Michael Taylor gets gang-tackled as the Panthers keep it on the ground to run out the clock, preserving a 10-7 win over Olentangy Berlin. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Long regarded as the second dog in talent-rich Pickerington, North advanced to its first regional title game since 2017 with a hard-nosed win over Olentangy Berlin.
Columbus, OH – Nate Hillerich always had heard that heading one of the Pickerington programs was about as good a gig a central Ohio coach could hope for, and making it to a regional final during his first season at North in 2017 felt like an emphatic confirmation of that assumption.
He learned soon enough that achieving that level of annual success was much easier said than done, with the Panthers losing in regional semifinals two of the last three seasons and never again reaching the plateau they did his first time around.
Highlighted by a pair of fourth-down stops and a blocked field goal, North’s defense propelled the program into its first regional final in seven years with a 10-7 victory over sixth-seeded Olentangy Berlin on Friday at DeSales.
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Veteran central Ohio columnist Jarrod Ulrey writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros
The seventh-seeded Panthers (11-2) will play for the Region 3 championship Friday against top-seeded Olentangy Liberty (11-2), presumably at Historic Crew Stadium.
“It’s my eighth year, and my first year we got to the regional final, so I’m thinking coming to Pickerington, it’s easy,” Hillerich said. “You’ve got good enough players to win, but you realize how hard it is to get back. Our region is one of the toughest. We’ve been consistent, but it’s nice to get back to the regional final. I think our kids will be ready to play. We’re going to get back to work, but we’re going to enjoy this.”
North expected to enter halftime trailing 7-3 when senior linebacker Cale Blackman stripped the ball from Berlin senior quarterback Aiden Eviston and junior defensive end Malachi Ervin fell on it at the Bears’ 28 with 13 seconds left.
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Panthers junior quarterback Jarin Mock connected with senior wide receiver Preston Bowman for 18 yards on the next play.
Berlin’s Jack Bush breaks up a pass intended for Pick North’s Grant Williams.
Then on first-and-goal from the Bears’ 10 with six seconds remaining before halftime, Mock looked for a receiver but found an opening on the left side of the field and sprinted in for a touchdown run that would prove to be the game’s final points.
“That was the momentum changer,” Hillerich said. “We decided not to call any timeouts. We figured we’d go into half down four points, and then we make a big hit and get a fumble. Our quarterback (on the last play of the first half decided) if nothing’s there, he can throw it away and we try a field goal, but then he scrambles and makes a play.”
North failed to get a first down during each of its first three second-half possessions, but its defensive line featuring seniors Ben Thompson and Elijah Williams-Dixon and juniors Elijah Durham-Smith and Ervin proved a challenge to move against in short-yardage situations.
Berlin advanced to the North 25 on its first possession of the third quarter but were dropped for negative yardage on back-to-back plays and missed a 49-yard field goal.
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The Bears moved to the North 23 on their next drive, but Eviston was held to a 1-yard gain by the defensive front on fourth-and-2.
With five minutes remaining, Berlin had fourth-and-3 from the North 38 but Eviston was stopped for a 2wo-yard gain to again turn it over on downs.
Preston Bowman delivers some punishment to a Berlin defender as he grinds out some extra yards in a regional semi-final game.
“We just wanted it more than the other team,” Durham-Smith said. “It’s what we do – we just lock stuff up. It was a group effort the whole time. We played together and played as one.”
Berlin was given one final scoring opportunity when the Panthers fumbled it away at their own 36 with 4:34 remaining, but on third-and-7 from the North 22, Eviston completed a pass to senior running back Alejandro Aguilar that was stopped for a 4-yard gain.
On fourth-and-3 from the Panthers 18, Berlin elected what would have been a game-tying field goal, but junior Graham Phlegar’s attempt was blocked by junior Daunte Curtis.
“We knew we had to get a stop,” said Curtis, who also finished with 10 tackles. “It’s the playoffs, so whoever had the better defense was going to win.”
North got the ball back with 2:55 remaining and sealed the win when Bowman, a first-team All-Central District receiver headed to the University of Kentucky, broke a 51-yard run on third-and-1.
“It was designed to go outside, but I was just thinking I’m going to get yards since it was third-and-1,” Bowman said. “I took the hole and was able to bounce it. We were just staying positive and not getting down.
Aiden Eviston delivers a nasty stiff arm to Malachi Taylor for a big gain.
“It’s been good. We’ve had (making it to the regional final) on our chart since freshman year, and we came up short two times. It was good to finally be able to say we’re getting to Crew Stadium. That’s what we said, ‘We want to get to Crew Stadium,’ and now we’re doing it. It’s our senior year, and we didn’t want to go out like we did last year.”
Bowman finished with five catches for 65 yards and four rushes for 65 yards, while Mock was 9-for-14 passing for 97 yards to lead North’s offense.
Eviston, who was second-team all-district at linebacker a year ago when the Bears went 11-2 and second-team all-district at quarterback this fall as his team finished 10-3, rushed 29 times for 159 yards in his final prep game.
Berlin scored on the game’s opening possession when Aguilar ran in from 3 yards to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive that included a 41-yard run by Eviston.
“We needed to win the game on special teams and we can’t turn the ball over, and that was the difference in the game,” Berlin coach Mark Nori said. “Our kids played very hard, and I’m very proud of them. (Our defense) played lights out. We turned the ball over in inopportune times and they were able to stick it in on a short field. We couldn’t put in a field goal and couldn’t put it in when we had it in the red zone. We finished with 10 wins, and they’re just a resilient bunch.”
This marks just the third time in North’s 22-year program history that it has competed for a regional title, with the other coming in 2012 when it reached a state semifinal.
“They went for it on fourth down (two) times in the second half, and it was just incredible guts by our defense,” Hillerich said. “(Eviston is) one of the toughest players to get down. After they scored, they really didn’t do much. I’m just proud. It’s just the grit of your seniors and the will to win.”
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