Struthers edges stubborn Niles

The Wildcats continued their roller-coaster season.
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzo@vindy.com & gt;By JOE SCALZO & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Phil Annarella slumped down on a bench inside the Niles High football locker room, buried his head into his hands and sighed.
"We just haven't had too many things go right for us this year," Annarella said. "Tonight was the same thing, it was just magnified because it was a close game."
Too close, if you ask Struthers coach Gary Zetts.
"We won, but this was like a loss," Zetts said.
Thursday's outcome didn't play any favorites -- both coaches were miserable. But the Wildcats (5-3, 3-1) managed to hold off a late rally, defeating Niles 19-16 in a Metro Athletic Conference game at Bo Rein Stadium.
"This was way too close," said Struthers senior Jed Hill, who had four catches 56 yards. "We didn't come ready to play. It took forever to get going. It was unbelievable. This is the worst game we've played this year."
Therein lies the problem.
Struthers -- ranked sixth this week in the Division IV, Region 13 computer ratings -- has played well at times (see the first games, when the Wildcats beat Liberty and Warren JFK) and struggled at others (they lost in overtime to Campbell and were blown out by Salem).
And Zetts doesn't have any answers.
"We haven't played a whole game since the first two weeks," he said. "We're trying to figure out why. We want answers to our questions."
Early struggle
Struthers struggled early Thursday night. The Red Dragons recovered an onside kick to open the game and took the early lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Jared Sears.
Struthers answered immediately on Brian Walton's 1-yard touchdown run, but the Wildcats missed the extra point.
After Brandon Rappach hit a 22-yard field goal for the Red Dragons to make it 10-6, Struthers quarterback Tim Zetts threw interceptions on the next two drives.
But penalties -- including a crucial clipping call that negated Sears' interception return for a touchdown -- and a couple broken running plays cost Niles a chance to pull away in the first half.
"We've got to play nearly flawless to win," Annarella said. "We're not good enough to overcome a lot of mistakes."
Just before the end of the first half, Struthers senior Anthony Horvath blocked a punt and, two plays later, Eric Anderson ran for a 30-yard touchdown to give Struthers a 13-10 lead.
"After the point was blocked, it was like 'Here we go again, right before halftime,' " said Annarella, whose team has struggled with giving up big plays at the end of the second quarter this season.
Another conversion miss
Horvath gave Struthers a 19-10 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but again the Wildcats missed the conversion. Niles senior Eric Kelley scored on a 1-yard run with 1:21 remaining to cut the deficit to 19-16, but a missed extra point and a failed onside kick sealed the game.
"A couple of the kids wanted to celebrate, and the coaches went over and asked them what they had to be happy about," Gary Zetts said. "If you think that was a good performance, then there's something wrong with you."
Walton led the Wildcats with 14 rushes for 57 yards and Anderson added 55 yards on eight carries. Tim Zetts finished 7-of 15-for 77 yards.
Sears had 23 rushes for 90 yards for Niles (2-6, 0-4), while Bryan Butto added 11 carries for 58 yards and Anthony Pallante had two receptions for 55 yards.
"We did keep fighting back," Annarella said. "We were an onside kick away from being back in the game. We didn't quit."
& lt;a href=mailto:scalzok@vindy.com & gt;scalzo@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;