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Quarterback
Nick Campbell (2) carries the ball during the Tigers
victory over West Liberty Salem as Campbell
follows Mike Rutschilling.
Versailles rolled to a 48-21 victory and will tangle with MAC foe,
Coldwater
next. The site has yet to be determined. CNO Photo by Chuck
Runner, tigerballonline.netzero.
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Versailles rocks West
Liberty-Salem
Coldwater next
By George Starks
Sports Editor
WEST LIBERTY - It’s been six years (2005) since Versailles has been to
the playoffs.
Friday night, the Tigers rolled into West Liberty-Salem and rolled out
with an impressive 48-21 victory over WL-S at Tiger Stadium, in front
of a standing room only crowd.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Campbell carried the ball 19 times for 162
yards and completed 11 passes for 209 yards with multiple scores.
“Nick is a pretty calm kid,” said Versailles coach Bob Olwin. “He’s the
point guard in basketball and he doesn’t get too rattled. You get on to
him a little bit and he responds well. He’s a lot more mature than his
age.”
Things didn’t start out the way Olwin would have wanted.
WL-S received the opening kick. Sixteen seconds and 97 yards later,
senior Michael Mack found himself in the end zone, giving WL-S the
early 7-0 lead.
“At that point, the first thing that went through my head was the fact
our kick coverage needs to improve,” Olwin said. “We were still on the
bus and we needed to get off the bus. I knew seven points wasn’t going
to win the game but I wasn’t happy with how the game started.”
That lead was short lived by the host Tigers.
Starting at its own 19, Versailles went 81 yards on six plays,
highlighted by a 31 yard run by Mike Rutschilling and capped off by a
44 yard run from Nick Campbell.
Versailles would take the lead early in the second quarter when Nick
Campbell would hit his brother Mitchell for seven yards and the score.
West Liberty would soon gain a 14-14 tie but Versailles would take a
21-14 lead into the locker-room at the break as Nick Campbell would
connect with Aaron McNeilan for a 19 yard score with 3:25 remaining in
the half.
With a slim seven point lead at the half, Olwin got his point across.
“We knew we were going to get the ball to start the third quarter and
we really needed to make some adjustments on both sides of the ball. I
told the boys to just do their job and not try to do someone else’s
job. Be disciplined on defense and tackle well. I asked my offense what
plays they could get past our opponents and they told me what they
could do. We went out, executed and got the job done.”
By the end of the third quarter, Versailles held a commanding 34-14
lead as the defense stood up and put the clamps on the WL-S offense.
“I thought the kids in the second half on defense, played with more
intensity than they did in the first half and they really started to
feel it,” said Olwin. “We got off our blocks better and we got more
physical, especially with their quarterback, Riley Sims. Sims did a
nice job and was a tough kid. West Liberty really came to play and our
kids had to step it up a notch. Playing in the MAC, our kids are battle
tested week in and week out and I think that took over in the second
half. We capitalized on some turnovers and turned those into points.”
Next up for Versailles will be the Tigers nemeses, Coldwater. The
Cavaliers knocked off Covington Friday, 31-7 in a game played at
Covington. The site has yet to be determined.
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