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Late touchdown propels Caldwell past Eastern for regional title

By Kerry Patrick 6 min read

VINCENT - Momentum turned on a dime and as a result Caldwell is advancing to the final four in the Ohio Division VII state football playoffs.

Left for dead midway in the third quarter and trailing 19-7 in Friday's regional championship game at Warren High School, Caldwell's recovery of a muffed catch on a Redskin punt deep in Eastern territory ignited the start of a comeback.

Dylan Wheeler's 10-yard touchdown run up the gut into the Eastern defense at the 2:22 mark of the third quarter followed by Cale Bender's 26-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Petry in the back of the end zone with 44 seconds remaining in regulation completed the Redskins' 20-19 comeback win.

"Uncle 'Mo' is the biggest thing - when you can flip it on a dime like that and capitalize, that's the main thing," Caldwell coach Chance Rucker said. "That just busted it wide open in the second half. We just made plays."

Caldwell (11-3), which advanced to the quarterfinal round in 2015 when coach Rucker was a senior at the school, made history by reaching the final four. The Redskins meet Dalton in Friday's semifinal round at Sulsberger Stadium at Zanesville High School. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

In a Region 25 championship game, Dalton defeated Danville, 31-8. The Bulldogs are the same team which ended Caldwell's postseason run during Rucker's senior year.

"Falling short my senior year then wanting to be a coach all the time, that's something I have always wanted to avenge," Rucker said. "One of our manifestation goals we have set this year - we want to practice on Thanksgiving. You have to win a regional title to do that and tonight is such a super special moment."

For Eastern, a 12-2 season included the deepest playoff run in school history. The Eagles seemed on their way for 3 ½ quarters. Offensively, they had scored 19 unanswered points. Defensively, they allowed just two first downs since Caldwell's opening drive resulted in a touchdown.

When Caldwell's Alex Herlan picked up the loose ball on the punt at the Eagles' 16-yard line, Eastern's mojo began to unravel.

"This loss stings a lot," Eastern coach Jason Jackson said. "When you work so hard and have control of the football game then it just blows up on you."

On the game's opening drive, Caldwell caught Eastern flat-footed and drove the ball 67 yards in 10 plays, with only one pass play called. Ethan Crock put the Redskins in front 7-0 on a 1-yard TD run at the 8:03 mark of the first quarter.

Eastern went three-and-out on its initial drive but responded on possession No. 2 with a scoring drive that covered 61 yards. Senior running back Rylee Barrett capped the series with an 11-yard TD run with 55 seconds remaining in the opening period and the game tied at 7-7.

Barrett finished his final season at Eastern rushing 21 times for 80 yards. Teammate Tyler Hill led all ballcarriers with 101 yards on 19 attempts. A third Eagles back, Gavan Smith, did most of his damage in the second half and finished with 59 yards on 11 rushes.

Caldwell's offense did not see much of the field other than a second-quarter drive which hovered around midfield and resulted in a punt.

Eastern's final two drives of the first half covered a combined 120 yards. Tyler Hill's 11-yard TD off the sweep put the Eagles in front 13-7 at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter. Their final drive started on their own 12 then stalled out at the Caldwell 11.

Despite owning possession for the final 6:05 of the first half, Eastern failed to produce points when Hayden Wilcoxen's 28-yard field goal missed the uprights.

Eastern's ground game manufactured 261 yards for the game, including 73 yards on a drive which consisted of eight run plays and ending on Hill's 25-yard TD run. At the 4:32 mark of the third quarter, Eastern increased its lead to 19-7.

Eastern's defense then forced Caldwell into a second three-and-out to open the second half. That's when the winds of change occurred and Eastern failed to haul in the punt deep in its own territory.

Even when Caldwell sliced the deficit to 19-14, Eastern's defense came through in the clutch several times. First, stopping Caldwell by inches on fourth down at the Eastern 21. And again near midfield when Ken Smith recovered a fumble.

Still down 19-14 and taking over at the Eastern 48 with 2:24 showing, Caldwell slowly made its way toward the end zone. Facing third-and-eight from the 26, Bender dropped back to pass and threw a beautiful ball toward the end zone.

Bender finished the game completing 12-of-16 passes for 86 yards. Wheeler kept the chains moving for the Redskins and finished with 76 yards rushing on 18 carries.

"It was," Bender responded when asked if throwing to Petry was like playing catch in the backyard. "We do that every day in practice.

"We took momentum once we got that fumble recovery. We just stiffened up after the half. Wheeler was fired up and not stopping his feet."

Petry, who did not play football until this season as a senior and was not a starter until several weeks into the season, kept both feet in bounds as he hauled in the TD reception.

"We kept running the same run play and coach says same formation and I run a five-route," Petry said. "That was just a smart call there. It all came together. That ball couldn't have been thrown to me any better. It was a perfect ball.

"I noticed I was in the back of the end zone, stopped my feet and lunged for it and the ball fell into my hands."

Eastern had one last chance - starting the next drive at its own 27 and 40 seconds possibly left in its season. Cooper Barnett took over at quarterback and managed just one 13-yard completion in six attempts before the Eagles turned the ball on fourth down and only five seconds left.

""When I started two years ago, I got a lot of feedback from people saying we would be lucky to be 5-5 in 2022," Jackson said. "We went 9-3. That's a testament to the kids believing in what we brought to them. Seeing what we had coming back this year, I felt that we would compete. I felt we would get to the final four.

"Spending 29 years as a coach, you see a lot of talent. And we had talent. These kids made Eastern community proud. They did their school proud."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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