Springfield coach Maurice Douglass said he might have run it off tackle if he had to do it over again, but he said it was not a hard decision to go for the win “because we’ve got some horses.”
PHOTOS: Springfield vs. Lebanon
The Wildcats, who beat Centerville 26-20 on a touchdown pass from Taylor to Davis on the final play of the game last week, fell to 3-2. They were seeking their first 4-1 start since 2010.
Lebanon’s Jordan Campbell returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.
“We just didn’t take advantage of some of the opportunites we had,” Douglass said. “You’ve got to be focused at the opening kickoff. Sometimes you put guys out there that’s their job, but they don’t truly understand that and they take it for granted.”
On its first drive, Springfield drove to the Lebanon 14-yard line, but Taylor was stopped on 4th-and-3. Lebanon took possession and drove to the SHS 9. The Wildcats’ DaSean Bradley intercepted Lebanon’s Dakota Allen in the end zone to stop that drive.
Springfield’s offense sputtered on its next couple of drives. Then Lebanon took a 14-0 lead on a 67-yard touchdown run by Dawson Wolf with 6:26 left in the second quarter. Wolf gained 83 yards on 10 carries.
The Wildcats got on the board on their next possession. A 20-yard touchdown run by Ramey cut Lebanon’s lead to 14-7 with 5:01 to play. That was the score at halftime.
Lebanon’s Noah Frankenburg intercepted Taylor to end Springfield’s first drive of the second half.
Davis cut Lebanon’s lead to 14-13 with a 46-yard touchdown run with 8:00 left in the third quarter. Davis finished with 114 yards on 15 carries.
The Wildcats missed the PAT but scored eight points on their next possession when Ramey scored on a 32-yard run and ran in the two-point conversion. The Wildcats led 21-14.
Lebanon tied the game on a diving, 25-yard touchdown catch by Campbell on a pass by Allen with 7:05 left and took the lead on a 10-yard run by Wolf with 3:33 left. Allen completed 11 of 24 passes for 172 yards.
Lebanon opened the season with a 35-7 loss to Kings. In the last three weeks, the Warriors beat Loveland 45-34, Bishop Fenwick 21-7 and Beavercreek 27-21.
Lebanon plays at Northmont next week. Springfield stays at home to play Xenia.
Lebanon 7-7-0-14—28
Springfield 0-7-14-6—27
L: Jordan Campbell 85 kickoff return (Xander Haley kick)
L: Dawson Wolf 67 run (Haley kick)
S: Shane Ramey 20 run (Kyle Carey kick)
S: Daniel Davis 46 run (Kick failed)
S: Ramey 32 run (Ramey run)
L: Campbell 25 pass from Dakota Allen (Haley kick)
L: Wolf 10 run (Haley kick)
S: Davis 11 pass from Leonard Taylor (Run failed)
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