Instant Classic: Wooster beats Orrville on last-second FG
Wooster's Avi Arora lines the game-winning field goal through the uprights on the final play of the game to lift the Generals to a 33-31 win at Orrville in the 112th meeting of the two rivals Aug. 18.
Wooster senior kicker Avi Arora had never played in a varsity football game prior to the 2023 season opener at Orrville Friday.
Arora’s debut wasn’t going well, with a PAT kick blocked and another try unable to even be attempted due to a high snap.
However, Arora made sure the third time was a charm, connecting on a 19-yard field goal from the right hash as time expired to lift the Generals to a thrilling 33-31 victory.
“How awesome is that?” said Wooster coach Austin Holter, who notched his third straight win over archrival Orrville. “I said (after the game), ‘Avi, you’re going to be remembered in the lore of the Orrville-Wooster rivalry.'
“The 112th matchup came down to a kick by Avi – a senior who came out to play football.”
Holter and many Wooster players offered words of encouragement for Arora, but when he lined up for the kick he went back to his soccer training. He lined a low line drive that barely made it over the line and upright.
“I was so nervous and everybody kept coming up to me,” Arora said. “I just like fell back to what I knew and I kicked it like a soccer ball and it ended up going through.
“Honestly, it was one of the worst kicks ever for me, but it still went in. It’s all up to God right there. If I would have kicked it normal it would have been blocked because everybody was like right in front of me, charging at me.”
Arora’s field goal capped a wild night, full of huge momentum swings, more than a dozen play stoppages due to players cramping or other injuries, and a heart-stopping final drive engineered by Wooster quarterback A.J. Likowski. The junior was 15 for 23 passing for 225 yards, two TDs and two Interceptions and also carried the ball 20 times for 25 yards.
Orrville opted to take a safety with 1:37 left, rather than punt out of its end zone. Quarterback Sawyer Hamsher (11-24 passing, 168 yards, two TDs, 19-139 rushing, TD) had averaged only 28.5 yards a punt and the decision to have him run out of the end zone looked like a good one when junior Caleb Wayt’s free kick gave Wooster the ball at its own 23 with 1:32 left.
However, Likowski delivered key passes to Franklin and Anthony Sines, and the Generals were helped by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, and drove to the Riders' 2. Likowski then spiked the ball to set up Arora’s kick. It completed a 19-0 fourth quarter rally for Wooster, which trailed 31-14 after three periods.
“There's so many roller coasters in the game: guys scoring, guys getting hurt, injuries and you’ve got to be able to block out the emotion and you’ve got to respond,” Holter said. “You saw that tonight from our kids down-in and down-out, to the very end.
“You love seeing kids respond that way because as a coach, you hope those things correlate to life, right? We face adversity all the time in our lives as adults and you have to be able to respond.”
Backup quarterback Jack Dossi had to fill in for Likowski after he cramped early in the fourth quarter and threw a 73-yard TD pass to Hayden Meese. Julian Franklin (11-39 rushing) followed with a 3-yard scoring run with 7:37 left.
“A lot of people have been doubting us and we just wanted to come out here and show them that we’re the real deal,” Likowski said. “Everyone had to dig so deep, it wasn't just me.”
Meese, who finished with nine receptions for 193 yards and three TDs, suffered a concussion in the fourth period and had to leave the game. He was named Wooster’s Joe Benden Memorial Player of the Game, while Hamsher was honored for Orrville.
“About anything that can happen in the season almost happened in Game 1 tonight, truthfully,” Orrville coach Matt Zuercher said. “Talking about the momentum swings, the mistakes made, the plays made, ultimately trying to decide whether to take a safety or punt from our own end zone. Caleb did a great job kicking it deep, but we were unable to get a stop.”
Wooster led 14-10 at the half, thanks to Likowski to Meese TD hookups of 17 and 52 yards. Orrville had Greg Smiley catch a 19-yard TD pass from Hamsher and junior Caleb Wayt blasted a 48-yard field goal, which came close to matching Dan Stultz’s 1993 school record 53-yarder.
Orrville scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and looked like it would win going away. Travis Pumneo scored on a 1-yard plunge, Hamsher connected with Smiley for a 42-yard TD and then Hamsher took a QB draw up the middle for a 69-yard score with 58 seconds left in the quarter.
Smiley led Orrville with five catches for 98 yards and two TDs, while also carrying the ball five times for 13 yards and playing safety on defense. He wound up suffering from calf cramps, though, and didn’t play much in the fourth quarter, which really hurt the Riders.
“Greg is a catalyst for us and unfortunately we're a different team when he's not on the field on both sides,” Zuercher said. "He’s a three-year starter and our communicator back there on defense. Both teams had guys hobbling and you have to have others step up.”
Both teams can take lots of positives from the game, and found lots to work on, going into tough Week 2 matchups: Wooster at Wadsworth, Orrville at West Holmes.
“Obviously we knew we had a chance to win the game,” Zuercher said. “Wooster is a solid football team and it's a huge rivalry game to play right out of the gate.
“Usually, you make that biggest jump in Week 1 to Week 2 and we're going to need to going to West Holmes next week.”
Holter loved the resiliency shown by his team. Likowski finished the game strong and Franklin made big plays on offense and defense. Meese, who ran a 4.3 time in the 40 at a college camp this summer, showed he’s a big-time playmaker, but his status is uncertain for Week 2.
“I'm so proud of A.J. and he’s put in a ton of work in the offseason and he's continuing to mature as a quarterback,” Holter said. “II think you saw a lot of maturation on the field tonight when we needed big plays.
“(Meese) showed resiliency, continuing to make plays for us. He's our fastest player. He's our biggest playmaker. He did some great things tonight, unfortunately he goes down there late in the game with an injury, but our kids responded and teammates stepped up.”