SMITHVILLE — In both teams’ Wayne County Athletic Conference opener for 3-0 Smithville and 3-0 Dalton on Friday, one team couldn’t ask for a better start for the game, while the other team couldn’t ask for a worse start.
Opening kickoff. Smithville receives. They fumble right about on the Dalton 3-yard line that leads to a short-yardage touchdown run by running back Conner Mori. 7-0 Dalton.
On the ensuing offensive drive for Smithville, they throw an interception that then leads to a touchdown run by Dalton quarterback Carter Hignight. 13-0 Dalton.
At that moment, the game looked like it could have gotten out of hand for Smithville. And it very well could have. Instead, the Smithies owned it and rallied back to grab a season-changing, well-earned victory over traditional elite Dalton 35-19 at home that moved Smithville to 4-0.
What was said in the Smithville huddle after turning the ball over twice and going down 13-0 within the first five minutes of the game?
“Just saying we had to step it up and we can play with this team,” Smithville running back/defensive back Isaiah Lee said.
“We told them we’ve given them everything they’ve got. It’s time for us to buckle up and be resilient,” Smithville head coach Phil Olsen said. “I don’t know that a couple of years ago our kids would have bounced back from that. They just had to man up and play football.”
After Lee scored a rushing touchdown on a fourth down and one on the goal line towards the end of the first quarter to cut the Dalton lead to 13-7, from then on, the momentum switched in the Smithies favor. After Smithville’s Jonathan Hershey picked off a pass by Dalton’s Hignight in the endzone at the end of the first quarter, the Smithies settled into their ball control offense.
“We were down a little but once we had that drive when we scored, we realized we can do this,” said Lee.
Running their I-formation and pro set offenses, Smithville used Lee (one TD run, one TD catch), running back Mason Haines (one TD run) and fullback/running back Javen Woodarski (one TD run) to run time off the clock and during stretches of the game produced long drives that kept the Bulldogs offense off the field.
“I was talking to one of the coaches in the box. They must have run nine minutes of gametime off the clock during a period,” Dalton head coach Reid Geibel said. “That’s a lot of time. Our offense has done really well up to this game. We can’t do that if you’re not on the field. It’s demoralizing when a team does that.”
“We realized we can run the football between the tackles. Our kids felt that too,” Smith added, who said his team played much better assignment football tonight than it did in the first two weeks. “When we got the two-score lead, we were gonna use the clock as much as possible. Obviously, they have phenominal athletes too. If they don’t have the ball, they can’t score.”
While both teams forced three turnovers each, Smithville’s two forced fumbles in the fourth quarter was vital in sealing the game. Once the Smithies began controlling the clock on offense, the defense started to work themselves into the game too, as they did a good job taking away downfield throws and runs up the middle by Hignight.
“Their defensive box is good,” Geibel said. “It did create some issues for us. We missed some reads and we had some receivers open we missed.”
“We know they are a real QB laden team,” said Smith. “A lot of our scheme was towards him (Hignight). Come in with a pass rush and not get too far up field. If he did break loose, get to the ball quick.”
Last year right around this time during Week 4, Dalton beat Smithville 46-7 at their place. This year, Smithville pulled off a statement win that could end up being a season game-changer.
“We’re here to play. Here to fight,” said Lee, describing what the victory means for his team. “Anything is possible with God. I think we have a good season ahead of us.”
“This is a program changing win for us,” said Smith, assessing the importance of the victory. “We knew we were better than what we showed the last three weeks. Honestly, our offense has been called into play. I think our kids understood what we had to do tonight. To beat Dalton on our home field, after being down 13-0, I think it shows where our program is now.”
jamessimpson@gannett.com
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: ‘This is a program changing win for us’: Smithville football gets season-shifting victory over Dalton
Reporting by James Simpson II, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
