More overtime heartbreak for Newark as Central Crossing wins 33-27
NEWARK ― Newark quarterback Steele Meister was stopped just short of an overtime first down, and twice by a foot or so for a touchdown in regulation.
Meanwhile, Central Crossing counterpart Luke White was able to barely burrow his way into the end zone for the game-winning score, on fourth-and-goal.
"It is a game of inches, and unfortunately for us, the game of inches has been contrary to our success," Wildcats' coach Bill Franks said after the visiting Comets survived a pair of second-half Newark comebacks for a 33-27 Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division win, the second OT heartbreaker for the Wildcats at White Field. They earlier fell 36-35 to Thomas Worthington.
Luck was not on Newark's side again Friday, when Meister rifled a 61-yard touchdown pass to Drayson Peterson down the right sideline with 1:43 left to tie it 27-27, after Tyler Hurd knocked away Crossing's fourth-down pass in the end zone and the Wildcats took over at their own 6. But the potential game-winning PAT kick was blocked.
The Comets (3-5, 1-2) then won the overtime toss, chose defense and stopped Meister just short of the sticks on fourth-and-2 at the 11. White ran for four on fourth-and-1 and then scored the game winner after three runs netted just six yards.
Crossing coach Trevor White, father of Luke, said there was bound to be momentum swings with two teams hungry for a victory. The Comets had lost four straight and Newark five in a row.
"I told our team at halftime they had moved the ball on us, and even though we were up two touchdowns, there were going to be a lot of ups and downs," he said. "Hats off to Newark, especially Steele Meister. He was a real warrior, and they were able to exploit some things on our part in the second half because of good coaching. Our guys did not get down when something bad happened."
The Wildcats (2-6, 0-3) nearly rode Meister to victory, as the senior southpaw hit on 11 of 15 second-half passes for 228 yards and four touchdowns with his team trailing 13-0.
He hit classmate Carson Burnett in stride for a 56-yard TD down the left sideline starting the third quarter, but in a sign of things to come, the kick hit the left upright, leaving it at 13-6. Meister then looped a 27-yard scoring pass to sophomore Preston Lunsford and hit Lunsford for two points and a 14-13 lead midway through the quarter.
But the Comets turned to their ground game with Navy-bound Malik Kamara and White, who carried just twice in the first half, but kept 13 times for 102 yards in the second. They covered 55 yards in just four plays, White scoring on a 27-yard burst, and then Kamara running for two and a 21-14 lead. The margin grew to 27-14 late in the third on Kamara's 6-yard score, although Breanna Jackson's kick failed.
"Our offensive line got some movement, created some momentum, and Malik and Luke knew where the holes were and made something happen," coach White said.
Newark was far from finished, as it went 57 yards in 10 plays, with Meister fighting for a 21-yard gain, then throwing a 12-yard TD pass to Burnett with 9:15 play. Peterson's kick narrowed it to 27-21.
"Keep swinging. Keep playing hard. I couldn't be more proud of our kids," Franks said. "They dedicated the game to their position coaches, and that was reflected in their effort, and performance."
The Wildcats were left wondering what would have happened had they converted two first-half opportunities. One of them resulted in disaster.
Alex Irvin-Royster broke up a fourth-down White pass in the end zone early on, but Kamara shook loose on a 20-yard TD run for a 6-0 lead, and Peterson blocked the kick. Newark then steadily moved 56 yards in 13 plays to the Comets' 8 only to see the ball knocked loose from Meister on fourth-and-1. Sophomore Steeler Bean picked it up and romped 92 yards for a score, and Jackson's kick suddenly made it 13-0.
Then, a 64-yard, 15-play march led to third-and-goal at the 1. But Meister was stacked up just shy of the goal line on two consecutive plays.
Newark outgained the winners 440-276, with Meister connecting on 17 of 24 passes for 277 yards with no interceptions, while adding 21 carries for 82 yards. Freshman Kolton Peterson ran for 76 yards on 18 attempts. Brother Drayson hauled in four passes for 105 yards and Burnett grabbed five for 86 yards.
The ground-hugging Comets attempted just nine passes, completing three for 19 yards, and rushed for 190 of their 257 yards in the second half. Kamara finished with 25 carries for 139 yards and White added 105 more in 13 tries.
Sophomores paced the Newark defense, as Jack Kopachy led the way with nine tackles and three assists, Irvin-Royster added four and four and Gavin Jenkins three and five. Austin Rose and freshman Zion Scott each had a tackle for loss.
It was the last time the teams will play, as the OCC re-aligns next season.
"I'm going to miss this series, for sure," coach White said.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: More overtime heartbreak for Newark as Central Crossing wins 33-27
