For just the second time in school history, the high school football team took on Pleasant Ridge last Friday night in a pivotal District #3 matchup. The two teams met last year for the first time ever and the Buffaloes ran away with a 50-13 win. This years Rams team was much improved, but it was once again Onaga that would walk away the victors, clinching a spot in the play-in round of the cross-district matchups next Friday.
The Buffaloes got things rolling early after receiving the ball to open up the game. Junior Brett Kaberline took the opening kickoff back 28 yards to give Onaga good field position, then it was Gavin Kolterman and Josh Daniels who carried the Buffaloes down the field for the first score of the game. On senior night, the two senior backs combined for 9 carries on the 11-play 57-yard scoring drive before Daniels plunged into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the season.
With a 6-0 lead, the Onaga defense forced Pleasant Ridge into a third-and-long situation on the ensuing possession, but a 68-yard pass from Chase Watkins to Kade Laurie put the Rams on the board on their third offensive play. An extra point would then give them a 7-6 lead, which they would carry into the second quarter.
The lead wouldn’t last long though, as the Buffalo offense kept chugging along. After the Rams’ score, freshman Ryder Kolterman returned his first kickoff of the season 57 yards to the Pleasant Ridge 24 yard line. On the fifth play of the drive, and the first of the second quarter, Daniels found himself in the end zone again. This time it was through the air, a 5-yard pass from the freshman Kolterman. It was the third touchdown pass of the season for the freshman signal caller, and the second scoring reception for Daniels. When Kolterman ran in the PAT, the Buffaloes had a 14-7 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Rams weren’t done though, as they marched down the field and scored on their second possession as well. Pleasant Ridge would go 66 yards in 13 plays, the last of which was a 1-yard run by Hunter Dooley to cut the lead to 14-13 with 4:48 left in the second quarter. But the PAT snap was muffed, leaving the Buffaloes ahead heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw Onaga start to take control of the game. The Rams received the ball to start the half, but a three-and-out, including a 10-yard sack from Gavin Kolterman, followed by a short punt set the Buffaloes up with a short field. Ryder Kolterman ran for 13 yards on 2 carries, then his older brother finished the drive off with a 19-yard score to take a 20-13 lead.
The two teams exchanged unsuccessful possessions after that, until Onaga got rolling again at the end of the period. After a slow start to their final drive of the quarter, junior Jesse Miller ran for a career-high 29 yard run, then Daniels ran for another 10 to set the Buffaloes up with a first-and-goal to start the fourth period. Two plays into the final quarter, Ryder Kolterman ran for his second touchdown of the season from 7 yards out, and then a Miller 2-point conversion would give Onaga a 28-13 lead with 11:09 left in the game.
Pleasant Ridge wasn’t going away, however. On the first play of the ensuing possession, senior running back Camden Thompson ran 55 yards for a score. Down 9, they decided to go for 2 but were called for a delay of game penalty. Now 8 yards out for the PAT, they again chose to go for the 2 points instead of kicking the PAT, and the pass was unsuccessful, leaving it a two-score game with 10:48 to go.
Onaga would turn the ball over on a fumble early in the ensuing possession, but the defense was able to get a stop and forced a turnover-on-downs. With a two-score lead, the Buffaloes made sure to leave no doubt that they were walking away with a win. They would go on an 8-play, 70-yard drive that included a 43-yard run by the freshman Kolterman, and ended with a 1-yard touchdown from Daniels. That gave Onaga a 34-19 lead with 2:22 to go, and a strip-sack from sophomore Cameron Kramer on the ensuing drive would end the game with that being the final score.
The Kolterman brothers each ran for season highs on the night. Ryder topped his previous season-high of 121 yards with 124 in the game, while Gavin ran for 90 yards out of the fullback position. Combined with Daniles’s 41 yards and Miller’s 29, the team ran for a season high 284 in the contest.
Defensively, the Buffaloes had a terrific night outside of two long plays. Jesse Miller led the team with 9 tackles, including 1.5 sacks on the night. Freshman Calhan Kaberline was right behind Miller with 8 tackles on the night, and added a forced fumble. Juniors Xavier Berges and Keagan Venneberg, along with freshman Ryder Kolterman, each had 6 tackles in the game. Those three lead the team in tackles this season.
The Buffaloes are now 3rd in the 6-team District #3. They will take on McLouth this Friday, who is currently in 4th place in the district standings. While Onaga will get a chance at the playoffs in next week’s play-in game thanks to a top-four district finish, their opponent will be determined by this week’s game. A win over McLouth would give them a 3rd place finish, meaning they would take on the 2nd place team from one of the other three districts in the eastern part of the state. A loss would drop them to a 4th place finish, meaning they would take on the District #4 champion from one of those districts next Friday night. The two teams will kick off at 7:00pm this Friday night in McLouth.
For a look at the stats from any game, highlights, season totals, and everything else Onaga football related, head over to the district website (usd322.org) and go to the team’s page under the “Athletics” tab.