SANDUSKY, OHIO – Every time the Generals from Anthony Wayne needed yards, they were able to get. No matter the circumstance, the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs were helpless to stop it.
The result was a crushing 515 yards rushing for Anthony Wayne, as they advance to the Final Four in high school football with a 38-31 win over Olmsted Falls at Sandusky Perkins High School Friday night.
The Generals, whose defense held Glenville and Avon Lake to a combined 13 points in their first two playoff wins, allowed 31 points, but used their two-headed attack on offense to control the tempo and never trail in the Division II Regional Final victory.
Running back Evan Brown ran for 289 yards and two scores for the Generals, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. He combined with quarterback/running back Nick Schneider, who himself galloped for 226 yards on 31 carries and two scores to run to the seven-point win.
How good was the run game for the Generals?
Consider the fact that in running 68 plays on the mild night, Anthony Wayne as a team attempted just one pass.
It was run off tackle all night, and it didn’t matter if it was Brown or Schneider, Bulldogs were never able to stop the attack of the Generals run attack.
The Bulldogs were able to make it a game in the second half after the Generals scored two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to take a 28-14 lead at half.
They used the second half kickoff to march for a score capped off by a 4-yard run by season leading rusher Spencer Linville to make it a 28-21 Generals lead.
Olmsted Falls was able to hold the Generals to just a field goal in the third quarter, but after they cut the lead to 31-28 with 9:11 to play, the Generals put together a drive for the deciding score of the game.
With Brown and Schneider sharing the workload, this time it was Schneider wrapping up the drive with a one-yard leap with 3:47 to play to give the Generals a 38-28 lead.
Olmsted Falls came back, and decided to attempt a field goal with 1:47 left from 42 yards out by Ricky Castrigano to cut the lead down to seven to 38-31.
The Generals though put the game away, recovering the onside kick, and then running the clock out when on a third down play Schneider ran for a first down needing seven yards and gaining nine to salt away the win.
Bulldog quarterback Brett Hutkay, playing in his final game, led the team in rushing with 75 yards on 15 carries, and he threw for 135 yards and two scores in the loss.
Linville, also wrapping up his high school career, ran for two scores, but all night long was held in check, rushing for 67 yards on 18 carries, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.
The bruising Bulldog runner was ejected on the final Olmsted Falls drive after the officials determined he tried to kick an opposing 
player at the bottom of a pile up.
He was targeted by the Generals all night long, and they held him in check which hampered the Olmsted Falls offense, which was outgained 509 to 349.
Anthony Wayne will move on to the State Semifinals next Friday, against a team and place to be determined by the OHSAA on Sunday.
The season for Olmsted Falls ends at 9-4.
High School
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