TAC LaBrae edges Girard in wild 42-40 victory

Todd Rowan passed for 337 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vikings.
By JIM FLICK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LEAVITTSBURG -- Led by senior quarterback Todd Rowan, LaBrae stormed back from a 19-point first-half deficit to defeat Girard 42-40 Friday night.
Rowan completed 18 of 37 passes for 337 yards, threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score. During the game, Rowan passed the landmark of 2,000 yards passing for the season.
LaBrae coach Bill Bohren said that Rowan is "the best quarterback I've ever seen" in 39 years of coaching high school football.
Rowan was modest.
Kept hopes alive
Downplaying his passing statistics, the quarterback pointed out that the victory over Girard kept alive LaBrae's hopes of qualifying for the state playoffs.
The victory raised LaBrae's record to 5-3, 3-2 in the Trumbull Athletic Conference, while Girard slipped to 6-2, 3-2.
In the locker room after the game, posters bearing the score of last year's LaBrae-Girard football game were still visible: Girard 61, LaBrae 7.
Bohren posted the score in the locker room to motivate his players for Friday's game. Bohren and Rowan agreed the team was eager to avenge the lopsided score.
Girard coach Bud McSuley agreed that his team's inability to shut down Rowan was the key to the game.
"You've got to play solid defense anytime you play a kid like that, and we didn't," he said.
Turnovers costly
McSuley added his team committed too many turnovers, which gave LaBrae the opportunity to overcome an early Girard lead. Girard fumbled three times and threw two interceptions.
"Hats off to LaBrae," McSuley said.
Behind the strong efforts of running back Brett Dutton, a junior, Girard scored first and surged to a 26-7 lead in the second quarter. Dutton ran for 102 yards in the first half.
LaBrae scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to cut Girard's lead to 26-21 at halftime and took a 29-26 lead in the third quarter.
LaBrae's lead grew to 42-33, but Girard cut the lead to 42-40 when senior Ryan Collins returned a kickoff 94 yards to LaBrae's one-yard line. After Girard lost three yards on a play, Dutton carried the ball into the end zone from the four.
Final effort stalled
After LaBrae failed to score and turned the ball over to Girard, the Indians' last chance to cut the Vikings' lead started at their own 17-yard line with 2:22 to go.
But Girard was stymied.
After quarterback Bobby Ovesny was sacked for 12 yards, the Indians' faced a fourth down with 22 yards to go for a first down to keep their chances alive.
Girard gained 20 yards, and the ball went over to LaBrae on downs. Rowan ran for a first down, which allowed LaBrae to hang onto the ball as the last seconds ticked off the clock.