Sheffield makes a marvelous memory on Wolverine Mountain in an historical game.
Tagged under: District 10, District 9, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Phil Myers | October 13, 2024
On a bright, sunshiny October Saturday afternoon, the Sheffield Wolverine football team just might have played their last game ever on Wolverine Mountain, their home field. If it was the final home game for Wolverine football, it left an indelible mark on those who played in the game, and those who attended the Senior Day game with Union City because the Wolverines played inspired football and won the contest 41-12.
Head Coach Mike Barr told his team to make some memories before the game. He also told them to give it their best each play and to have fun. From our observation, the kids can check all three of those boxes.
After the game, the fans were invited onto the field to celebrate with the players. As fans and parents mingled with the combatants, many tears were shed but smiles were abundant also. It was a joyful time because the Wolverines were triumphant on the field of play, but it was a sad time due to the possibility that Sheffield football may just be a memory after one more week.
For those who don’t know, the Warren County School District Board is to decide on the fate of a plan to close Sheffield High School in January, 2025 due to rising costs and declining enrollment.
A friend and colleague, Chuck Demco (aka JJ Michaels on the radio), is the PA announcer for Sheffield and during the ceremony after the game said with choked emotion that the school may close but there are three things they can never take away, “your soul, the memories, and the heart of a Wolverine.”
Coach Barr got choked up also as he said, “If this is it, I couldn’t ask for any better of a game. If this is it. Forty-one points on this field. We played our football game. We executed. We minimized our mistakes. We played our football game, and this is what I knew these boys could do all year long. If this is truly it, what a way.”
The offense for Sheffield was slow to come around as Union City’s defense did their job on the first two Wolverine series. Then the Sheffield’s offense started to click and put it all together scoring on six of their last seven possessions. “We put our foot on the gas the whole game,” stated Sheffield’s quarterback and Coach Barr’s son, Colby Barr, who ended up scoring three touchdowns and rushing for over 150 yards.
The Bears of Union City stopped Sheffield on downs on the opening series of the game and took over at the Wolverine 48. The home team’s defense stood tall and said ‘right back at ya’ as they forced Union City to punt after sacking the quarterback on third down.
Sheffield started the next possession at their 22, got a first down to the 37, and after losing a couple yards, got a big run from Barr to the UC Bear 46. That drive then stalled and the Wolverines were forced to punt again. They would only punt one more time.
The visitors started with fairly good field position at their 32 but a penalty and a bad snap spelled disaster for Union City. On second and twenty from the 22, the ball was hiked over the quarterback’s head and Sheffield’s Trayshawn Dunn fell on the loose ball at the Bear 6-yard line.
It took one play for Sheffield to score. At the 2:36 mark of the first quarter, Barr dashed in on a quarterback keeper to put the home team up 6-0. The game then got really interesting as the two teams duked it out all the way to intermission.
Union City countered by scoring a second quarter touchdown and tying the game when Steven Klakamp rattled off a 23-yard touchdown run. That put the finishing touch on the Bears’ eight-play, 67-yard drive highlighted by a 4th down conversion in Sheffield territory.
Steven Klakamp of Union City (white and green) is about to score with three Sheffield defenders giving chase.
Any early game jitters Sheffield may have had, had worn off and they became focused and determined. Dunn, a lineman, actually caught the subsequent short kickoff and returned it to the Union City 49. After a 19-yard gain by Darrelle Barno, the drive seemed to sputter and the Wolverines soon faced a 4th down and nineteen at the Bear 39. Coach Barr and his staff decided to go for it. That turned out to be a wise decision. Barno grabbed a short pass from Barr and found some room down the Union City sideline for a 31-yard gain and a first and goal at the eight. On the next play, Hayden Holden took the handoff, found some room around the end and got a last-second block that allowed him to score. Barr then ran in the two-point conversion to give Sheffield a lead they would not relinquish.
Hayden Holden (#22 of Sheffield) is finding lots of room in his touchdown dash.
Union City countered by marching 65 yards in 10 plays and taking over six minutes off the clock. The Bears found pay dirt when Klakamp scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run. Their two-point attempt failed and it appeared Union City would go into the intermission trailing 14-12 as only a minute and some change was left in the half. Sheffield had other ideas.
After the kickoff, Sheffield began the final drive of the first half at their forty-three with 56 ticks left on the clock. Barr completed a 15-yard pass to Cire Brown-House on the first play. A 5-yard penalty, a 7-yard pass, and an intentional grounding put the ball back at the 45. Barr then rolled out, found space, made a defender miss, and scooted 34 yards to the Union City 21. Sheffield called a timeout with only seconds remaining to set up the last play of the half.
The play Coach Barr drew up was a reverse to Brown-House who was supposed to then pass to his son Colby, but Cire Brown-House opted to keep the ball and as he headed to the end zone, Barr got in front of a defender to pave the way for Brown-House to score as time ran out in the half. Barr ran in the two-pointer and just like that the Wolverines increased their lead to 22-12. “The score was a designed pass play that was covered,” said Coach Barr, “Ci is an athlete, and honestly #10 (Colby Barr) made a football decision not to crack back and it worked. I do believe that was a turning point.”
Cire Brown-House scoring the so-called dagger touchdown for Sheffield as it seemed to take the heart out of Union City.
In the second half, the Sheffield defense, led by Alex Marfink, refused to be budged, allowing the Bears a total of 46 yards and only two first downs in 24 plays. Union City obviously never threatened again and just didn’t seem to be the same team after that Sheffield score at the end of the half.
Meanwhile, the Sheffield offense continued to carve up the UC defense scoring three more times after the Wolverines were forced to punt on their first third quarter possession. Barr scored on a nice 28-yard run near the end of the 3rd quarter, and he made it a TD trifecta early in the 4th quarter by traversing 18 yards. The final score of the game came with a minute and a half left when backup quarterback Ben Lindberg rolled around the end for a two-yard touchdown. Those three scoring drives were 42 yards, 53 yards, and 45 yards.
Colby Barr’s third TD of the day.
When asked whether it was the week’s preparation or the inspiration/motivation of Sheffield possibly never playing another home game Colby Barr said, “We prepared a lot for this game, but we were definitely motivated too.”
Colby’s dad said with a tender heart, “My respect to them. They’re a struggling program. They’re young. They will be okay. I had a good talk with their coach (Michael Wydro). What a day!”
Sheffield’s head coach, Mike Barr and his son, quarterback Colby Barr.
The Sheffield Wolverines outgained the Union City Bears 300 yards to 157 for the day. Klakamp accounted for most of the Bear yardage. He rushed for 127 yards on 19 carries.
The win by Sheffield was their second of the year against four defeats. Union City is winless in eight tries. Sheffield is scheduled to take on Bucktail at Bucktail in the Wolverines’ final game of the year next Friday. Union City has a date with Northwestern at home next Saturday night in their last scheduled game of the 2024 season.
Score by Quarters:
Union City – 0 12 0 0 – 12
Sheffield – 6 16 6 13 – 41
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
S – Colby Barr 6-yard run, (PAT no good), 2:36
Second Quarter:
UC – Steven Klakamp 23-yard run, (PAT no good), 10:30
S – Hayden Holden 8-yard run (Barr run 2-pt conversion), 7:33
UC – Klakamp 4-yard run, (2-pt conversion no good), 1:03
S – Cire Brown-House 21-yard run, (Barr run 2-pt conversion), 0:00
Third Quarter:
S – Barr 28-yard run, (2-pt conversion no good), 1:40
Fourth Quarter:
S – Barr 18-yard run, (Isaac Hammerbeck PAT), 10:13
S – Ben Lindberg 2-yard run, (PAT no good), 1:31
Individual Stats:
Rushing: UC – Steven Klakamp 19-127, Austin Brown 15-16, Daniel Smith 7-5, Dallas Triscuit 3-3, Team 1-(16). Totals: 45-135. S – Colby Barr 15-154, Hayden Holden 8-52, Darrelle Barno 5-28, Cire Brown-House 1-21, Ben Lindberg 2-5, Zach Barnes 2-(1), Team 1-(12). Totals: 34-247.
Receiving: UC – Aidan Shuman 2-22. Totals: 2-22. S – Barno 1-31, Brown-House 1-15, Holden 1-7. Totals: 3-53.
Passing: UC – Brown 2 for 2, 22 yards. AC – Barr 3 for 6, 53 yards.
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