Old SLL rivals Gibsonburg, Woodmore face off

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Two towns separated by less than eight miles.
It only makes sense that Gibsonburg and Woodmore would be rivals.
This season, both teams are holding steady as the stretch run gradually approaches, and there’s a little bit of an added incentive to try and win this Friday’s contest.
The Wildcats are 3-0 and 1-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division — one game was vacated — and are coming off a 41-34 win over Willard.
After falling behind, 6-0, Woodmore scored 34 unanswered points and held a 34-26 lead late in the fourth quarter before Landon Rich scored his fourth touchdown of the game, this one from five yards out, and the PAT pushed the lead back to 15 points.
The Crimson Flashes scored a touchdown with 55.4 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 41-34, but they could not recover the onside kick, and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
Rich finished with 30 carries for 272 yards and has carried the ball 79 times for 704 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. In the win over Willard, Michael Seeger had two interceptions, including one that was returned 50 yards for a touchdown, and ran for a score on offense.
In week three, Woodmore was supposed to play John Adams High School in Cleveland, but a gun was fired on the perimeter of campus, and the game was canceled.
“I think our kids came out really well from the week before having the issues in Cleveland. All in all, our kids came out well, but we got to the point where our kids are new to playing with the lead and learning how to finish games and playing to continue to win instead of playing in a position not to lose,” said Woodmore coach Scott Stecher. “We have to get more used to that. We’re getting there, but we still have a lot of work to do.
“We’ve come a long way, (but) we have a long way to go. We’re happy about being 3-0, but we just need to keep believing in ourselves and keep getting better. We have to keep learning and trusting in our fundamentals and staying injury-free. We’re over halfway through the season if you count two-a-days.”
The Wildcats are currently ranked fourth in the Division VI, Region 22 standings with 5.00 points. They are just 0.25 points behind Ottawa Hills, which is ranked second.
Now, the two teams are back in the same conference in the SBC River Division.
Last year, the Golden Bears, behind two touchdowns from Reece Walby, defeated Woodmore, 30-10, and has outscored the Wildcats, 154-13, in the last three games.
Woodmore’s last win in the series came when they beat the Bears, 21-13, in 2020.
The rivalry with Gibsonburg dates back to 1972 when both teams were part of the old Suburban Lakes League. Following the disbanding of the SLL in 2011, the Bears went to the Toledo Area Athletic Conference while the Wildcats joined with five other teams from the SLL and formed, with the addition of Rossford and Fostoria, the Northern Buckeye Conference.
Gibsonburg stayed in the TAAC until 2018 when it became a member of the SBC.
The Bears lost, 27-14, to one of the top teams in the state in Hopewell-Loudon. The Bears led, 14-0, at halftime after Cam Mooney connected with Chuy Rodriguez on a 22-yard touchdown pass and Walby returned an interception 96 yards for a score.
But the wheels fell off in the second half as the Chieftains took over and held on for the victory.
“We were up 14-0 at halftime. We kicked off and they drove for a touchdown. On our first play with the ball, we fumbled, and they recovered and scored. The first drive was a long one,” said Gibsonburg coach Joe Wyant. “After seven minutes in the third quarter, we only had one play. Then we played back and forth, then they scored, the last touchdown was on a fourth-and-1. If we just give up a first down, they run out the clock. We played them tough.”
Last year, the Bears started 1-4 while facing a daunting schedule in the first half of the season. Now, Gibsonburg, which is ranked 11th in the Division VII, Region 26 standings with 4.10 points and is 2-2 (1-4 SBC River), has defeated two good teams in Ottawa Hill (26-7) and Seneca East (56-34) before losing to two of the top teams in the state in Edison (12-7) and H-L.
The Bears finished 5-5 last year and missed the playoffs after going 10-3 and advancing to the Division VII regional semifinals the year before.
“Our schedule’s been pretty tough. Ottawa Hills is 3-1, and we are their only loss. Seneca East is 2-2, and they have a good team. Edison is probably in some rankings in the top 10 in Division V, and we lost that game, 12-7. We had a little bit of a chance; we were down at the 18-yard-line and Walby got hurt and then it took us out of everything. H-L is ranked fourth in Division VI,” said Wyant. “We feel really good about ourselves, we know we’ve played tough competition. Our kids are playing hard; nobody’s giving up. We just want to be 8-2 and make the playoffs.”
Thus far, Grant Smith leads the Bears with 70 carries for 359 yards and three touchdowns while Walby has carried the ball 40 times for 350 yards and five scores. He has also intercepted five passes in just four games.
“We have 950 rushing yards,” said Wyant. “We’ve spread it around to basically two people.”
Wyant has noticed that things appear to be on the upswing for Woodmore, which has welcomed Stecher and been the beneficiary for it.
“They’re vastly improved, and I know their numbers have improved; they have some young kids coming through the program,” said Wyant. “Getting out of the NBC and going to the SBC was a good move for them.”
Stecher, who coached at Monroeville from 2014-20, faced off with Norwalk St. Paul for years, and they were fierce rivals.
“It was wonderful. They were really good. The kids always looked forward to that; it was always played in the last week, no matter what, just like Michigan-Ohio State,” said Stecher. “There were some superstitions — you couldn’t wear red, guys didn’t buy red. Monroeville was pretty serious about the tradition, and the kids took it seriously. It was fun. You look forward to those games because it will be great competition. Everyone is dialing it up more to get a win. In order to have a real rivalry, you have to win a few games.
“Gibsonburg is very good. I’ve known Joe for a long time, he’s a very good coach, and I know a couple of coaches on his staff. Hopefully both sides are healthy and it’s a good game. The kids and coaches, we’re very blessed to be in this position to be 3-0. We’re not satisfied. The kids are pretty intelligent with the computer points.”
Woodmore hasn’t been to the playoffs in 23 years.
“We’re trying to earn the respect back for Woodmore football,” said Stecher. “People might say, they’ve won a few easy games. Hopefully, we can keep going and do it better. I’m having a lot of fun with the kids.”