John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
PIKETON — Following the graduation of a historically great senior class, there were plenty of doubters in Piketon.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
And the Redstreaks heard those murmurs.
But with a 24-6 victory over Huntington on Friday, Piketon was able to silence those doubters and earn another postseason berth in a must-win situation.
“This means everything,” Piketon’s Tre Jenkins said after the game. “There were people that didn’t really believe in us. But it’s like I told coach, we spoke this into existence, especially this group of seniors. We’ve really been kind of overlooked our entire lives. But the seniors told us last year after [a playoff contest against Coshocton] to not let it die. We kept our word today.”
The night’s start didn’t exactly go according to plan for Piketon as the Huntsmen scored on their opening possession. DJ Crocker scored from four yards out to take a 6-0 lead with 8:07 left to play in the opening quarter.
The ‘Streaks answered quickly, though, on a one-yard plunge from sophomore Buddy Wilson. Senior Alan Austin converted the ensuing two-point conversion to give the Redstreaks an 8-6 lead, one that they’d never relinquish.
One of the expected strengths of this year’s Piketon team was the offensive line as it returned four starters from last season’s 10-1 Scioto Valley Conference champion roster. Those returners, Tre and Alex Jenkins, Dawson Montgomery and Gabe Lamerson, helped pave the way for a rushing attack that gained nearly 250 yards on Friday.
The biggest hole of the night gave Wilson enough room to get to the second level on a 35-yard touchdown run with 11:17 left in the first half. Wilson went through the left side before cutting back to the middle and used his elite speed to coast into the end zone untouched.
Austin scrambled in on the two-point try and gave the Redstreaks a 16-6 lead.
Late in the first half, with the Huntsmen driving and facing a 4th and long, Piketon’s Brent McGuire intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the final scoring threat of the night for Huntington.
Upon forcing a Huntington punt with 11:45 left in the game, the Redstreaks put together a 15-play, 71 yard scoring drive to ultimately close out the win and punch their ticket into Week 11.
Five different Redstreaks toted the rock on the drive, but it would be Austin who finished it off, going five yards to paydirt.
It was a score that meant a lot to the senior.
“Playing in your senior season is indescribable. You can’t really put that into words,” Austin said. “But coming back [to play] is probably the biggest thing that’s happened to me in the past couple of years. I just love playing football with these guys and I’ve grown up with them. I’m just happy.”
In total, Huntington ran the ball 42 times for 161 yards, led by Quinton Puckett’s 48 yards on 10 carries. The Huntsmen only completed a single pass for 13 yards. The team’s defense was able to force three turnovers, but weren’t able to convert those into any points.
Piketon ran for 249 yards on 43 carries, led by Wilson’s 117 yards on 16 carries. Senior Jayden Thacker had 11 carries for 75 yards. Luke Gullion was 5-of-8 passing for 44 yards and connected with McGuire on a two-point toss to end the scoring.
Piketon will now look towards a trip to Barnesville, unofficially. Meanwhile, Huntington will play in its first-ever playoff contest at Paint Valley.
“We’ve been talking about this all week. Staying alive,” Alex Jenkins said. “I said before the game, ‘There’s no tomorrow’ [without a win]. We’ve got tomorrow now. We’re ready to go.”
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