Junior quarterback Austin Rickert went 3-for-3 for 33 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver A.J. Kiser with 18.7 seconds left to lift Fenwick to a 23-20 non-conference win over Monroe at Lebanon Junior High School.
Fenwick was trailing, 20-17, after Hornets senior E.J. Jyan scored from 2 yards out with 1:33 left in the game, but a 15-yard penalty on Monroe on the first play after the kickoff set the Falcons up at the Hornets 45-yard line.
“We were down three,” said Rickert, who’s in his first season as Fenwick’s starting quarterback and was awarded the game ball. “I knew we needed a tie. We have the best kicker in the state, but I told the team, ‘We’re not going to settle for a tie.’”
“We practice the no-huddle all the time,” Fenwick coach Mark Mueller said.
Rickert’s game-winning pass capped a five-play drive that included his 11-yard pass to senior running back Shaefer Janeck and a 16-yard pass to junior wide receiver Nolan Woods. Junior running back Connor Schmuelling’s 10-yard run set up the winning play.
Senior kicker Derek Morris set a school record with a 52-yard field goal in the first half and Schmuelling scored touchdowns on runs of 2 and 4 yards for the Falcons, who improved to 3-0 for the second consecutive season.
“It’s amazing,” Rickert said of the Division IV Falcons. “We’ve already beaten a Division II and a Division III team.”
“Rickert stepped up big,” Mueller said. “He made a heck of a throw.
“That was a (Greater Catholic League) game,” he added.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Junior quarterback Karson Marcum and freshman Hunter Congleton also scored touchdowns for Monroe, which slipped to 1-2 with a second consecutive loss.
“We executed, but we didn’t execute at the right time” coach Bob Mullins said. “I was happy with the effort of the kids. We made too many mental mistakes. They made fewer mistakes than we did.”
“I thought Monroe did a great job offensively,” Mueller said. “Both teams did a great job. We made a ton of mistakes defensively. We have to clean that up.”
Fenwick’s “home” game on Atrium Field at James Vandegrift Stadium was the first of four straight away from home for the Falcons while their home stadium undergoes renovations. They are scheduled to play at Cincinnati Aiken on Friday in the first of four straight road games, including the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed Division opener against Badin on Sept. 22.
Monroe is scheduled to play a non-league game against Cincinnati Hughes on Friday. The Hornets are due to open Southwestern Buckeye League play against Franklin on Sept. 22.
Morris banged a 57-yard field goal attempt off the right upright with 3:47 left in the first quarter and went wide left with a 39-yard shot with 4:27 left in the second quarter before connecting on his 52-yard try for a 3-0 Fenwick lead with 1:17 left before halftime.
Monroe junior Noah Montgomery responded with a 73-yard kickoff return to the Falcons’ 20-yard line, but Fenwick‘s defense stiffened and Hornets kicker Braden Buckner missed his 37-yard attempt in the final minute of the half.
Each team turned the ball over on fumbles in the first half. Senior Max Hamilton recovered one for the Hornets, while junior Parker Buerlein pounced on one for the Falcons.
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