By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
The Southern Ohio Independent League “Rose Bowl” is comparable to what many would call a third-place contest. Each year, the game matches up the third and fourth place teams in the SOIL regular season and it is played as a prelude to the league’s championship game. The 2021 “Rose Bowl” matched up the third place North Adams Green Devils with the fourth place Southern Buckeye Warriors, with the game being played at Kelly Anderson Memorial Field in Seaman on Saturday, Oct. 30.
In Saturday’s battle, the Green Devils turned a low-scoring first half defensive struggle, where they trailed by two at the break, into a much more impressive second half where they put up 24 points on their way to a 30-20 win that pushed their final season record to the .500 mark at 5-5.
The game’s opening possession belonged to the Green Devils and it looked like fans might be in for a high-scoring affair as the host team drove the ball all the way down the wet and mussy field, all running plays, on their way to the game’s first score. Converting a fourth and two play in the drive, the Devils got a 9-yard touchdown run from freshman Camden Huff with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Connor Rhoden came on to kick the extra point, but it was wide, leaving North Adams with an early 6-0 advantage.
The Devils then received a gift on the first play from scrimmage by the Warriors, a fumble that the Devils recovered but could not capitalize, beginning a series of possessions from both teams, six consecutive punts. The Southern Buckeye defense forced a turnover midway through the second quarter when Huff was stripped of the ball and the Warriors pounced on it, but the North Adams defense held, forcing a turnover on downs as the rash of empty possessions continued.
Late in the first half, the offensive drought was broken in an exciting way for the Southern Buckeye sideline. After forcing a North Adams turnover on downs with just five seconds on the clock, the Warriors got a receiver behind the Devils’ defense for a long touchdown pass on the final play of the half. The ensuing two-point conversion sent the Warriors to the halftime break with an 8-6 advantage.
The third period began with much the same script as the first two, a Southern Buckeye punt, followed by another North Adams turnover on downs, then a fumble by the Warriors. That fumble was recovered by the Devils and opened the flood gates of scoring plays.
After pouncing on the Southern Buckeye fumble, the Devils used just four plays to reclaim the lead, getting a 10-yard scoring pass from Rhoden to senior running back Avery Anderson. Anderson also pushed across the two-point conversion, giving North Adams a 14-8 lead with 3:11 left in the third.
That lead evaporated very quickly, as the Warriors tied the score when they returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD that tied the score at 14 as the third quarter came to a close.
Back came the Devils on the opening drive of the final quarter to take the lead back again. A pass play from Anderson to Landin Mains set up North Adams with a first and goal where Anderson finished the job by following his offensive line into the end zone to put his team in front. The senior all-purpose player also ran in the two-point try and the Devils led 22-14 with 9:29 to play.
Undaunted, the Warriors retaliated in just three plays and just over a minute off the clock, getting a touchdown run, but the two-point attempt failed, leaving North Adams on top 22-20 with 8:03 remaining. The scoring parade continued on the next North Adams offensive possession as another touchdown run by Anderson plus a successful two-point conversion left the hosts with a 30-20 advantage with 4:59 to play.
Trailing now by two scores, the Warriors were thwarted when the North Adams defense came up with a big sack on fourth down, forcing a turnover on downs. All that was left then was for the Devils to run out the clock, which they did. taking the 10-point victory and being crowned as the 2021 SOIL “Rose Bowl Champions.”
The Devils will experience a roster turnover before the 2022 campaign, as they will be losing eight seniors- Zach Ogden, Clayton Burson, Isaac Rogers, Leah Dionne, Landin Mains, Avery Anderson, Caleb Wortman, and Darryl Clark.
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