Given how the season has transpired, few people came into week nine thinking that Springfield’s trip to Perrysburg would be a highly competitive and, at times, eyebrow raising affair.
The Yellow Jackets, while not quite at the Northern Lakes League championship level they were in 2020, still remain easily the second best team in the conference and feature arguably the league’s best running back in junior Connor Walendzak. They also have a very talented and stout defensive front.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils came to Perrysburg with a lone win a week prior over Maumee, the worst team in the NLL.
It was a recipe for a comfortable Perrysburg win and likely running clock in the second half.
But, of course, that’s why they play the games. The host Yellow Jackets never even reached the 30-point mark necessary for a running clock and actually trailed the Blue Devils 12-7 in the fourth quarter before finally pulling away to the tune of a 29-12 victory.
Many subscribe to the theory that there is no such thing as a good loss, but of the seven defeats suffered by the Blue Devils to date, this one was without a doubt the least painful given the effort put forth throughout.
“We had the lead with eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter,” said Head Coach Jerry Bell. “I’m just really happy and proud of what they did against a talented football team. It shows that we’re right there, and we’ve just got to continue to learn how to play together and finish games.”
Bell added that the look of his team and their opponent was very apparent beyond just the scoreboard both at halftime and through much of the second half.
“I just saw a different demeanor from our team that I hadn’t seen all year,” he explained. “I see this confidence about them when it’s only 7-6 at the half. You could see the body language for Perrysburg was a lot different than what you’d expect. I don’t think they expected us to be doing what we were doing to them and the way that we were playing. Our kids just started gaining more and more confidence as the game went on.”
Part of why the Yellow Jackets looked different may have come from their star player being injured in the first quarter. Walendzak has been their bread and butter most of the year.
But as Bell noted, the team still has depth and talent not only at running back but also the other skill positions. With that in mind, the Blue Devils saw no reason to adjust how they defended their opponent.
“Our game plan was still the same thing with him in there or without him in there,” the coach said. “They have another back that came in there that did some really good stuff.”
On the other side of the ball, there was no special recipe to capturing a fourth quarter lead on a team no one expected Springfield to beat.
“Everything that we’ve tried all year we were able to execute,” said Bell. “We did some really good things. Our o-line was able to handle their front four which I thought was the best front four that we’ve faced up until that point. We were able to do some really good things against them, and I’m super proud of the way we played.”
For all the good things achieved, however, the end result was still a loss. Bell said it was no fluke given how his team played through 40 minutes that they were winning. And as has been seen in the past, fourth quarter leads are no mystery to this team.
A team like Perrysburg is well-equipped to erase fourth quarter deficits. But for Springfield it’s yet another example to look back on what it takes to not surrender the lead when it matters most.
“We have to learn how to finish games,” said Bell, a phrase that’s become dangerously close to a broken record in 2021.
“We’ve had the lead before against Southview and against Northview. We have to learn how to put drives together in the second half and learn how to get the stop late in the game. That is where we’ve–if you look back at the season–that’s where we’ve faltered out is just getting those stops and making plays in the second half.”
Losing late to the Yellow Jackets was not the result of a war of attrition where a heavy underdog comes up short late. The Blue Devils largely did not look outmanned or outgunned in the game. But the execution that got them the lead was not as precise late, which proved true on both sides of the ball.
“We missed several tackles on the last couple touchdowns,” said Bell. “We were right there on the stop and missed those and then just did not execute on the last couple drives to try and put the game away. But our kids gained a ton of confidence about what they can do against other talented teams, and that’s been the piece all year is proving to them that they can play against anybody. It doesn’t matter how big they are or how many players they have.”
With perhaps the year’s best effort in tow, there is hardly a sense of doom and gloom as the Blue Devils enter week 10 staring down NLL champion and archrival Anthony Wayne. An upset remains unlikely, particularly given the Generals suffocating defense which has shut out six opponents so far, five of them in league play.
“When we watch their defense, they’re extremely wellcoached,” Bell explained. “Their secondary comes up in great run support, the linebackers are really good and well-coached and the front four controls the line of scrimmage extremely well. If I compare them to Perrysburg and Whitmer and so forth, I would say that they’re a lot more disciplined in what they do, and they are better in their technique than the other ones. I’d still say Perrysburg had the best front four we’ve seen, and I’m not taking anything away from what I’ve seen on tape of Anthony Wayne. But when you look at Anthony Wayne as a whole, you’ve got 11 guys who do their job extremely well defensively.
“That is where we have to make sure we execute and stay on our blocks because they’re extremely good at attacking and getting off their blocks and making plays.”
It will be yet another formidable foe to close out the season. But if the effort from their road finale at Perrysburg carries over, a competitive and intriguing Fight for the Blue and White could await fans at Springfield Community Stadium.
