Bowsher shows second-half spark in win over Springfield

9/7/2013

Bowsher is off to a fast start, in a nerve-wracking manner.

The Rebels are 2-0 after a 22-20 come from behind victory over Springfield on Friday night before an enthusiastic crowd at the Rebels’ home field.

Springfield took a 20-14 lead into halftime before Bowsher recovered and posted a second-half shutout.

A three-yard touchdown run by Rebels running back Mark Washington with over five minutes left in the third quarter nearly closed the gap. Khane Collins took the two-point conversion into the end zone to put Bowsher ahead to stay.

Bowsher coach Craig Lubinski would prefer to avoid falling behind early in games. Yet, he's pleased about the Rebels' undefeated start.

"I'd rather be 2-0 than 0-2 right now," he said.

The Rebels trailed the Blue Devils 7-0 early after Springfield drove down field and scored a touchdown with the game's opening possession. A sense of deja' vu was beginning to set in for the Rebels’ head coach, who had watched his team fall behind 13-0 to Maumee in a season-opener a week earlier.

"I don't know if I can take being a second-half team all the time," Lubinski said. "If that's what it takes to get it done, as long as we get the job done I guess I'm not going to complain."

Washington, who also scored on a two-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, said the Rebels went into halftime feeling confident.

"I just tell my team we have to pick up our momentum," Washington said. "We just have to get after it and play how we know we can play.

"I told them that no matter what's going on we're going to have to come out here and fight no matter what the score says."

Springfield put 20 points on the scoreboard in the first half in explosive fashion.

Blue Devils sophomore quarterback Scott Seymour led two scoring drives in the first half. He connected with A.J. Harrison for a four-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead with just over six minutes left in the opening quarter. The completion capped an eight-play, 63-yard scoring drive.

Seymour also showed some deftness with his feet after scoring on a 46-yard quarterback run around right end during the second quarter that gave Springfield a 20-14 advantage.

The Blue Devils (1-1) also received help from linebacker Connor Crayne when he returned an interception 87 yards for a score in the second quarter.

Nonetheless, the Rebels didn't allow the Blue Devils' big-play capabilities to become an overwhelming concern.

"We practice hard all week and we're prepared to come back from deficits," Collins said.

The Rebels went into halftime trailing, but they appeared to be gaining momentum during the second quarter when they came up with two scoring drives, including one capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Steve Johnson.

Washington’s second short scoring run of the night summed up the scoring after halftime as the Rebels defense kept the Blue Devils out of the end zone.

"Our defense steps it up ," Lubinski said. "It makes me nervous when we have to give up points to recover, but that’s the nature of these kids."

Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302, or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade.