Austin Hannah, Contributor
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CHILLICOTHE — Resilience, perseverance, determination.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
While both Chillicothe and Miami Trace played with those three words on Friday, the Cavaliers had just a tiny bit more of each when it mattered most.
Willing itself into overtime, Chillicothe (6-1, 2-0 FAC) erased a late deficit and produced multiple clutch plays down the stretch before escaping upset-minded Miami Trace by a 35-28 final to remain tied atop the FAC standings.
And the Cavaliers did so without Maxwell Lee, who exited the game with an injury.
“A lot of things happened tonight. We were a little undisciplined in the first half with a lot of penalties. We were struggling with handling that,” Chillicothe coach Scott Bartholomew said. “When Max got injured, he’s the leader of our team, all we had to do was find somebody to step up. We struggled with that for awhile. But I felt like when our backs were against the wall, we were able to make a play. That’s going to go a long way.”
After forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive, Chillicothe wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard.
Quarterback Mason Doughty, on his first pass attempt of the game, found Tre King for a 47-yard touchdown to quickly put the Cavaliers ahead 7-0.
Miami Trace (2-5, 0-2 FAC) responded on its next possession with a slow, methodical drive that stalled just outside of the red zone. But ultimately, the Panthers couldn’t score and elected to kick a field goal as Zachary Warnock drilled a 27-yarder to cut the deficit to 7-3 after the first quarter.
After Miami Trace got a defensive stop of its own, Warnock struck again and connected on another field goal, this time from 47 yards out, cutting the Cavalier lead to 7-6.
PHOTOS: Images from Chillicothe’s overtime win over Miami Trace
Chillicothe found its groove again offensively, quickly driving into the red zone. Doughty called his own number from the eight-yard line and ran in for a touchdown, making it 14-6. On the team’s next possession, Doughty connected with Lucas Rinehart for a 73-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead to 21-6 with 3:52 left before halftime.
Realizing it couldn’t afford to not score, Miami Trace marched down the field just before the half and regained a burst of momentum before the break. With just 49 seconds on the game clock, Trey Robinette found Coledon May for a five-yard passing score, rounding out a 21-13 count at halftime.
That little bit of momentum carried the Panthers through the third and they put up the only score of the frame. Robinette hit May again for a passing touchdown, this time a 27-yard score with 33 seconds left, knotting the score at 21-21 after a successful two-point try — thanks to a Robinette to Garrett Guess connection.
The fourth quarter was a turnover fest.
The Cavaliers fumbled and Miami Trace recovered, only for the Panthers to then throw an interception in the end zone.
However, Chillicothe gave it right back as it threw an interception and the Panthers finally capitalized on a mistake. With 3:39 to go, Asher LeBeau found the end zone on a four-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Panthers ahead 28-21 and pushing the Cavaliers into a corner.
Miami Trace’s defense then rose up and got a fourth down stop with just 2:15 left in the game. And, at that point, the Panthers may have thought they had an upset in the bag.
Chillicothe had other ideas.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
The Cavaliers’ defense gave their teammates an opportunity to stay in the fight and forced a punt. So, with 24 seconds left, Doughty and company trotted back onto the field and started a drive from their own 18-yard line.
Needing to go 82 yards with no timeouts left, Chillicothe shifted into desperation mode. Doughty and Tayvion Galloway then provided the fireworks.
Doughty rolled out and found Galloway for a 67-yard gain to set the Cavaliers up in Panther territory. But on the play, the quarterback was forced out of the game — for the moment at least — with an injury.
Enter backup quarterback Caden Eblin, who has shown all year long he’s more than capable of running an offense.
On the next play, a fresh Eblin hit King in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass with just six seconds remaining, tying the game at 28-28 and forcing an overtime period.
“It was really just a dogfight for us and we had to show our maturity,” Galloway said. “We came out firing and we kind of let up and had to battle back in. Going into the end of the game, after Max [Lee] got hurt, we knew we had to do this for him and our teammates. We just all had to step up. Everybody stepped up.”
Chillicothe had the first possession in overtime and Doughty, who was back under center, found Myles Lewis for a 13-yard touchdown toss, which was the eventual game-winner.
It all came down to a fourth down play for Miami Trace and, although Robinette scrambled around to keep the play alive, his pass attempt ultimately fell incomplete and sealed a 35-28 Cavalier victory.
“Coming out of halftime, we realized they were blitzing a lot. So we couldn’t really throw anything deep and that was one of our big changes coming out in the second half,” Doughty said. “We starting throwing the short stuff, bubbles and [routes] like that. It ended up working.”
Statistically, Doughty finished 14-of-23 passing for 310 yards and three touchdowns alongside a rushing score to lead Chillicothe. King had five catches for 89 yards and two scores, Rinehart had three catches for 83 yards and a score, and Lewis added five catches for 39 yards and a score.
For Miami Trace, Robinette went 18-of-31 through the air for 210 yards and two touchdowns. LeBeau carried the ball 30 times for 93 yards and a score, and May had two touchdown catches.
Chillicothe is back in action on Friday at home for a first-place FAC showdown with Washington while Miami Trace hosts Hillsboro.
“We all had to play our roles,” Galloway said. “We had to keep our composure. Everybody was locked in. We knew we had to do this and that we had no other choice but to win this game.”
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