Corbett powers Heath to key LCL-Cardinal win at Utica

UTICA — Three weeks remain in the high school football regular season, but Friday's matchup between Heath and Utica had the look and feel of an important game in the Licking County League-Cardinal Division race.

After all, the game matched the only teams in the Cardinal Division with winning overall records coming out of non-league play.

In a physical matchup, it was the visiting Bulldogs who succeeded in establishing the run. Heath outgained Utica 443-208 in yards with 306 of those coming on the ground, and that advantage allowed the Bulldogs to hold on late for a 21-14 win.

“I thought we played well from the beginning,” Heath coach Tim Ward said. “We’re trying to get to where we are both physically and mentally tough to take control of games in situations like that.”

Junior running back Connor Corbett carried 18 times for 191 yards and two touchdowns to lead Heath (5-2, 2-0), which won its third straight game.

“It felt great to win this game,” Corbett said. “Now we have a legitimate shot to win the league outright. That’s going to put a fire in our bellies for the rest of the season.”

Heath senior quarterback Brayden Bayles completed 14 of 18 passes for 137 yards and also carried 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown. Senior wideout Daylen McIntryre had five catches for 51 yards and also chipped in a 40-yard punt return for the Bulldogs.

“Kaden Green had a couple of huge defensive plays for us to get the ball back for our offense,” Ward said. “I thought Bayles ran the ball hard and Corbett and Daylen just kind of took over in the fourth quarter with physicality. If you look back at what we did all season, that’s what the Granville and Norwayne games were for, to prepare us for this moment.”

Utica (5-2, 1-1) had its five-game winning streak snapped. Junior quarterback Hayden Piper completed 7 of 13 passes for 82 yards, including two touchdowns to senior Gavin Chinn, and senior Justin Giffin had 61 yards rushing on 12 carries.

“I am very proud of this team,” Utica coach Charlie Rowley said. “I’ve got no complaints. Obviously, it’s not the result we want. Our kids played hard, and I’m proud of how they handled themselves. They just went out and played. Our defense played lights out in the second half."

Heath led 21-7 at the half, and Utica rallied to trim the gap to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter. Utica, however, went three-and-out on its only possession after that, and Heath used its dominating running game to hold the ball for nine of the game’s final 11 minutes to close it out.

“Utica is obviously extremely talented,” Ward said. “Piper and Chinn are good players and they make plays when it counts. You can’t take anything away from them. They have a great senior class, and their kids are tough and physical.”

The fans had hardly sat in their seats when Heath’s Corbett took a give going right on the game’s second play. He picked up a crushing block from lineman J.J. Holloway on the perimeter and was gone down the sideline for an 81-yard TD run that put the Bulldogs up 7-0.

“That felt nice to set the tone,” Corbett said. “J.J. is one of our best linemen. He’s a sophomore and the smallest lineman, but he is one of the hardest workers we have. We watched film, and that sweep looked like it would be there.”

Utica came right back with an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, which was capped by Piper’s 7-yard TD toss to Chinn to tie it at 7.

“It was a bad start, but we regrouped and we were able to go down and score,” Rowley said.

Heath then moved it 57 yards to its second touchdown. Bayles hit Tyler Marks for a 24-yard pass, setting up Bayles’ 2-yard TD run that put the Bulldogs up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Utica drove down to the Heath 8-yard line, but turned it over on downs when Green broke in and threw Piper for a loss. Heath drove 87 yards in 10 plays before Corbett bounced off one defender after another on his 5-yard TD run that made it 21-7 with 3:31 left in the first half.

Heath threatened again before the half, but Utica’s Nicholes Drumm stopped Bayles at the 1 on the final play of the half.

Utica dug in and mounted a nine-play, 73-yard scoring march, which Piper capped with his 6-yard slant pass to Chinn for the touchdown that cut it to 21-14 with 10:59 left in the game.

Utica got it back for just one series after that, though. It was Heath’s Green who again broke free to sack Piper and force a punt with 4:35 left.

The Heath running game did the rest as the Bulldogs picked up three first downs — one on a Utica offsides penalty on a fourth down — to salt it away.

“I wanted to finish the game for our team,” said Corbett, who had a 21-yard run on that final series for Heath. “We were working so hard the whole time. I felt like I needed to finish it.”

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Connor Corbett powers Heath Bulldogs football to key LCL win at Utica