wyoming 34, EATON 32

No. 1 seed rallies to edge Eaton in D-III

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer 1:47 AM Saturday, November 7, 2009

WYOMING — The Wyoming High School fans rang the stadium bell and mobbed coach Bernie Barre in celebration of his 300th career victory.

Eaton coach Ron Neanen, after watching his team fall short against Wyoming 34-32 in a Division III, Region 12 quarterfinal football playoff game, stood on another part of the field and talked about his two offensive stars, quarterback Austin Fudge and running back Dalton Caudill.

“They left everything out there,” Neanen said. “They’re not leaving with anything.”

Fudge passed for 172 yards and Caudill ran for 176 more, but Wyoming scored with 2:24 left to set the final margin on Friday, Nov. 6. The seniors finished their high school careers by scoring the second-most points allowed by the No. 3-ranked D-III team in the state.

Eaton (8-3), which trailed 28-14 after a Wyoming score with 8:01 left in the third quarter, rallied on three consecutive touchdowns with Fudge involved — a 4-yard pass to T.J. Woods, a 1-yard run and a 20-yard interception return — to take a 32-28 lead with 5:34 left in the game.

On the next drive, led by junior quarterback Kyle Seyfried (who finished with 235 passing yards), Wyoming (11-0) drove 69 yards to take the final lead on a 1-yard run from Isiah Nearor with 2:24 left. With its final drive, Eaton was stopped on four downs.

“I’m terribly proud of our players,” Neanen said. “We fought the whole game.”

Eaton missed a 27-yard field goal on its opening drive before Seyfried scored on a 7-yard run with 50 seconds left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

The teams scored two second-quarter touchdowns apiece, including a 40-yard run by Caudill with three minutes left in the first half to give Eaton a 14-12 lead. The score was especially distasteful to Wyoming fans because the Cowboys recovered an onside kick two plays before the run, but the officials ruled a Wyoming player had touched the ball too early.

Seyfried led Wyoming on an 85-yard scoring drive following the Caudill score as the Cowboys took a 20-14 lead at halftime.

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-7389 or  knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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