ASHLAND — Mother Nature put on a light show Friday night, but Ashland’s Kadin Schmitz provided some fireworks of his own.
Schmitz returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown and the second-seeded Arrows knocked off No. 7 Norwalk 21-7 in the Division III, Region 10 quarterfinals on a stormy Friday at Community Stadium.
The game was delayed for about 90 minutes as a powerful line of thunderstorms rumbled across the region. When play finally resumed, Schmitz scooped up a fumble just across midfield and ran untouched to the end zone to give the Arrows (7-1) a 14-0 lead.
“Kadin Schmitz has been a player for us all year. He came through big there,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said. “We told the kids we’ll only have a handful of opportunities to make a big play.”
Ashland opened the game with a big play when Bryant Hosse recovered a pooch kick in Norwalk territory, setting up the first score of the game. Quarterback Declan Rohr scored on a 2-yard keeper on fourth down to spot the Arrows to a quick 7-0 advantage with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter. Just 19 seconds later, lightning flashed overhead and the officials cleared the field. Play didn’t resume until after 9:30.
“That’s tough,” Seder said of the delay. “The toughest thing is it’s that roller-coaster. They get amped up and ready to go and then you’ve got to come back in and sit.”
The Truckers (4-4) did themselves no favors once play resumed. Norwalk had a punt return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown nullified by penalty and turned the ball over on downs at the Ashland 1 yard line late in the first quarter. Norwalk kicker Garrison Smith, who booted a 57-yarder last week, had his 42 yard attempt sail wide to the right in the swirling winds.
“We beat ourselves over and over. We got in our own way,” Norwalk coach Todd Fox said. “We had two called back and a fumble on offense that gave up six. Some of those things you can’t overcome in big games like this and we know that and now we have to pay the price.”
Norwalk scored its only points of the night when quarterback Garrett Chapin hooked up with Oliver Maloney on an 8 yard scoring strike early in the second quarter. Chapin went over 5,000 passing yards in his career during the first half.
“Off the field and on the field he’s a leader,” Fox said. “What he’s done for our program, the minor part is throwing for over 5,000 yards. The major part is leading us to three playoff runs in a row.”
The only score of the second half came when Rohr found Landon McFrederick behind the Norwalk secondary for an 83 yard touchdown with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter.
The Arrows will host No. 6 Parma Heights Holy Name in the regional semifinals next week. Holy Name beat No. 3 Bowling Green 24-21 on Friday.
“It’s a privilege to keep playing. The kids are excited about it,” Seder said. “I don’t think it matters who you put in front of them. They’re going to be excited to play.”
