Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
CHILLICOTHE — Julian Baker. Enough said.
It’s no secret he’s the engine that makes Miami Trace’s vehicle run.
The Panthers (11-1) go as far as he takes them, and judging by his performance on Friday, they have plenty of football left to play.
The FAC Player of the Year put forth the game of a lifetime, finding the end zone on four different occasions while picking off three passes in the team’s 35-14 victory over Chillicothe in a Division III, Region 12 quarterfinal.
“He’s amazing. He’s the guy whose hands you want the ball in when the big moments are happening,” Miami Trace coach Jerry Williams said. “But it’s not just him. The offensive line was great, I thought Joe [Rheinscheld] did a great job at fullback with his carries and also getting some key blocks, and once you give number zero a seam, he’s gone.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
Baker’s night could only be described as something out of a video game.
With his sliders turned up to 99, he punished Chillicothe (8-3) with one run after another as he racked up 28 carries for 302 yards and four touchdowns. But defensively, his night was just as masterful as he came up with three interceptions.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game, so we had to come in with energy and be the more dominant team,” Baker said. “Our coaches really stressed the importance of being physical throughout practice and how we needed to bring it onto the field. It all translated for us from practice to the game and that’s what got us the win.”
Before Baker’s night got started, Chillicothe came out firing the first shot.
The Cavaliers drove down the field with a series of passes, ending the drive in the end zone when Owen Wood connected with Karter Williams for an eight-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
Miami Trace, however, quickly responded.
Brody McBee fielded the ensuing kickoff, found a crease and sprinted up the field before being tackled at the one-yard line. Baker took the handoff on the next play and scored to tie the game at 7-7.
After Baker came up with his first interception of the night, which ended with a Panther punt, MT got another defensive stop but was pinned by a punt that put the offense at its own 8-yard line.
It was Baker’s time to shine again.
PHOTOS: Images from Miami Trace’s win over Chillicothe
He took the handoff, saw a gap and squeezed through it before turning on the burners for a 92-yard touchdown to put the Panthers ahead 14-7.
“I told my line that if you give me a hole just big enough to get there, I’m getting through,” Baker said. “I knew their second level wasn’t going to catch me and I wasn’t going down from a DB or safety’s tackle, so the line moved the boys up front and once I got past them, I was gone.”
Following that score, he did it again on defense as a tipped ball ended up in No. 0’s hands for his second pick of the night.
That set up play-action on the next play from scrimmage, and Baron Phipps found a wide open Evan Parsley for a 48-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 21-7.
At that point, the Panthers had scored three touchdowns and had only ran six offensive plays.
“There was a lot of mental and physical stuff that we worked on this week,” Miami Trace’s Gage Henry said. “I won’t lie, we struggled in the beginning of the week but started to figure things out in the middle and that energy never left us. We’ve put in so much work going back to the offseason and being in the weight room every day, and those little things we did back in the summer are really paying off now.”
Chillicothe, however, wasn’t going down without a fight. Just before halftime, Cartae Ligon took a fourth down handoff and powered his way eight yards into the end zone, cutting the lead to 21-14 into the break.
Both teams punted on their opening possessions to open the second half, and although the Cavaliers were still within striking distance, that was about to change.
Baker got the ball, his line made a hole for him and he found the end zone 64 yards later to effectively steal all momentum with a 28-14 lead.
He then put the final nail in Chillicothe’s season early in the fourth, gashing for a 36-yard touchdown to send his Panthers onto the next round.
“In the beginning of the season, I think we were looked at as underdogs considering all of the players we lost from last year,” Miami Trace’s Tyler Newell said. “Expectations weren’t very high for us, and now we’re moving onto Week 13. It’s really special being able to prove everybody wrong.”
Following Baker’s final stat line, Phipps finished 5-of-12 passing for 62 yards and a touchdown while Parsley had four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
For Chillicothe, Ligon had 28 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown while Williams had six catches for 37 yards and a score.
As Chillicothe’s season comes to a close, Miami Trace advances to a Division III regional quarterfinal on Friday at top-seeded Bellbrook.
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