Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JUNIOR VARSITY
PANDORA-GILBOA (27)
Jared Loar 0-0-0-0, Jacob Miller
0-2-0-6, Tyler Morris 1-0-2-4, Jacob
Wauters 0-1-0-3, Jacob Basinger 1-0-
3-5, Grant Lugibihl 0-1-0-3, Ethan
Flemming 0-0-0-0, Cole Alexander
2-0-2-6, Garrett Gerdeman 0-0-0-0.
Totals 4-4-7/11-27.
JEFFERSON (51)
Ryan Goergens 1-1-2-7, Kurt
Wollenhaupt 0-0-0-0, Josh Teman
4-1-5-16, Alex Neubert 0-1-0-3, Joe
Gorman 1-0-0-2, Zavier Buzard 5-1-
0-13, Jordan Herron 1-0-0-2, Carter
Mox 2-0-0-4, Tyler Rice 2-0-0-4. Totals
17-4-5/10-51.
Score by Quarters:
Pan.-Gil. 10 3 8 6 - 27
Jefferson 13 14 9 15 - 51
Rockets hold off
Wildcats in boys action
Jefferson freshman Trey Smith drives the baseline
versus Pandora-Gilboa Saturday night. He scored a career-
high 27 but the Wildcats fell to the Rockets at The Stage.
(Delphos Herald/Tom Morris)
By SEAN LAFONTAINE
DHI Correspondent
sports@timesbulletin.com
CONVOY The
Crestview Lady Knights
hosted the St. Johns Lady
Blue Jays Saturday night in
non-conference cage
action.
The Lady Knights
used hot shooting and
a big second quarter
to defeat St. Johns
65-53.
The Lady Blue
Jays used some hot
shooting of their own,
especially from three,
and led after one
quarter, 18-16.
Defensively, we had a
couple of quarters we werent
real happy with, especially the
first quarter, said Crestview
coach Greg Rickard.
We gave up 18 points,
mostly on threes. We
knew they could shoot
threes and we talked
about getting out and
defending that but we
didnt do it. We eventually
made the adjustment but we
need to start out that way.
Crestview turned things
around in the second stanza
to put some distance between
themselves and St. Johns.
The Lady Knights outscored
the Lady Blue Jays 15-2 in
the quarter.
St Johns coach Dan
Grothouse commented on the
difference between the two
quarters for his team: On the
offensive end, we quit execut-
ing and staying in what we
were doing. We were pretty
disciplined in the first quarter
but then we missed a few
shots and it started to take us
out of what we were trying to
do. Everybody started to work
more individually instead of
as a team and it took us out of
our offensive flow.
Grothouse also mentioned
the struggles the Lady Jays
had on the defensive end in
the second quarter.
We took that down to the
other end and didnt get back
defensively and they were
running those low screens
and we didnt communicate
very well, he continued. We
werent trying to jump to the
ball to get to a spot where we
could get to their cutters. They
just went at us a little tougher
and we didnt set up our inten-
sity or energy enough in that
second quarter.
Grothouse also thought
rebounding was a big factor
for his team in the quarter:
Other than the second quar-
ter, I thought we battled down
low, we rebounded a little bit
there, but in the second quar-
ter we couldnt rebound any-
thing and they got any offen-
sive rebound they wanted.
Rickard talked about what
made the quarter so success-
ful for the Lady Knights:
Offensively, I thought we
did a good job. We didnt
turn the ball over and we
did a good job of getting the
ball inside and shot the ball
well from outside. When they
went zone, we knew we were
going to get some shoots from
the perimeter. When we shoot
that well, we are going to be
tough to beat.
Crestview did most of their
damage in the second quarter
in the paint. Rickard com-
mented on the Lady Knights
ability to get the ball
inside and score in the
paint.
We definitely
tried to but I didnt
think we would be that
successful in doing it.
We got it down there
easier than I thought
we would and we
finished, which was
good because we
havent always fin-
ished out power shots the last
few games, he noted.
The Lady Blue Jays fin-
ished the second half strong
and even outscored
Crestview in the third
quarter. Grothouse was
pleased with the effort of
his team.
I think we came out
and played extremely
hard. Defensively, for a while,
we played well but we cant
give up 30 a half, he added.
We werent ready in the sec-
ond quarter and that was big
for us. They are a very good
basketball team, though. They
are very balanced, they have a
very nice inside game and they
can also shoot the ball from
the outside and that poses a lot
of problems, but I thought our
kids really battled.
Emily Bauer led the
way for the Crestview with
21 points and also pulled
down 10 rebounds. Lindsey
Motycka and Mackenzie
Riggenbach were also in dou-
ble figures, scoring 12 and 10
points, respectively.
The Lady Knights shot
very well from the floor:
20-34 (59%) from the field,
including 5-11 (46%) from
three. They also had a good
night at the free throw line,
going 20-27 (74%).
I thought we did a good
job of finishing and getting
some and-ones. We ran some
of our quick-hitters and got
the ball inside and I think
thats why they ended up
going zone, but then we were
able to hit some perimeter
shots, added Rickard.
The Lady Blue Jays also
shot well from the field, going
19-42 (45%) from the field
and hit 5-of-12 (42%) 3-point
attempts. Katie Vorst led the
way with 15 points. Jessica
Recker added 12 points and
Emilie Fischbach 10.
The win improved the
Lady Knights to 13-1 on the
season, while the loss drops
the Lady Blue Jays to 6-8 on
the year.
Crestview visits Van Wert
tonight, while St. Johns is at
St. Henry Thursday.
St. Johns (53)
Vorst 15, Recker 12, E. Fischbach
10, Fischer 6, Zuber 4, Saine 4, S.
Fischbach 2. Totals 14-5-10-53.
Crestview (65)
Bauer 21, Motycka 12, Riggenbach
10, Mercer 7, Crowle 7, Henry 6, Hicks
2. Totals 15-5-20-65.
Score by Quarters:
St. Johns - 18 2 11 22 - 53
Crestview - 16 15 9 25 - 65
Second quarter dooms
Lady Jays vs. Knights
K. Vorst
By BOB WEBER
The Delphos Herald
btzweber@bright.net
OTTOVILLE Wow!
Saturday after-
noon, the Minster
Lady Wildcats rolled
into Ottoville to take
on the undefeated
Lady Green.
Minster, under
the veteran leader-
ship of head coach
Nan Stechschulte,
was ready for the
challenge, putting the
Lady Green behind early and
leading at times throughout
the game by double figures.
However, as every
coach or player has heard
more times than they can
remember, PLAY EVERY
MINUTE/SECOND LIKE
ITS YOUR LAST.
Well, nothing could have
been truer Saturday as the
Lady Green played 32 min-
utes of basketball and only
had the lead once, 45-43 with
10 seconds to go, and sur-
vived a last-chance opportu-
nity by the Wildcats to pre-
serve their undefeated record.
The Lady Green (15-0)
received some bad news
before the game even began
as talented junior guard Tonya
Kaufman would be lost for
the year with a torn ACL.
Kaufman had started every
game for the Lady Green this
year and was instrumental
both offensively and, more
importantly, on the defensive
end with her quickness and
rebounding prowess.
Ottoville coach Dave
Kleman knew his team
faced a determined and well-
coached Wildcat team and
coupled with the loss of one
of his starters, it could be a
challenge early: With Tonya
out with a torn ACL, we were
trying to figure out a different
rotation. I think we were a
little numb without Tonya in
the first half. I dont
think we were very
sure of ourselves.
The Wildcats
opened the game
by coming out and
blitzing the Lady
Green with an 11-2
run. Six girls scored
in the quarter for
the visitors, includ-
ing 3-pointers by
starter Claire Fischer and
Taylor Trego off the bench.
Defensively, the Wildcats
played a very tough and
physical quarter that seemed
to have the Lady Green out
of rhythm for one of the first
times all year.
The second quarter found
the Wildcats riding high from
their first quarter run and at
the 4:20 mark, after a deep
three by Trego, they led the
#1 Lady Green 25-12. Alexis
Wuebker added five points in
the quarter, also off the bench
for the Wildcats.
The Lady Green, trying to
battle back through the first
half, also lost Rachel Beining
in the second quarter with
two fouls. However, as he
has shown all year, Coach
Kleman is not afraid to go to
his bench for a spark. That
came from Annie Lindeman,
who contributed six of the
eight points scored for the
Lady Green in the quarter
off the bench. In addition,
Haley Landwehr and Kendra
Eickholt gave Kleman excel-
lent minutes filling in at the
guard position.
Minster outscored the
Lady Green 15-10 in the first
period and 10-8 in the second
to take a 25-18 lead to the
locker room at halftime.
The third quarter saw
the Lady Green come out
with a renewed look of
determination on their face
as they started to find their
inside-outside game, getting
five points combined from
Rachel Turnwald and Taylor
Mangas; in addition, Abby
Siefker started to find some
space underneath, along with
Beining, and they added five
and two points, respectively.
The Wildcats came out in
the third quarter and held the
ball for almost two minutes
to begin with; it seemed like
they lost the momentum a
little and were outscored 12-9
in the quarter and only led by
four, 34-30.
In the fourth quarter, even
though Minster stretched its
lead out to 43-34 after anoth-
er 3-ball by Wildcat leading
scorer Fischer, it just seemed
like the Lady Green was not
ready to close shop. They
went on a 9-0 run and tied the
score at 43-43. The Wildcats
were forced into several turn-
overs during the quarter by
the all-out full-court press of
the Lady Green. Also, the
Wildcats found themselves at
the charity stripe three times
during the last several min-
utes with a 1-and-1 opportu-
nity and missed the front end
all three times.
The Lady Green got its
first lead of the game when
Siefker was a beneficiary of
a loose ball and put it in
with 10 seconds to go, giv-
ing the home squad a 45-43
lead. After a timeout and last-
second play called by Coach
Stechschulte, the Wildcats
couldnt get a shot off as the
Lady Green survived a great
game by the Wildcats.
Coach Kleman was
pleased and relieved after a
day of a lot of emotions:
That was a great game by
Minster and a great come-
back by us. We did a little bit
of growing up today. It was a
tough start without Tonya but
we probably grew a little as a
team today. We just refused
to lose, I guess.
Both teams will be back
in action next week as the
Wildcats will host Parkway
Thursday night and the Lady
Green travels to Fort Jennings
for a key PCL matchup, both
starting with a 6 p.m. JV
start.
The JV game went to the
Lady Wildcats by a score of
37-15.
Hannah Schmitmeyer led
the Wildcats with 11 points.
Lindeman and Lexie
Wannemacher led the way
for the Lady Green with six
and five points, respectively.
VARSITY
Minster (43)
Claire Fischer 3-2-0-12, Kayla
Richard 2-0-0-4, Bridget Geiger 4-0-
1-9, Alexis Wuebker 0-1-2-5, Logan
Arnold 1-0-0-2, Sara Dahlinghaus
1-0-3-5, Taylor Trego 0-2-0-6. Totals
11-5-6-43.
Ottoville (45)
Rachel Turnwald 1-1-0-5, Nicole
Vorst 0-0-0-0, Rachel Beining 3-0-
1-7, Abby Siefker 8-0-2-18, Taylor
Mangas 2-1-2-9, Kendra Eickholt 0-0-
0-0, Annie Lindeman 2-0-2-6, Haley
Landwehr 0-0-0-0. Totals 16-2-7-45.
Score by Quarters:
Minster 15- 10- 9- 9 43
Ottoville 10- 8- 12- 15 45
-
JUNIOR VARSITY
Minster (37)
Mariah McKenzie 1-2-1-9,
Alana Poeppelman 1-1-2-7, Lauren
Roetgerman 1-0-0-2, Marissa Luthman
4-0-0-8, Hannah Schmitmeyer 5-0-1-
11. Totals 12-3-4-37.
Ottoville (15)
Monica Sarka 0-0-0-0, Courtney
Von Sossan 0-0-0-0, Annie Lindeman
3-0-0-6, Lexie Wannemacher 2-0-1-
5, Lindsey Wannemacher 1-0-0-2,
Nicole Kramer 1-0-0-2. Totals 7-0-
1-15.
Score by Quarters:
Minster 11- 11- 12- 3 37
Ottoville 8- 1- 4- 2 15
Siefker
Torrid comeback keeps Lady Green unbeaten
By BOB WEBER
The Delphos Herald
btzweber@bright.net
BENTON RIDGE
Saturday night, the Ottoville
Big Green boys basketball
team traveled to Liberty-
Benton to take on the #8
team in Division III under the
veteran leadership of Head
Coach Steve Williman.
The game had an enormous
amount of twists in turns that
included the Big Green hold-
ing the Eagles scoreless in the
first period but came up short
on the evening by a score of
32-19.
Both teams started off very
slowly on the offensive end
with the first basket of the
contest coming at the 4:42
mark when sophomore Brandt
Landin drove the lane, giv-
ing the Big Green the early
2-0 lead. The score remained
2-0 until the 2:40 mark
when senior Ryan Honigford
pushed the lead to 5-0 with
a 3-pointer. Honigford fol-
lowed up with another shot in
the lane and as time expired
in the quarter, Landin buried a
3-ball from the top of the key,
giving the visitors a 10-0 lead
after eight minutes of play.
The Eagles were 0-6 from
2-point range and equaled that
same percentage from beyond
the arc going 0-6 during the
first quarter.
It wasnt until the 5:10
mark of the second quarter
that the Eagles put their first
points on the board as senior
Mitch Linhart connected on
a shot in the lane, making the
score 10-2. The Eagles bat-
tled all the way back to 10-8
with 1:40 to go in the period
behind baskets by juniors
Adam Cytlak and John Darnal
and two free throws by Ryan
Geise.
The lone point for the Big
Green came from senior Cory
Fischer with six seconds to
go when he made a strong
move to the basket and was
fouled, connecting on one out
of two foul shots in extending
the halftime lead for the Big
Green to 11-8.
The third quarter was the
decisive eight minutes of play
for the Eagles. They put 16
points up during the quar-
ter, while holding the Big
Green scoreless during the
same time frame. The Eagles
started connecting from the
outside as Cytlak drilled two
3-pointers and Darnal added
another accounting, for nine
of the 16 Eagles points.
With the Big Green find-
Eagles beat Ottoville
in low-scoring affair
See EAGLES, page 7 2
Monday, January 21, 2013 The Herald 7
www.delphosherald.com
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Jeffersons 220-pound junior Dustin McConnahea
battles Chase Oler at the Van Buren Invitational. He went
on to a win. (Photo submitted)
ing themselves now down
24-11 going into the final peri-
od of play, Coach Williman
instructed his team to take
some of the air out of the
ball and force the Big Green
to take some chances and/or
foul. The Eagles were able
to keep the two Big Green
leading scorers in Derek and
Luke Schimmoeller scoreless
through three periods of play.
Derek (2 points) and Luke
(4 points) scored all their
points in the final stanza but
it was too little too late as the
Eagles notched their 11th win
of the year.
The Eagles (11-1) had
balanced scoring from three
of their starters as Darnall,
Cytlak and Geise tallied 10,
nine and eight points, respec-
tively, on the night. The
Eagles were only 8-25 from
inside the arc for 32 percent
and 4-10 (40%) from beyond
the arc. From the line, the
Eagles were 4-9 (44%); they
hauled down 25 boards and
committed only four turn-
overs.
The Big Green (6-9) were
led by Landin with six points.
The Big Green shot 17 per-
cent by going 4-23 from
inside the arc and 2-9 (22%)
from 3-point land. From the
charity stripe, the Big Green
were 5-8 (63%) for the eve-
ning. They only had seven
turnovers for the game and
hauled down 16 boards.
The Big Green will not
play again until Saturday
when they host Paulding for a
6:30 junior varsity start.
The Wildcats will host
McComb next Friday night
in a key BVC game starting
with a 6:30 JV game.
The JV game went to the
Eagles 29-12.
Tyler Vorst led the Eagles
with seven points.
Ottoville was led by Tyler
Roby with seven points.
VARSITY
Ottoville (32)
Derek Schimmoeller 0-0-2-2, Ryan
Honigford 1-1-0-5, Luke Schimmoeller
2-0-0-4, Cory Fischer 0-0-1-1, Brandt
Landin 1-1-1-6, Austin Honigford 0-0-
1-1. Totals 4-2-5-19.
Liberty-Benton (32)
Adam Cytlak 1-2-1-9, John Darnall
2-2-0-10, Ryan Geise 3-0-2-8, Zach
Garver 0-0-0-0, Mitch Linhart 1-0-1-3,
B.J. Lawson 1-0-0-2. Totals 8-4-4-32.
Score by Quarters:
Ottoville 10-1- 0-8 19
Lib.-Bent. 0-8-16-8 32
JUNIOR VARSITY
Ottoville (12)
Brendon Schnipke 0-0-1-1, Tyler
Roby 1-1-2-7, Matthew Turnwald 0-0-
1-1, Rudy Wenzlick 0-0-1-1, Dustin
Trenkamp 0-0-2-2. Totals 1-1-7-12.
Lib.-Bent. (29)
Mitch Haan 0-1-0-3, Tyler Vorst
2-1-0-7, Alec Rhodes 2-0-0-4, Nathan
Craft 3-0-0-6, Brad Steinman 2-0-0-4,
Jon Dager 0-0-3-3, Alex Harter 1-0-0-
2. Totals 10-2-3-28.
Score by Quarters:
Ottoville 2- 10 12
Lib.-Bent. 16- 13 29
(Continued from Page 6)
Eagles
By HOWARD ULMAN
The Associated Press
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.
No doubt about it.
When you beat the best
and Joe Flacco
did that in consecu-
tive games the
skeptics should be
silenced.
Im so glad
were going to the Super
Bowl right now, Baltimore
wide receiver Torrey Smith
said, so people can get off
Joes back.
Flacco threw three touch-
down passes in the second
half, helping the Ravens
reach the Super Bowl for the
first time in 12 years with
a 28-13 win over the New
England Patriots in the AFC
championship game Sunday.
He beat 2-time NFL MVP
Tom Brady one week after
outplaying Peyton Manning,
who has won the award four
times, in a 38-35 double-
overtime win over the Denver
Broncos. And that followed
a 24-9 victory over budding
star quarterback Andrew
Luck and the Indianapolis
Colts in the wild-card round.
Weve always believed
in Joe, coach John Harbaugh
said, and for Joe to come
out and to have this kind of
a game and this kind of a
stage three weeks in a row
Lucks a pretty good quar-
terback, Mannings a pretty
good quarterback and Bradys
a great quarterback.
All those guys are great
players but Joes a great quar-
terback. And Joe has proven
that. Hes not just proven it
this year; hes proven it for
five years.
No NFL quarterback
not Brady, not Manning
has more than Flaccos 62
victories, including the post-
season, since the start of the
2008 season. No NFL quar-
terback has more than his six
postseason wins on the road.
And no other quarterback has
a postseason victory in each
of his first five seasons during
the Super Bowl era.
Hes a great quarter-
back, said wide receiver
Anquan Boldin, who caught
two touchdown passes. I
dont know why people keep
doubting him because the big-
ger the situation is, the big-
ger he plays, and hes proven
that time and time again. So
maybe theyll get off his back
now.
Finally, he will be the most
accomplished quarterback
in one of his playoff games
when he faces the 49ers, who
are favored by 4 1/2 points, in
New Orleans on Feb. 3.
San Francisco quarterback
Colin Kaepernick may have
made a splash with his run-
ning and passing skills but
hes started just nine games in
his two pro seasons.
Flacco has started every
Ravens game 80 in the
regular season, 12
in the postseason
since they took him
with the 18th pick of
the 2008 draft out of
Delaware.
As a rookie, he played
poorly in a 23-14 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
AFC championship game. He
got back to that game last sea-
son but the Ravens lost 23-20
to the Patriots.
But on the same field
Sunday, Flacco completed
21-of-36 passes for 240 yards
and three touchdowns with
no interceptions. Brady went
29-for-54 for 320 yards, one
touchdown and two intercep-
tions.
These games are tough to
win and weve put ourselves
in the position to win these
games and, eventually, youre
going to push through and
play the way you need to,
he said.
A week earlier in a 38-35
double-overtime win over the
Broncos, he went 18-for-34
for 331 yards, three touch-
downs and no interceptions.
That beat Mannings 28-for-
43 for 290 yards, three touch-
downs and two interceptions.
Flaccos passer ratings in
this years postseason games
highlight his superiority
125.6 to Lucks 59.8, 116.2 to
Mannings 88.3 and 106.3 to
Bradys 62.3.
Ive always been a Joe
Flacco fan, Ravens lineback-
er Ray Lewis said.
The Patriots led 13-7 at
halftime but in a span of
10:01, Flacco threw touch-
down passes of five yards to
Dennis Pitta and three and 11
yards to Boldin.
They do a good job stop-
ping the run and we knew we
had to come out here in the
second half and make some
plays in the passing game,
Flacco added.
He sure did.
After completing just 6-of-
12 passes for 81 yards with no
touchdowns before the break,
he went 15-for-24 for 159
yards in the second half. He
was 14-for-18 on the three
touchdown drives and even
scrambled once for 14 yards
and a first down.
In three playoff games
this season hes thrown eight
touchdown passes and not a
single interception.
Safety Ed Reed saw great
potential in Flacco from the
quarterbacks rookie season.
From the first snap
(when) he went against our
defense, I knew he was a
smart guy, Reed said. We
blitzed him and he threw it
straight to the sideline out of
bounds because he knew we
were coming. Hes always
been a leader (with) more
than potential to lead
us to where were
going right now.
That should have
been clear when
Flacco guided the
Baltimore offense
to three AFC cham-
pionship games in his five
seasons.
His opponents see it now
that hes helped take the
Ravens to the Super Bowl for
the first time in his career.
He is one of the elite
quarterbacks, Patriots safety
Steve Gregory said. I know
he gets a lot of flak for possi-
bly not being that type of guy
but he is.
And now Flacco can look
to pad his resume with his
first Super Bowl champion-
ship.
49ers rally past Falcons 28-24 in
NFC title game
ATLANTA The loss stuck with
them for a year, pushing the San
Francisco 49ers in everything they did.
They didnt want to feel that way again.
Not to worry.
The 49ers are headed to the Super
Bowl.
Bouncing back from a bitter loss
in the 2012 NFC championship game,
San Francisco cleared the hurdle it
couldnt quite get over the previous
season. And, boy, did the 49ers earn
it, rallying from an early 17-0 deficit
to beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 on
Sunday.
We worked so hard, said Frank
Gore, who ran for a pair of touch-
downs, including the go-ahead score
with 8:23 remaining. We knew that we
got here last year and it didnt happen.
But we got back and we said to our-
selves, as a team, that this time weve
got to walk through the door. You really
dont get opportunities like this.
The 49ers used to get them all the
time, winning five Super Bowl titles in
the 1980s and 90s. Now, with a clutch
quarterback (Kaepernick), a budding
genius of a coach (Jim Harbaugh) and
a big-play defense, theyre ready to
start a new dynasty.
They were one win away from play-
ing for it all last season, until a fumbled
return in the NFC championship game
led to the winning field goal in overtime
for the eventual Super Bowl champion
New York Giants.
When the Falcons raced to their
big lead by the first play of the sec-
ond quarter, San Francisco (13-4-1)
appeared headed for more disappoint-
ment. But no one lost faith and the
49ers pulled off the biggest comeback
victory ever in an NFC championship
game, according to STATS. The previ-
ous record was 13 points Atlantas
victory over Minnesota in the 1999
title game, which sent the Falcons to
what remains the only Super Bowl
appearance in franchise history. The
AFC championship game record is 18
points, when Indianapolis rallied past
New England in 2007.
I dont really think its destiny or
anything like that written on the walls,
49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith
said. Its the team that works the hard-
est, prepares the hardest and has the
best players and coaching staff. You
pour all that in together and it comes
out pretty good at the end.
The 49ers advanced to face
Baltimore at New Orleans in two
weeks, looking to join Pittsburgh as
the only franchises with six Super
Bowl titles. Itll be a brother-vs.-brother
matchup, too; John Harbaugh coaches
the Ravens. But Jim Harbaugh wasnt
concerned about a family reunion.
He was hoppin mad when a dis-
puted call went against the 49ers on
Atlantas potential winning drive in the
closing minutes. Harbaugh leaped in
the air, screamed at the officials and
had to be restrained by his staff from
charging the field.
But the 49ers stopped Atlanta on
a fourth-down play at their own 10, as
linebacker NaVorro Bowman reached
in to swat the ball away from Roddy
White on a pass across the middle with
1:09 remaining.
San Francisco ran off all but the
final 6 seconds, not nearly
enough time for Matt Ryan to
pull out another improbable
comeback.
The previous week,
Atlanta (14-4) squandered a
20-point lead in the fourth
quarter against the Seattle
Seahawks, nearly becoming
the first team to lose with
such a daunting advantage
in the final period of a playoff game.
But Ryan completed two long passes
in the final 30 seconds and Matt Bryant
kicked a 49-yard field goal for a 30-28
victory.
After Gores second TD gave San
Francisco its first lead of the day, the
Falcons took the ensuing kickoff and
used up nearly all the clock while going
70 yards. They might have reclaimed
the lead if Harry Douglas had been
able to stay on his feet while hauling in
a 22-yard pass. The defender slipped,
leaving Douglas all alone down the
sideline. But he tripped, too, doing well
to make the catch without the ball hit-
ting the turf. Harbaugh thought it did,
challenging the call, but the referee
ruled it a catch after looking at the
replay.
Thats when Harbaugh nearly lost
it. It all worked out, though.
We rose up there at the end,
Harbaugh said. It was a great fin-
ish for our defense, an exclamation
point on the game. The Falcons ran
up and down the field in the first two
quarters, piling up 17 first downs and
297 yards for a 24-14 lead. Ryan
played a nearly perfect half, complet-
ing 18-of-24 passes for 271 yards and
three touchdowns, two of them to Julio
Jones. When Tony Gonzalez hauled
in a 10-yard touchdown pass with 25
seconds remaining, restoring a double-
digit lead, it looked as though Atlanta
had weathered the 49ers comeback.
Actually, the Falcons were done, at
least on the scoreboard.
They were held scoreless over the
final two periods by the 49ers, who
seized on two key mistakes by Ryan.
First, after guiding the Falcons into
San Francisco territory, he was picked
off by Chris Culliver. Then, with Atlanta
well within field-goal range at the 49ers
28, Ryan took his eye off a shotgun
snap for a split-second and the ball
bounced off his hands. Aldon Smith
recovered for San Francisco.
Against a good football team like
that, you cant have those kinds of
mistakes, Ryan said. We moved the
ball really effectively all day. We just
had two chances where we were in
positive territory and didnt walk away
with points.
The 49ers are headed to the Super
Bowl for the first time since 1995,
when they won the last of their cham-
pionships. The city by the bay is rap-
idly becoming the new Titletown USA.
The 49ers will try follow the lead of
the baseball Giants, who gave San
Francisco a World Series champion-
ship in October.
Kaepernick didnt get a chance to
show off his touchdown celebration
for the 49ers flexing his right arm
and kissing his bicep, a move that
quickly became a social media sen-
sation known as Kaepernicking. But
the second-year quarterback who runs
like a track star shredded the Falcons
through the air by completing 16-of-
21 for 233 yards, including a 4-yard
touchdown to Vernon Davis. Plus, he
caused so much concern about his
running ability out of the spread option
that Gore and LaMichael James found
plenty of huge holes.
Ryan had the best playoff game of
his career, completing 30-of-42 for 396
yards. His favorite target was Jones,
who hauled in scoring passes of 46
and 20 yards on the way to finishing
with 11 catches for 182 yards. But it
wasnt enough to extend the career of
Gonzalez, the Hall of Famer-to-be who
has said all along this would likely be
his final season.
He sure sounded like it was over.
Ive had such a great life, he said.
I wish it wouldve culminated with the
Super Bowl but it didnt.
Gore scored on runs of five and
nine yards, finishing with 90 yards on
21 carries. James picked up the first
TD for the 49ers on a 15-yard run.
Flacco heads to Super Bowl
after beating 2 of the best
WRESTLING CAPSULES
Jays 10th at CIT
COLUMBUS The St.
Johns wrestling team par-
ticipated in the 52nd annu-
al Catholic Invitational
Tournament held at Olentangy
Liberty High School (hosted
by Columbus Bishop Hartley)
Saturday and Sunday and fin-
ished 10th among the 30-team
meet involving schools from
all three divisions.
The Blue Jays were second
missing out on defending
its small-school title from a
year ago with 80 points,
trailing Dayton Chaminade-
Julienne by one point.
They had four wres-
tlers place in the top-6 for
their weight classes: Austin
Martin, second (145); Wes
Buettner, fourth (152); Will
Buettner, fourth (170); and
Luke Wrasman, fifth (160).
The team will compete in
the regional state duals ver-
sus Riverdale at Coldwater
Wednesday. Austin was the
highest placer in school his-
tory, wrestling an outstand-
ing weekend. Will pinned
his opponent Saturday night
to get his 100th career win
and had a big win over an
LCC wrestler and state plac-
er, Bobby Sunderhaus 10-4,
Jays coach Derek Sterling
noted. Wes finished fourth
with a controversial finals
match where we felt thought
he took control and the lead
in the match with five sec-
onds left only to have the
referees waive the points off.
Luke Wrasman had an injury
forfeit in the finals but wres-
tled some great matches this
weekend.
Others getting some wins
for the Jays were Justin
Siefker (132) and Nate
Schroeder (285).
2013 Catholic Invitational
Tournament Team Scores:
1. Moeller 242.0 (LS), Tol. C.C.
174.0 (LS), SVSM 143.5 (LS), Lake
Catholic 121.0 (LS), Elder 119.5
(LS), St. Xavier 112.0 (LS), Padua
107.0 (LS), St. Ignatius 88.0 (LS),
Cham. Julienne 79.0 (SS), Del. St.
Johns 76.0 (SS), Lima C.C. 62.5
(SS), Elyria Catholic 61.5 (SS),
Hartley 59.0 (SS), Ready 57.5
(SS), Tol. St. Johns 47.5 (LS), St.
Francis 46.5 (LS), Newark Catholic
41.0 (SS), LaSalle 36.0 (LS),
DeSales (LS) and Badin 31.0 (SS),
Benedictine 28.0 (SS), St. Charles
26.5 (LS), Carroll (LS) and Calvert
23.0 (SS), VASJ 20.0 (SS), Holy
Name 19.0 (SS), Summit Co. Day
18.0 (SS), Chanel 6.5 (SS), Trinity
4.0 (SS), Tusc. C.C 3.0 (SS).