PUSHED — Catholic Central’s Jimmy Hernon shoves River defender Beau Charlton for extra yards in a Division VII, Region 27 playoff game Saturday at Harding Stadium. – Andrew Grimm
STEUBENVILLE — The ending of Saturday’s playoff showdown between River and Catholic Central is a roller coaster of emotions to begin with.
In the final six minutes of the Division VII, Region 27 opening round matchup, each team had a brief lead and there were moments when victory appeared to be within reach. In fact, there have been multiple such moments at Catholic Central.
But both teams battled back with thrilling finishes, requiring overtime to decide the winner, and the Crusaders made the necessary plays on both sides of the ball to escape with a 28-22 victory at Harding Stadium.
After Peyton Roush had back-to-back sacks on third and fourth down to end River’s turn with the ball in OT, Jimmy Hernon scored his second TD of the night as Central (8-3) secured the victory. capped off a five-play drive. This ball helped the Crusaders win the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
“I’m so proud of these kids.” Central head coach Eric Meek said. “We got beat up a little bit and fought our tails off, but I want to give River credit. They played hard. This was a great win and we’ll move on.
“These players showed resiliency and faith in each other. They love each other and it showed.”
In a dramatic turn of events, fourth-seeded Central scored two points with 5:56 remaining on Matthew Sproche’s 82-yard run and Rauch’s fake kick run to take a 16-14 lead and take its first lead of the game. It started when. .
The defense then appeared to make a number of game-clinching stops, only to see a penalty flag give life to the 13th-seeded Pilots.
On a fourth down play, River (4-7)’s pass fell incomplete and appeared to be a game-clinching turnover on downs, but central safety Tommy Pergi was hit by the receiver after the ball dropped. It was a personal foul. hit the ground.
This time, due to a personal foul due to a hit outside the frame by Late, River suffered another first down inside the 10, but again the central defense defended it. With less than three minutes left and facing a fourth-and-goal for the Central 5 teams, River coach Mike Flannery used a timeout to attempt a 21-yard field goal, but the goal was left. It was a big miss. However, Central’s rush for the kick made contact with Pilots kicker Wyatt Majors, drawing the flag again and getting another down inside the 3.
River’s Lucas Dennis, who ran 41 times for 178 yards in the game, scored on the next snap, putting the Pilots back on top at 22-16.
But Sproch returned the ensuing kickoff to the River 47 to energize Central, then ran 21 yards to the 26 despite Hernon’s fumble at the end of the play. But his Crusaders teammates took the ball out and kept Central alive, and three plays later Pergi ran around the end and scored the game-clinching touchdown with 24 seconds left.
Central had two successful two-point plays early in the game, but opted to kick first but missed, leaving the score at 22-22.
Neither team threw the ball very effectively, but River used a little trick in the passing game, allowing Peyton Blue to send a deep ball along the sideline to Wyatt Stalder, who was walking toward the basket. He scored a goal and snatched the victory at the last minute. As he leaves the field, he returns to the sideline and is covered by the Crusader defense. After gaining 45 yards, he was cornered by a defender at the Central 30 and the Pilots spiked the ball with five seconds left, but his final pass to the end zone fell apart as the clock hit zero.
Rauch, who entered the game with 20 sacks in the regular season, made two big plays and the Crusaders’ offense was not denied.
“It was a great game. I have a lot of respect for Coach Meek and his staff. They scored when they needed to.” said Flannery, the veteran River coach. “They came back into the game themselves and made the play at the end.
“We wish them the best of luck in the future.”
It was a back-and-forth affair at the end, but it was all river for the first two-plus quarters.
The Pilots, who ran the ball 63 times in the game, controlled the ball for most of the first half and outscored Central 162-76, running 41 plays against the Crusaders in the first two quarters for a 12-4 advantage in 12 plays. obtained. down. And those numbers were even more lopsided until Central gained 36 yards on the final two plays of the first half.
“We didn’t have much of the ball in the first half.” Meek said. “River did what we wanted to do offensively, moved the football and controlled the game. It felt like they had the ball for 18 of the 24 minutes. But we The kids stuck with it.”
But 15-play drives by the Pilots in the first half stalled twice, resulting in turnovers on downs in the central end, and despite a huge difference in yards and play runs, they were 6-6 at halftime against Stalder. They only led by -0. A 13-yard run early in the second quarter.
“We had the ball most of the time in the first half, but we couldn’t take advantage of it.” Flannery said. “Our game plan was to run the ball and throw it when we had to. It just didn’t work out in overtime.”
Dennis returned a punt to the Central 10 early in the third quarter and Blue made a 1-yard third-and-goal, extending River’s lead to 14-0.
The Crusaders finally got going on their next drive. Pergi returned the ensuing kick to the river side of the field, Hernon capped off an eight-play drive with a 1-yard dive, and Pergi’s two-point run made it 14 points. -8 at the end of 3/4.
The Crusader defense stopped River on fourth down deep in the central end early in the fourth, then again thwarted the Pilots on the next drive to end a 13-play march without reaching the sticks, forcing an explosive sproach run. I set it up and got off to a wild start. Finish.
“I’m not disappointed in the kids. They played their hearts out.” Flannery said. “I love the kids. They showed a lot of character. It’s such a disgusting game where someone had to lose and someone had to lose. Great football game. It was.
“That was the first game I went to overtime in probably 15 years.”
The Crusaders will advance to the second round next Saturday night at Harding Stadium against No. 5 seed Corning Miller. The Falcons defeated Racine Southern, 9-2 and No. 12, 27-16 on Friday night.
“Being able to spend at least one more week with these wonderful kids is what makes me the happiest.” Meek said. “We have 10 great, great seniors, so we didn’t want to say goodbye to them tonight.
“I’m happy to be back to work tomorrow.”
OHSAA Division VII, Region 27 Playoffs
Opening game at Harding Stadium
4th place Catholic Central 28, 13th place Hannibal River 22 (OT)
HR 0-6-8-8-0 – 22
CC 0-0-8-14-6 – 28
Scoring the play
1st quarter
none
2nd quarter
HR: Stalder 13 runs (failure to pass) 10:49
3rd quarter
HR: Blue 1 Run (Dennis pass from Blue) 8:53
CC: Hernon 1 Run (Pergi Run) 5:39
4th quarter
CC：Sprochi 82 run (Rauch run) 5:56
HR: Dennis 2 Run (Dennis pass from Blue) 2:36
CC: Pergi 3 runs (failure to kick): 24
over time
CC: Hernon 1 run (no try)
Rushing: Hannibal River 63-238-3 TD (Starder 8-53 TD, Johnson 4-19 TD, Bennett 3-3, Blue 7-15-TD, Dennis 41-178 TD). Catholic Central 36-265-4TD (Pergi 14-60-TD; Sproki 6-123-TD; Hernon 16-82-2TD)
Pass: Hannibal River 3-11-50 (all blue). Catholic Central 1-4-6 (all by Sprochi)
Reception: Hannibal River 3-50 (all by Stalder); Catholic Central 1-6 (all by Huff)
First downs: Hannibal 18; Catholic Central 11
Penalty Yards: Hannibal River 8-45; Catholic Central 5-46
Fumble Lost: Hannibal River 2-0. Catholic Central 3-0
Get today’s latest news and more delivered to your inbox
