Under wet and cold conditions, Newark Catholic struck first … and second, taking a 15-0 lead in the first quarter on its way to a 35-7 Division VII semifinal victory over East Knox on Friday.
Four turnovers to a stifling Green Wave defense, along with an efficient NC ground game, was the recipe that ended East Knox’s playoff run and its season.
The East Knox Bulldogs entered their semifinal match against No.1-seed Newark Catholic on a five-game winning streak thanks largely to a potent offense that had scoreed 406 points coming in. They also hit the field with a ton of optimism. In their two previous play-off games, they defeated Glouster Trimble 35-28 (Nov. 6) and Eastern (Reedsville) 41-13 (Oct. 30). Newark Catholic came in at 12-1, with its only loss this season coming on Oct. 5 vs. Heath, 28-21, while East Knox’s last defeat came to a playoff-bound Northmor team, 24-7 on Oct. 1
It was a game of passing vs. rushing. East Knox took the air advantage 169 yards to 47 for Newark Catholic, but the Green Wave ground game thundered out 223 yards to only 23 yards for the Bulldogs. First downs favored Newark Catholic 16 to 12, and while East Knox ran 59 plays to 50 for NC and held possession 26:54 to 21:06, the Bulldogs’ ground game was smothered and gained only 23 yards on 25 carries, while NC picked up 223 yards on 36 attempts. Both defenses held on third down … East Knox converted only four of 16 attempted and Newark Catholic was good on only two of nine, but it converted both fourth-down tries, while the Bulldogs were 2-for-6 on fourth down.
East Knox quarterback Peyton Lester, a first-team all-district honoree, had his typically solid passing game stats, going 21-for-33 for 169 and a TD, but three long lobs were turned into interceptions by the Green Wave, and he was suffocated by the Green Wave defense, which held him to minus-four yards rushing on 15 attempts. Cole Delaughder carried nine times for 36 yards and Shane Knepp caught nine passes for 91 yards and the ’Dogs’ only TD. Dillon Moreland caught four passes for 25 yards, and Delaughder caught four for 23 yards. Defensively, Knepp made five solo tackles and had five assists, and Delaughder had four solos and an assist.
The East Knox defense held Green Wave quarterback Grant Moore to only three completions in 10 attempts, for 46 yards. Kyle Langenbrunner was the NC top rusher with three explosive carries for 55 yards
Mason Hackett started the scoring for the Green Wave on a 6-yard run only two minutes into the game. After tough defense on both sides, Moore completed a 2-yard TD pass to Brandon Buchanan with two minutes left in the first. A 2-point conversion run by Tristan Gorius made it 15-0 Newark Catholic after one quarter.
Lester got the Bulldogs driving and on the board about midway through the second quarter on an 11-yard pass to Knepp. A PAT by Will Jensen made it 15-7.
In the third quarter, Newark Catholic pulled away on a 6-yard run by Hackett with about six minutes left, and five minutes later Hackett sprinted through the middle of the Bulldogs’ line and cut left for a 39-yard score to make it 29-7.
Newark’s Cole Canter, Canter added the put away from 4 yards out with four minutes left to finish the scoring at 35-7.
East Knox finished the season at 10-3 and was 5-1 in the KMAC. The Bulldogs were 6-0 at home, 3-2 away and 1-1 at neutral sites and outscored their opponents 413 to 258.
No. 1-seed Newark Catholic (12-1) moves on to the final against No. 3-seed Shadyside (11-1) at New Philadelphia Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 20.
