Maumee falls for first time, drops game to Oak Harbor

Cody Wulf scored twice against Oak Harbor. / Jeremy Schneider

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

Maumee scored first, but Oak Harbor scored often.

The Rockets came into Kazmaier Stadium and pushed around the Panthers, handing Maumee its first loss of the season, 56-17, in the Northern Buckeye Conference opener for both teams.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

“We can check ourselves and look at the things we’ve got to work on,” Maumee coach Evan Karchner said. “We can be sad about it tonight, but on Monday, we’re going to get after Eastwood.

“When we made our goals at the beginning of the season, not one person said, To beat Oak Harbor. It was to make the playoffs, win a league championship. … All we can do is control what we can control. We’ve got to get better.”

Maumee scored off its opening drive on Blake Wagener’s 31-yard field goal, his career first. The Panthers covered 66 yards in nine plays on the drive.

Oak Harbor teed off from there, though, scoring the next three touchdowns to take a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Cody Wulf scored two touchdowns in the second quarter as Maumee closed to within 28-17 at halftime. Wulf finished with 25 yards on 13 carries, and the Panthers managed only 49 yards on the ground.

The second half was all Oak Harbor, scoring four touchdowns for the final margin. Quarterback Michael Lalonde scored on a 60-yard run in the third quarter, and running back Carson Ridener had a 73-yard scoring rush in the fourth.

Ridener finished the game with 154 yards and four TDs on 15 carries, and Lalonde added 69 yards on five carries. The Rockets totaled 316 yards on the ground and 446 yards overall.

“We knew we were going to need to stop the run and we were going to have to run the football,” Karchner said. “Our guys had to take a step forward, and we knew that was going to be a challenge for us.

“That’s a good team. That staff is in year 17, and we’re in year two. … We’re taking steps forward. Obviously, it’s disappointing, we’d like to be winning, but that was a good lesson for us.”

Maumee quarterback Ben Kubicz was under nearly constant attack, but the junior still managed to complete 15-of-27 passes for 221 yards and one interception, his second of the season.

Carson Graetz had seven catches for 125 yards, both season highs.

The Panthers next turn their focus to the other heavyweight of the NBC, traveling to face Eastwood on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com