Granville rolls past Licking Valley, earns at least share of title
GRANVILLE ― Dante Varrasso returned with a vengeance for Granville on senior night, bolstered by Beckett Long's breakout performance.
Not surprisingly, they teamed up for one of the longest plays in Blue Aces' history, finally breaking the back of feisty Licking Valley.
Long heaved a tight spiral down the left sideline from his own 2-yard line, and Varrasso ran under it for a 98-yard touchdown, sending unbeaten Granville on its way to a 45-20 win Friday night in a showdown for the Licking County League-Buckeye Division lead.
"It was a go ball," said Varrasso, the Blue Aces' playmaking wideout who had missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. "He (Long) tapped me on the butt, and I knew it was on. He literally put a perfect ball out there. He did earlier (a 38-yard reception on Granville's TD drive opening the second half), and I almost dropped it."
The score pushed Granville (9-0, 3-0) up 33-20 midway through the third quarter after sophomore bruiser Kyle Kirby's 2-yard TD run and Noah Musick's kick early in the third pushed the Blue Aces ahead for good, following a 20-20 shootout in the first half.
Long, who piled up 540 yards of total offense (414 passing, 126 rushing) later scored on a 1-yard run, and his 31-yard jaunt set up Kirby's 7-yard score with seven minutes left in the game as Granville clinched at least a share of the title.
The Blue Aces, who never punted, rolled to 612 yards of offense (309 in the first half, 303 in the second) and 26 first downs, with Varrasso hauling in nine passes for 210 yards. Meanwhile, their defense held the Panthers (6-3, 2-1), who had a six-game winning streak halted, to five first downs and 124 yards in the second half.
"We knew it would be a hard-fought battle, and we put a lot pressure, a lot of emphasis on this game," said coach Wes Schroeder, whose youthful but talented team can clinch an outright championship by winning at Watkins Memorial on Friday. "It's a great rivalry, and you know if you beat Valley you put yourself in good position to win the league."
Valley Hall of Fame coach Randy Baughman came away impressed.
"They played a near perfect game, executing on both sides of the ball," he said. "We did not help our offense in the second half. We had opportunities to stop them, and we couldn't get it done. But take nothing away from them. Our kids made some plays (in the first half), but we could not put enough of them together (in the second half). We could not get into a rhythm."
The rivals treated a large, boisterous crowd at Walter J. Hodges Stadium to an entertaining first half. In a game many thought would be a defensive slugfest, they instead combined for 40 points and nearly 600 yards of offense.
Jacob Wheeler nearly broke a short sideline pass from Hayden Rodgers for a TD early on, gaining 46 yards, but Valley settled for his 29-yard field goal. Musick missed a 34-yarder, but Long later romped down the sideline and cut back on a 46-yard touchdown run with 2:57 in the first.
The PAT pass failed as Granville led 6-3. However, it was short-lived as Rodgers faked a handoff, cut back to the middle and raced 80 yards for a score, making it 10-6 after Wheeler's kick.
Back and forth they went. Kirby bulled his way in for a 9-yard TD with 9:50 in the half and Musick added the kick as the Blue Aces went up 13-10. Then, Kam Walker galloped 65 yards into the end zone off a reverse at 8:19 and it was 17-13 Panthers after Wheeler's PAT.
Jack Yeager, who turned in a stellar six-catch, 150-yard effort, leaked out of the sideline as Valley's defense went with Varrasso and hauled in a 73-yard touchdown grab over the middle from Long as Granville went back ahead 20-17.
Wheeler, who had all five of his receptions for 99 yards in the first half, had a 26-yarder as Valley settled for his 31-yard goal with 1:57, forging the 20-20 tie. Long quickly marched the Blue Aces into scoring position, but the Panthers blocked Musick's 29-yard field goal as the half ended. They also got a hand on a PAT kick in the third period.
Kirby, who pounded for 88 yards on 11 carries and also leads Granville's defense from his inside linebacker spot, noted that not a lot had to be said at halftime. He was out with an ankle injury on Walker's run, but soon returned.
"We couldn't have played much worse (on defense), and really, nothing changed," he said. "We knew everything that they ran, and we worked on it all week. We just had to quit making mistakes. In this type of game, with so much at stake, we had to execute."
For Varrasso, the answer was simple: "We knew we could have been up 10 at halftime. We just needed to finish tackles, and plays."
It meant a lot to him, being able to return on senior night and play so well. He added a fourth-quarter interception, and nearly threw a TD pass to Musick on a 16-yard trick play right before half. He was tackled on the 1-yard line.
"Those last two Fridays, not being able to play, were two of my darkest days," Varrasso said.
His teammates certainly welcomed him back.
"We love having this guy, with the energy he brings to practice, the energy he brings to games," Kirby said.
Schroeder said keeping him out meant the Blue Aces would have him during this crucial final stretch.
"He's just a game changer," Schroeder said. "Dante, Kyle and Beckett are three of the best players in the area, and the other guys know their roles."
Long was an outstanding 21 of 26 for his 414 yards, 6 of 6 in the second half, with no interceptions, and kept 16 times for 126 yards.
Rodgers finished with 102 yards in 10 attempts, and completed 13 of 24 passes for 177 yards with one picked off. Trenton Markus picked up 69 yards in 16 tries, and caught four passes for 29 yards. Walker added three receptions for 29.
"Tomorrow, we go in and start fixing the mistakes," Baughman said. "We're not done. We have a lot of football left to play."
740-704-7973
Instagram: @dfweidig
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville rolls past Licking Valley, earns at least share of title
