It was a hard day for this team and they performed well.
Jake Arend catches the touchdown pass from Colby Speice
The season has been long for these boys as they have played and won every game since the defeat at Tinora. The Playoffs started and Wayne Trace continued on the path to success as the seniors settled in, understanding their opponents weaknesses. Last week a stunning win took place at Wapakoneta against Mechanicsburg and the mighty Raider Nation moved on the State Final game at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium.
Snow had started falling from the time the game began at 11 am on Friday, December 6. The Kirtland Hornets kicked and sent to the ball to Raider side of the field as first play started the game. The Raiders took the ball down but couldn’t get past the toughest defense they had went up against the entire season. The Hornets took possession and returned the ball for a quick touchdown along with earning the two point conversion, taking the score to an 8-0 lead. Wayne Trace quickly returned the favor with a pass, starting the second quarter, from Colby Speice to Jake Arend for the first touchdown on the guest side of the board. The two point conversion by Jared Sherry was successful.
The second quarter of the game was not as competitive when the Hornets started three touchdown scoring spree. Wayne Trace could not get to the goal and the Raider offense struggled to keep the ball in the hands of their players, leaving the half time score at 30-8.
In the third quarter Kirtland added two more touchdowns. The third quarter score finished 44-8.
The fourth quarter added some spirit to the game when the Raiders cautiously drove the ball down to the Hornets side of the field. Tyler Showalter received a pass from Speice for another six points in the fourth quarter with 6 minutes left in the game.
The final score was 44-16 with Kirtland finishing first in the State, and the Raiders finished as the incredible State Runner-Up team, never before done in Paulding County. This sets the bar very high for the Green Meadows Conference and for this area in sports.
The Raiders had a great season and a near perfect Playoff run. Either way it is sad for the seniors of both teams as this is the last time of wearing the uniform for a high school game.
