MOUNT VERNON — Sophomore sensation Jonny Askew had a couple of monster plays, but it wasn’t enough to push Mount Vernon past Ashland on Friday night.
Instead, Jonathan Metzger and his Ashland teammates expunged four week’s worth of frustration Friday night at Energy Field.
Metzger made a highlight-reel interception early in the fourth quarter and hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass moments later as the Arrows rallied for a 35-17 Ohio Cardinal Conference win at Mount Vernon.
The victory was the first of the season for the Arrows (1-4, 1-0).
“It’s huge to get that first win,” said Metzger, an athletic receiver and defensive back. “Those first four weeks, we had super-tight games. We were in it in the second half, but we just couldn’t hang on.
“Today was another close game, but we dominated in the second half.”
Mount Vernon (1-4, 0-2) jumped to a quick lead when Askew hauled in a short pass from quarterback Joel Hubbard along the home sideline and outran the Ashland defense for a 73-yard touchdown. Ashland tied it on quarterback Landon McFrederick’s 2-yard keeper.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Askew took a pitch from fellow return man Rylan Firebaugh on his own 1-yard line and sliced through Ashland’s coverage team for a 99-yard touchdown. Hubbard’s two-point conversion run after an Ashland penalty gave the Yellow Jackets a 15-7 advantage.
“He is a good player. We told our guys coming in that he has the speed and athleticism to hit a home run every time he touched the ball,” Ashland coach Sean Seder said. “We told the guys we have to make anybody else beat us, then we give up two big ones.”
Ashland began to take control in the second quarter, outscoring Mount Vernon 15-0 in the period to grab a 22-15 halftime lead. Cayden Spotts had touchdown runs of 5 and 28 yards in the period and Ashland was credited for a safety when Mount Vernon was flagged for intentional grounding on a pass out of its own end zone with just three seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Arrows scored the only points of the third quarter when Grayson Steury caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from McFerderick for a 28-15 lead.
Mount Vernon turned the ball over on downs at the Ashland 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but regained momentum when the defense dragged Spotts down in the end zone for a safety. The Yellow Jackets trailed 28-17 and were looking to cut into the deficit even more, but Mount Vernon muffed the ensuing free kick and Ashland recovered.
“Every time we would get some momentum, we’d make a mistake,” Mount Vernon coach Mike Kerr said. “We’ve got to clean those mistakes up, but I’ll never question the heart of our kids.
“That has been the story of our season. We’ll do something really good and then something bad happens. We just cannot build momentum.”
Ashland iced it when Metzer made an athletic leaping interception at midfield with 7:55 remaining. A minute later he hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass on another athletic grab.
“I saw the ball in the air and I somehow got my fingertips on it,” Metzger said of the interception. “They had run that play a couple of times.”
Ashland hosts Madison next week. Mount Vernon visits Watkins Memorial.
“Our know our record doesn’t show it, but we have kids who never quit,” Kerr said. “We have great leadership and we’ve got great kids who will fight no matter what.”
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