Furrey lifts Hilliard to 35-9 victory
Two punt returns for TD’s pave way
By Marla Ridenour
Dispatch Sports Reporter
Delaware, Ohio- Hilliard senior Mike Furrey might have a new nickname at school Monday.
After returning two punts for touchdowns in a 35-9 victory over Delaware last night, his friends can call him Eric. As in Eric Metcalf of the Cleveland Browns.
The wide receiver-defensive back stunned the Pacers for a 49-yard score with 5:24 left in the first quarter that gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. He duplicated his feat and notched the fourth of his career on a 44-yarder with 3:28 left in the third quarter that boosted the lead to 28-9.
Then, excited about the possibilities of doing it again, especially since Delaware’s Shane Ranneberger had nine official punts and two more called back on penalties, Furrey muffed his next try.
“’The referee was telling me, ‘Are you going to do another one?’” Furrey said. “He was making fun of me.”
But Delaware coach Mike Marshall wasn’t laughing as his team slipped to 1-1 in falling to Hilliard (2-0), a Division I state semifinalist in 1993.
“You can’t play at this level and give up two punt returns, those were crushers,” Marshall said. “We knew they set the wall very effectively. The first one was simple. We’re supposed to spread out and get in the lanes and we didn’t do it, we bunched up. The second one we were in our lanes. It was a pretty piece of running and we did a poor job of tackling.”
On his first touchdown, Furrey streaked down the right sideline and only had one man to beat- Ranneberger. Furrey cut inside, and Ranneberger didn’t get close.
“I had a key block on the first man down the field and then I got outside,” Furrey said.
On the second, it looked like Furrey would be tackled or knocked out of bounds on the right sideline at the Delaware 28, but he somehow regained his balance and turned on the speed.
“That one I could have gone either way I wanted,” Furrey said. “I thought they had me, but I juked the guy and he hit my legs. I thought he was going to trip me. I just fell.”
Hilliard’s defense also dashed any visions Delaware had of victory. Pacers quarterback Chris Damico was sacked six times for 40 yards in losses. The Wildcats held Ranneberger, who rushed for 200 yards last week against Buckeye Valley, to 64 yards until the final two minutes, the same total he had at halftime. In the third quarter, Delaware had minus-18 total yards.
“Our defense definitely set up our offense tonight,” Hilliard coach John Sines said. Marshall said, “They’re big, strong and fast. A lot of people were saying you did well playing them how you did. But we didn’t want to just play the best school in central Ohio, we wanted to beat the best school in central Ohio.”
Senior running back Brian Cook lead the Hilliard attack with 90 yards on 16 carries and a 2-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Cliff Rece completed 8 of 13 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown and ran 1 yard for another score. Senior Mark Belcher caught a 37-yard strike from Rece with 31 seconds left before halftime.
By Marla Ridenour
Dispatch Sports Reporter
Delaware, Ohio- Hilliard senior Mike Furrey might have a new nickname at school Monday.
After returning two punts for touchdowns in a 35-9 victory over Delaware last night, his friends can call him Eric. As in Eric Metcalf of the Cleveland Browns.
The wide receiver-defensive back stunned the Pacers for a 49-yard score with 5:24 left in the first quarter that gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. He duplicated his feat and notched the fourth of his career on a 44-yarder with 3:28 left in the third quarter that boosted the lead to 28-9.
Then, excited about the possibilities of doing it again, especially since Delaware’s Shane Ranneberger had nine official punts and two more called back on penalties, Furrey muffed his next try.
“’The referee was telling me, ‘Are you going to do another one?’” Furrey said. “He was making fun of me.”
But Delaware coach Mike Marshall wasn’t laughing as his team slipped to 1-1 in falling to Hilliard (2-0), a Division I state semifinalist in 1993.
“You can’t play at this level and give up two punt returns, those were crushers,” Marshall said. “We knew they set the wall very effectively. The first one was simple. We’re supposed to spread out and get in the lanes and we didn’t do it, we bunched up. The second one we were in our lanes. It was a pretty piece of running and we did a poor job of tackling.”
On his first touchdown, Furrey streaked down the right sideline and only had one man to beat- Ranneberger. Furrey cut inside, and Ranneberger didn’t get close.
“I had a key block on the first man down the field and then I got outside,” Furrey said.
On the second, it looked like Furrey would be tackled or knocked out of bounds on the right sideline at the Delaware 28, but he somehow regained his balance and turned on the speed.
“That one I could have gone either way I wanted,” Furrey said. “I thought they had me, but I juked the guy and he hit my legs. I thought he was going to trip me. I just fell.”
Hilliard’s defense also dashed any visions Delaware had of victory. Pacers quarterback Chris Damico was sacked six times for 40 yards in losses. The Wildcats held Ranneberger, who rushed for 200 yards last week against Buckeye Valley, to 64 yards until the final two minutes, the same total he had at halftime. In the third quarter, Delaware had minus-18 total yards.
“Our defense definitely set up our offense tonight,” Hilliard coach John Sines said. Marshall said, “They’re big, strong and fast. A lot of people were saying you did well playing them how you did. But we didn’t want to just play the best school in central Ohio, we wanted to beat the best school in central Ohio.”
Senior running back Brian Cook lead the Hilliard attack with 90 yards on 16 carries and a 2-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Cliff Rece completed 8 of 13 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown and ran 1 yard for another score. Senior Mark Belcher caught a 37-yard strike from Rece with 31 seconds left before halftime.