Windsor
Tied at 6-6 after regulation, Woodstock moved just three yards in its first three plays from the 10-yard line, but Jed Astbury connected on a 17-yard field goal to put the Wasps up, 9-6.
On Windsor’s first overtime play from the 10, quarterback Seth Balch faked a handoff to Trevor Worrall, then stuck the football into the the belly of Jake Tucker, who had lined up in the slot to the left of Balch. Tucker then raced around the right corner and scampered just inside the pylon to decide the game.
“I was sure glad to see nobody there when I turned that corner,” said Tucker, who rushed for 121 yards on 16 carries for the day. “I didn’t get touched.”
It was the last regular-season game for both teams. The win puts 7-0 Windsor in first place and gives it a bye next week in the first round of the D-III tourney. Woodstock (6-1 league, 6-2 overall) will have a first-round game against seventh-seeded Missisquoi, most likely on Friday night. The time and day will be confirmed on Monday.
“If there’s a silver lining, it’s that we have a game next week,” said Woodstock coach Ramsey Worrell. “You can get rusty with a two-week layoff.”
Both these teams have scored a lot of points this season, but points were had to come by for a long time on Saturday — it was 6-0 for Woodstock at the half. And there was not a completed pass by either team until the fourth quarter, when Windsor completed two tosses. This by two teams who combined to score 544 points in their previous six games.
Balch, who came into the game with 15 TD passes, was 2-for-8 for 63 yards. Woodstock quarterback Trevor White could not connect on any of his five passes. Both QBs tossed an interception.
Windsor has thrown the ball much more this season, having attempted 73 passes to just 36 for Woodstock.
“Clearly, it was a defensive battle in the first half,” said Windsor coach Greg Balch.
One of the completed passes enabled Windsor to tie the game in the closing moments of the fourth quarter.
Trailing 6-0 and desperately needing a score to stay in the game, the Jacks were facing a third-and-12 from the Woodstock 34-yard line. Balch got some time by rolling to his right as he lofted a pass to Robbie Slocum, who cradled the ball and took it to the 1.
“It was hard to get open today as they were jamming us on the line,” said Slocum.
Getting that final yard was not easy. It took Balch two tries before he got the tying touchdown. Trying for the go-ahead conversion, Windsor faked the PAT kick with holder Balch scampering back trying to get clear for a pass, but he was caught by Patrick Potter for the sack.
There was still 2:14 to play, but Woodstock went three-and-out. Windsor completed a 30-yard screen pass to Worrall, but the Jacks were only able to get to the Woodstock 39 when regulation time ran out.
A Windsor fumble in the second quarter led to the Wasps’ touchdown with Astbury recovering on the Windsor 16. After a false start set the Wasps back five yards, Micah Schlabach got nine back and, with a third-and-7 from the 14, Schlabach took an inside handoff and scampered in. The run for the 2-point conversion failed.
The one regret Worrell had was not scoring on his team’s next-to-last possession in the fourth quarter. Again a fumble set the Wasps up in a good spot at the Windsor 39. Caden White, who had a huge game with 121 yards on 16 carries, lugged the ball on five consecutive plays and got the ball to the 16.
A false start prefaced a seven-yard carry for Schlabach, but the Wasps were called for a delay penalty. With a fourth-and-8 from the 19, the Wasps’ drive ended on an interception from Windsor’s Dakota Page.
Notes: Woodstock had a touchdown called back in its first possession. Schlabach had a dazzling 63-yard carry as he went from one side of the field to the other dodging tacklers. Unfortunately for the Wasps, they drew a clipping penalty on the play to negate the score. … Astbury, the Woodstock punter, had a 53-yard boot from the Woodstock 35 to the Windsor 12. He also two boots that rolled dead inside the 10-yard line. … Windsor ran off 13 plays to start the second half, taking 6:40 off the clock. The drive ended on the Woodstock 8 with an incomplete pass. … There was a huge crowd with one lucky person going home with a 50/50 payout of $468.