The annual Fight for the Blue and White has not been kind to the Blue Devils for a handful of years. With the rival Anthony Wayne Generals coming into Springfield Community Stadium in week 10 having shut out all but one of their Northern Lakes League foes, just getting on the scoreboard was going to be a tall order for the home team on Senior Night.
They did overcome that hurdle in the first half, but Anthony Wayne clamped down defensively and on special teams to assure junior kicker Hunter Kievens’ 25-yard field goal would be the only Blue Devil points on a chilly October evening.
For much of the first half, it did not look remotely possible that Springfield would notch any points. Their first four drives amassed just 30 yards and one first down.
But that’s when an old but new face made his mark to breathe a little life before halftime. Taurean Carter, out all season due to injury, returned at tailback and, most impressively, on the kick return team.
Anthony Wayne notched their third touchdown with less than 90 seconds to play in the first half. Carter fielded the ensuing kick and burst through a seam up the middle, returning 61 yards before finally getting tracked down at the Generals 27.
From there, a familiar and reliable face in senior tailback Brandon Langston took over, earning 14 yards on his next three carries before the drive stalled inside the Anthony Wayne 10. Nonetheless, the efforts set up a nice chip shot for Kievens with 14 seconds left in the second quarter that cut the Generals lead to 21-3 at halftime.
Seeing Carter’s explosiveness–along with what Langston brought on that final drive and all season long–left some wondering how different the year may have been if Head Coach Jerry Bell had all those weapons at his disposal.
“That’s the piece we were missing all season,” he said. “He’s our explosive player, he’s our guy that we try to get the ball to. We lost him early in the season, and we had built our offense around him, Brandon and [junior] Taylen [Miller]. At the end there, we were just left with Brandon until we got Taurean back.
“I’m proud of what he did. He stuck through everything, he’s been practicing with us since probably the second week of the season, and he’s been doing all the right things. He earned the right to play tonight.”
While the 41-3 final might not indicate it, the Blue Devils’ defense showed up early on. Anthony Wayne managed just two first downs and 33 yards on their first two drives of the game.
That changed, however, when they made a clear effort to include some misdirection in their rushing attack. The multiple looks shown presnap and right after, kept the Blue Devils front from being too aggressive, and the experienced and disciplined offensive line of Anthony Wayne took full advantage, getting out on blocks consistently from that point on.
“I would say so,” said Bell of the Generals’ play-action and misdirection. “We were kind of misaligned a few times. We’ve got to be able to come off blocks and things like that, but I didn’t think we played poorly at all in the first half. But yeah, they had some misdirection stuff. They were really good at it, the last nine weeks we’ve been able to study what they do and then they come in week 10 and they have a few wrinkles.”
With the offensive line firing away, junior running back Joe Caswell, already a tough back to corral, became even more of a challenge. By halftime, he had accounted for 105 yards rushing and two scores and finished the evening with 22 carries for 157 yards and four touchdowns–the last a 40-yard scamper untouched up the middle that made it 34-3 with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.
“He started running with confidence,” explained Bell. “What I saw is their backs are really good at being patient. It’s something I said a year ago, and it was the same thing tonight. They’re really good at allowing their linemen to set up their blocks. Once he started running with more and more confidence, obviously he was tough to stop.”
Meanwhile, any hopes Springfield had of keeping momentum coming out of intermission were quickly dashed.
Carter’s kickoff return was his shortest of the evening to that point, though that was largely thanks to him losing his shoe. Their first offensive play lost eight yards when the snap soared over junior quarterback Kasen Knapp’s head, and on the next play, he was intercepted inside the Springfield 30.
Penalties quickly besieged the Blue Devils’ next drive, and they went three-and-out with a net loss of 14 yards before Caswell’s final touchdown run effectively sealed the outcome.
It was not the offensive showing for which Bell had hoped a week after they held a fourth quarter lead at Perrysburg, but there was not much that could be changed given the strategy employed by the Generals’ defense.
“We thought that we could get off-tackle on them but they did a good job,” the coach said. “One of the things we were trying to figure out was the chess match. What they did is they brought their linebacker down on us, and they were pinching everything inside and taking away the off-tackle stuff. I thought we were able to hit those quickhitters when we went to the I-formation and once Brandon got into the second level, he was going to be gone. They were running that twist game and if we could get past that, we’d be in good shape.”
While Langston did find some success running out of the fullback position, Anthony Wayne always managed to contain him before he could get to the secondary and limit the damage. And as the deficit grew, any hope of grinding things out on the ground became unrealistic.
Despite the 1-8 record and frustrating blown fourth quarter leads, there was a lot to take from this nearly full season fresh off the lingering COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged 2020.
“We’re establishing our culture. We’re establishing the way that you’re supposed to practice,” said Bell. “The way that you practice is the way that you’re going to play on Friday night. There are some things that we have to clean up because we have to build depth, we have to get more guys out. There are some things that we have to do to build our numbers, and those are things that are going to be on me.”
“But then we have to continue to build our culture and we have to get in the weight room, we have to get stronger. When you look at the teams that we’re playing, we’ve got to get our bodies to look like that. That’ll help with finishing and those are the things we have to do.”
He remains very proud of the efforts of his seniors, a small but memorable group that he wanted to reiterate will have a lasting impact on classes below them.
“I told them it’s the transition,” he said. “I came in here two years ago, and I was trying to clean some things up when it comes to the way I want things done with discipline and all the way down to what socks they’re wearing to look like a team. That’s what I’m going to remember most about these guys is that they bought in and they did what I asked them to do, and I’m proud of them. They never quit, they always had a good attitude and they always kept trying to fight and that’s what I’m proud of.
“We told them today that they are laying the foundation for the future for us.”
The annual “Fight for the Blue and White” game was capped off with the selection of most valuable players for each side.
Taurean Carter earned top honors for Springfield and Joe Caswell was named Anthony Wayne’s MVP.
