BY YANEEK SMITH, BEACON CONTRIBUTOR

OAK HARBOR — Genoa set the tone from the beginning, scoring just 1:25 into the game and rolling to a 28-0 victory over Oak Harbor in the Celestial Bowl.

“They got us back on our heels when they came out and scored right away,” said Oak Harbor coach Mike May. “On both of their first-half touchdowns, we had some critical missed assignments. Their quarterback did a nice job of running their offense and made some big plays for them in critical situations.”

A backbreaker for Oak Harbor (1-1) came when Aiden Brunkhorst found Justin Barlage for a touchdown on fourth-and-1, pushing the Comets’ lead to 14-0 after Aiden Hemmert’s extra point.

Brunkhorst scored on a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Braylen Bryant later scored on a touchdown run.

The Rockets offense struggled to get anything going offensively.

“We could never get into a rhythm offensively the entire game. Their defense played well and was aggressive,” said May. “We also had a lot of missed assignments on offense, which didn’t help our cause. Our inexperience on offense showed in the game.

“The only positive that we can take away is the kids realized in a film session on Saturday that we can be a really good football team if we correct our mistakes that we made in the game. It is critical that we have a great week of practice in preparation for a really talented Rossford team.”

Oak Harbor travels to Rossford (1-1) to face the Bulldogs on Friday at 7 p.m. Rossford lost to Port Clinton, 40-14, in week two.

“They are a very talented team that is well-coached. Rossford likes to blitz and be very aggressive on defense,” said May. “They run a spread offense and have a lot of talent at the skill positions to go along with a physical offensive line. Rossford is also very sound in their special teams. It will be a huge challenge for us.”