CELINA — The Redskins clinched a share of the WBL title with a 28-22 road win at Celina Friday.
Wapakoneta has full control over their destiny in the WBL championship picture, they currently sit at a perfect 8-0 in conference play and 8-1 overall.
The Redskins were able to pick up win number eight of the season thanks to four touchdown runs from Jace Knous. Knous now has 15 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Wapakoneta coach Travis Moyer spoke after the game about Knous’ performance, “he played really hard tonight, we knew it was going to be tough,” said Moyer. He added, “defensively they came in as one of the best rush defenses in the league, I thought we ran well and our guys did a good job controlling upfront and everyone making plays when they needed to.”
The Redskins were able to move the ball on the ground with ease at some points against the Bulldogs, Wapakoneta finished with 247 yards on the ground with 171 coming from Knous.
Knous started the game strong following a Jordan Schneider interception that gave the Redskins the ball at the Bulldog 15, Knous would waste little time before crossing the goal for his first touchdown of the day.
The Redskins would force another Bulldog interception as Joey Truesdale got the pick and gave the Redskins another takeaway.
The takeaway would not result in points for the Redskins but it helped take a possession away from Celina in a one-score game.
The Bulldogs would not strike with a score of their own until midway through the second quarter as Nick Adams threw a 21-yard touchdown pass, Wapakoneta would block the ensuing point after attempt.
Jace Knous would score another touchdown before halftime on a six-yard run to give the Redskins a 14-6 lead at the half.
Knous would get the scoring started in the second half as he raced past everyone for a 45-yard scoring run to give the Redskins a 21-6 lead.
Celina would score the next 13 points in the game applying pressure to the Redskin defense.
Celina scored two times in the final five minutes of the third quarter, the first strike came on a six-yard run and the second strike came on a strike from Nick Adams to Nathan Rammel for the longest play of the game, a 70-yard bomb to bring the Bulldogs within two. The Redskins would sniff out the Celina two-point attempt and hold strong.
The Redskins opened the fourth quarter with a 21-19 lead and quickly would force another INT from Celina thanks to Connor Meckstroth. The Redskins would take over at the Bulldog 21.
Knous would score for a fourth and final time on the night on a nine-yard run giving the Redskins a nine-point lead.
Celina would respond with a promising drive that only ended in three off a 35-yard field goal for Celina.
The Bulldogs would attempt an onside kick but that was recovered by the Redskins.
The Redskins drive would stall out due to penalties as Celina was given one final shot.
The Bulldogs had four downs from the Redskin 49 and were not able to pick up an inch as the Redskins would take over on down and ice the game.
With the win, Wapakoneta now has multiple paths to being outright WBL champions, one way being if Van Wert falls in week 10 another being if the Redskins win in week 10.
Moyer would also speak about clinching at least a share of the tile following the game, “that was goal number one, there’s still work to be done, this is still a process, and anytime you know you have an opportunity to be a champion you’re going to be proud of it,” said Moyer. He would also add, “there’s only one time the kids are allowed to be selfish and that’s with the championships, we have a lot of work to do next week.”
The Redskins will look to clinch an outright WBL championship as they host Defiance week 10.
