lake 47, the big plays came from the passing game.
Cayden Lassiter completed all five of the passes he attempted, including third and fourth down conversions.
The first was a four-yard completion to Davis.
Lassiter later hooked up with Davis for a seven-yard gain on fourth-and-two to the Laker 29.
The drive looked to be stalled as NU committed two major penalties, the second moving the ball back to the Indian Lake 40, making it third-and-21.
But Lassiter, who has shown improvement the past two weeks with the passing game, rolled a little to the right and found Trey Bossaller open for a 40-yard touchdown.
Ricky Weigand kicked the extra point and North Union led 7-0 with 3:08 left in the first quarter.
Neither team was able to mount a sustained possession until Indian Lake went on a six-play, 50-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter.
Luke Jackson opened the series with a 22-yard burst and later added an 11-yard scamper to the North Union 1.
Two plays later, Slagle scored on a two-yard slam up the middle.
The PAT by Kimmel tied the game at seven with 2:56 remaining in the second quarter.
That was more than enough time for North Union to regain the lead, helped by 32-yard kickoff return by Lincoln Harrah to the North Union 48.
Three running plays gained enough for a first down to the Laker 38.
Lassiter completed back-to-back passes, nine yards to Bossaller and 20 yards to Nolan Draper, moving the ball to the Indian Lake nine.
Young picked up eight yards on the next play, but a false start by the Wildcats moved the ball back five yards.
The extra yardage, though, was not a problem as Young blasted through the middle for a six-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left.
Weigand was true on the PAT, allowing NU to take a 14-7 halftime lead.
Indian Lake scored on its first possession of the second half as Slagle romped 34 yards for a touchdown with 9:41 left in the third quarter.
Kimmel kicked the PAT to tie the game, but North Union came right back to regain the upper hand.
A 38-yard run by Young gave the Wildcats a first down on the Laker 23.
An 18-yard pass from Lassiter to Davis picked up another first down at the Indian Lake 2.
On the next play, Davis went up the middle, only to have Indian Lake strip the ball.
Liam Adams, though, was in the right place at the right time for North Union as he fell on the loose ball in the end zone.
Weigand’s PAT made it 21-14 at the 7:17 mark.
Running almost entirely from a Wildcat formation with Jackson taking the snap from center, Indian Lake came back to tie the game.
The Lakers used 14 plays (13 on the ground) to get into the end zone. The lone pass play capped the drive as quarterback Caleb Wurster connected with Owen Wyne for a 20-yard touchdown.
North Union got itself back in contention to regain the lead following the score.
An 18-yard run by Young earned the Wildcats one first down.
They notched two more on an eight-yard run by Young and Davis’ 16-yard burst, putting the ball at the Indian Lake 28.
NU could not keep the drive going and turned the ball over on downs at the Laker 25.
That set up the visitors’ game-winning drive.
“Indian Lake made more plays at the end,” Hajjar said.
The two teams combined for 440 yards rushing. Jackson finished with 125 yards on 17 carries while Slagle totaled 100 on 19 rushes.
North Union was led by Young with 104 yards on 14 carries and Davis finished with 85 yards on 17 totes.
Lassiter completed 8-of-10 passes for 115 yards.