Sebastian’s five touchdowns lead O-E past Bradford, 39-13

DUKE CENTER — Friday night’s game between Otto-Eldred and Bradford resembled how each of the team’s seasons were going.

For Bradford, breakdowns and mental errors overshadowed the team’s tough effort and for Otto-Eldred, quarterback Cole Sebastian came through with another stellar performance, leading the Terrors to a 39-13 home victory over the Owls.

The Canisius baseball commit finished the game passing for 276 yards on 20 completions with three touchdowns and an interception. The senior also accounted for two more touchdowns with one coming on the ground and the other on a punt return. Sebastian led the Terrors with 56 yards on 11 carries.

For Bradford, the Owls had another tough night offensively as the unit gained just 92 passing yards. The ground game though finished the night with 153 rushing yards on 31 carries.

But mental mistakes and four turnovers would ultimately stand in the way of Bradford getting its first win, finishing the season winless with an 0-7 record.

“They didn’t do anything we weren’t expecting them to do,” Bradford head coach Jeff Puglio said. “Cole’s as good as advertised. He was the difference in the game tonight. He’s really really good. We couldn’t bottle him up and he made us pay for it.”

After turning the ball over on downs to start the night, O-E (3-3) bounced back on its next possession and took an early 6-0 lead as Sebastian connected with Ethan Smith for a 43-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Smith finished the game with a team-high eight receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

After forcing a Bradford punt, the Terrors faced a 4th-and-7 on the ensuing drive. That’s when Sebastian found a wide open Josh Rhinehart for a 57-yard touchdown pass to extend the Terros’ lead to 12-0.

Bradford was able to pick up some momentum though after quarterback Austen Davis tossed it to a wide open Jerid Wilmoth, who crossed the goal line for a 32-yard touchdown to close the gap to 12-7 with 10:43 left until halftime.

But as soon as the Owls gained that momentum, it vanished after O-E took the ensuing kickoff down to the Bradford 40-yard line. Not long after, Sebastian scrambled to his right and threw on the run to Smith, who managed to cross the plain for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 20-7 in favor of the Terrors after the two-point conversion.

The two teams traded interceptions later in the first half, but after Bradford’s Elijah Fitton picked off a Sebastian pass, the Owls were unable to turn it into points right before halftime.

Perhaps the biggest turning point in the game came when the Owls received the second half kickoff.

Bradford drove inside the O-E 25-yard line when a Davis fumble at the 8:52 mark prevented the Owls from cutting O-E’s lead down. Otto-Eldred soon capitalized when Sebastian dashed his way for a 55-yard touchdown.

“I think that was kind of the turning point,” Puglio said. “I think if we go down and score, things could’ve changed.”

“The guys did a great job of not letting them back in it in the second half there and keeping the momentum on our side for the night,” Terror head coach Troy Cook said.

It took the Owls just two plays to answer back on their next offensive drive as Davis connected with Dalton Dixon for a 20-yard gain, which led to Nolan Gonzalez rushing up the middle for a 40-yard score, making it 26-13, O-E.

Bradford again had a chance to cut their deficit down to one possession after forcing an O-E punt, but a swing pass from Davis was ruled a fumble, which led to Jake Merry scooping it and taking it 40 yards to the house.

“It’s been the story of the season really,” Puglio said regarding mental errors. “The kids played really hard. Credit them, the six seniors, they left it all out here tonight.”

“Defensively, probably one of our best defensive games this year,” Cook said. “T.J. VanScoter, he really leads that group for us.”

The Terrors (3-3) later put the exclamation point on the win after Sebastian returned a Gavin Piscitelli punt 65 yards for a score with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

O-E had originally tried to get their younger players snaps on special teams a few weeks ago to give some of the starters a break, but when that wasn’t working, the coaches sent a message to the older players, saying that if they want to win games and finish the season strong, you have to be willing to play special teams.

“Some of those younger guys just weren’t ready yet,” Cook said. “(The older players) were all for it so credit to those guys. So we put all those seniors back on the special teams…and it’s really paid off for us the last two weeks and obviously putting Cole back there as a returner is a definitely a weapon for us, no doubt.”

The win marks O-E’s second straight and third of the season, as the team looks to make it three in a row next Friday at Cameron County.

“Just one one more game for us all to be together,” Cook said. “It’s really fun to be around these guys. Great group of seniors and they’ve done a really good job leading these guys, so obviously with COVID and things like that, we weren’t even sure we were going to have a season, so hopefully to finish it off with a full seven games and get next week in, we’re just grateful for it.”

For Bradford, the focus now shifts to the offseason.

Puglio believes good things are ahead for the program if they can get attendance and numbers up during offseason workouts. He also said the younger players have to take the reins and new leadership has to develop. But they’re going to do what they can with workouts, open gyms and clinics to come back stronger next season.

“These six seniors laid a foundation, 0-7 isn’t what they envisioned, but that doesn’t diminish the hard work that they put in and the foundation is there,” Puglio said. “They’re ready to get in the weight room right now. These guys aren’t satisfied. These younger guys, they know what it’s going to take this offseason and they’re ready. They’re ready to start the weight room tomorrow, so that’s encouraging.”

AT OTTO-ELDRED

BY QUARTERS

Bradford 0 7 6 0—13

Otto-Eldred 12 8 19 0—39

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: B: 11, O-E: 14; Rushes/Yards Rushing: B: 31-153, O-E: 22-73; Yards Passing: B: 92, O-E: 288; Comp-Att-Int: B: 7-22-2, O-E: 21-29-1; Penalties: B: 3-20, O-E: 2-15; Fumbles-Lost: B: 2-2, O-E: 0-0; Total Yards: B: 245, O-E: 361; Offensive Plays: B: 53, O-E: 51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Passing: B: Austen Davis 6-20-86-1-1; Troy Adkins 1-2-6-0-1 O-E: Cole Sebastian 20-27-276-3-1; Blaze Maholic 1-2-12-0-0

Rushing: B: Elijah Fitton 13-65-0; Davis 8-27-0; Nolan Gonzalez 4-54-1; A.J. Gleason 2-11-0 O-E: Sebastian 11-56-1; T.J. VanScoter 5-20-0; Josh Rhinehart 4-2-0; Ethan Smith 1-(-1)-0; Max Splain 1-(-4)-0

Receiving: B: Dalton Dixon 4-29-0; Jerid Wilmoth 1-32-1; Gonzalez 1-(-3)-0; Gleason 1-7-0 O-E: Smith 8-128-2; Rhinehart 7-106-1; Jake Merry 3-40-0; VanScoter 1-1-0; Wade Daniels 1-12-0; Brendan Magee 2-5-0

Scoring summary

First quarter

O-E: Ethan Smith, 43-yard pass from Cole Sebastian (PAT failed), 3:29

O-E: Josh Rhinehart, 57-yard pass from Sebastian (2-point conversion failed), 1:08

Second quarter

B: Jarid Wilmoth, 32-yard pass from Austen Davis (Abbie Nuzzo PAT), 10:43

O-E: Smith, 25-yard pass from Sebastian (Smith 2-point conversion run), 8:27

Third quarter

O-E: Sebastian, 55-yard run (2-point conversion failed), 6:50

B: Nolan Gonzalez, 40-yard run (2-point conversion failed), 5:47

O-E: Jake Merry, 40-yard fumble recovery (PAT failed), 4:01

O-E: Sebastian, 65-yard punt return (Merry PAT), 3:21

Fourth quarte scoring