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Riders wear crown - alone

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By Eric Clutter
October 25, 2008

By Eric Clutter
Record-Courier correspondent
NORTON - Throughout the course of his career at Kent Roosevelt, Tyler Lohr has played a variety of positions ranging from running back to defensive back to punting.
Now add play-calling to the senior's resume.
Lohr called his own number on the Rough Riders' first offensive play of overtime Friday at Norton, then promptly ran 20 yards for the winning score as Roosevelt squeaked past the Panthers 19-13 to win the PTC Metro Division outright and secure a berth in the state playoffs.
The title is the school's second in the last three years as is the postseason bid.
Lohr was a member of that 2006 squad.
"Right before that series, I told coach I want the ball," he said as he carried the 2006 Metro championship trophy to the locker room. "I wanted to do King's with Marcus (Rogers) in there for the blocking. They did a heckuva job blocking (the line) the whole night. I just got in there when it counted. It feels good."
The play Lohr referred to is called King's formation and it involves taking one receiver out of a four-wideout set bringing Rogers in to supply muscle as a lead blocker.
"When we came out at halftime and started in the formation, Rogers did a good job blocking to get holes. I don't know. It was the last game in the conference and I just wanted to go out with a bang. I called a good play and they did a good job blocking."
A hard, steady rain throughout the night only enhanced an eery feeling that seemed to surround this game for the Rough Riders (8-2, 7-0 Metro).
Thirteen penalties, a player ejection and three turnovers all conspired to put the Rough Riders in an all-too-close slopfest with an upset-minded Panthers' team that had scared Ravenna earlier in the season.
A Roosevelt penalty on the opening drive of the contest, allowed a Norton possession to proceed and set the stage for junior quarterback Steve Smith's 21-yard TD run with less than four minutes elapsed in the quarter.
In a blink of an eye, however, things were again even, as Roosevelt's Denerio Bryant picked up the ensuing kick on his own 15-yard line and darted straight up the field virtually untouched for a score 14 seconds later.
The Roosevelt defense then forced a Norton punt on the next possession but the kick never got off as the Rough Riders' Gabe Hart stormed through the line, swatted the ball down and recovered it at the Norton 15.
Three running plays later, Roosevelt quarterback Evan Shimensky easily ran in from the 1 to give the Rough Riders the lead.
However, a penalty on the original PAT forced Roosevelt kicker Chris Mohler to have to kick a second time ten yards further back. The kick missed and the score stood at 13-7.
The scoreboard remain unchanged for over the next two quarters until the Panthers forced a fumble on the first play of the fourth stanza.
Norton's Mark Guarnieri fell on the loose ball at the Roosevelt 40 giving Smith's offense a short field to work with.
It was tough going as the Roosevelt defense stiffened and put the Panthers in a fourth-and-2 situation from the 32.
But for the second time in the game, Smith came through, getting past the first wave of Roosevelt tacklers and bolting into the end zone to tie the score with 9:33 left in regulation.
So now it was up to kicker Tim Scott to try and break the tie.
He wouldn't, and it was the beginning of a nightmarish chain of events for the Norton junior and the Panthers' special teams.
Norton was flagged on the initial PAT pushing Scott's effort back five yards. A fumbled snap ensued and the attempt was easily smothered.
On Roosevelt's next possession, things appeared to be looking favorable as the Rough Riders' offense neared midfield.
That was until a second-down snap sailed over the head of Shimensky resulting in a 19-yard loss. A seven-yard punt followed two plays later giving Norton a great opportunity to break the tie with starting position at the Roosevelt 24.
They could not capitalize, failing to move the chains and even having Smith taken down for a six-yard loss on third down back at the 26.
With 3:25 to play, Scott, who earlier missed a 42-yard attempt in the second quarter, trotted out to try a 43-yard field goal only to have it carom off the crossbar.
Roosevelt used up the remaining time but could not get into field goal range, despite Rogers running 28 yards with a fake punt with 17 seconds to left.
In overtime, Norton was on offense first and Smith immediately ran for nine yards on first down. But the Panthers failed to gain that extra yard over the course of the next two snaps to gain a new set of downs and continue to apply the pressure on the Rough Riders, who were staring at the aspects of a shared Metro title with Field and no playoff berth.
So it was time for Scott again and fortunately for the Rough Riders, the third time was not the charm. Scott's kick was directed wide left and momentum was clearly with Roosevelt now.
Lohr then took a handoff from Shimensky, and with Rogers providing a seam, made his way behind the right side of the line and over the goal line where he was mobbed by teammates and coaches.




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