Trent Wolpert pulls in a clutch, 35-yard strike from Luke Backus to set up the game-winning field goal as the Bears advance to meet Pickerington Central in the regional semifinals. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Luke Backes and Trent Wolpert connected on a pivotal 35-yard strike in the final minute to set up a dramatic game-winning field goal that sent resilient UA into a regional semifinal matchup against Pickerington Central.
Pickerington, OH – At 6 feet, 6 inches tall, Upper Arlington junior Edward Oakley doesn’t exactly fit the prototype of an All-Ohio caliber kicker/punter, one capable of flipping and dictating field position and giving his defensive-oriented team a chance to win tight games.
Oakley checked each of those boxes in a white-knuckle Division I, Region 3 quarterfinal on Friday night that few who witnessed it will ever forget.
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“It’s amazing to have a weapon like Eddie on your side,” Golden Bears senior quarterback Luke Backes said. “When we got the ball on the final drive, we’re thinking all we have to do is get near his range and give him a chance because we’re pretty confident he’ll make it.”
In a pea soup of fog, Oakley calmly drilled a 31-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to give sixth-seeded UA a pulsating 30-27 victory over third-seeded Pickerington North in a game more befitting a regional title game than a second-round tilt.
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“I’ve had two game-tiers but never a game-winner until now,” said Oakley of his third field goal of the night. “That’s something you dream about, getting an opportunity like. As I stood on the sideline, I was just trying to calm myself down, all the while hoping we could drive into my range.”
Oakley improved to 12 of 14 field goals on the season, and he also averages 42 yards per punt.
Oakley had tied the game with 2:27 remaining on a 29-yard field goal that was tipped at the line of scrimmage but somehow managed to wobble its way over the left crossbar.
After UA held, a 22-yard punt left the Golden Bears at their own 41 with 1:09 remaining.
After wisely throwing the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack – the home crowd argued that intentional grounding should have been called – Backes threw an absolute dart over the middle to Trent Wolpert for a 35-yard gain. From there, UA worked the clock to put Oakley in an optimal position.
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“They were in a corner three and we hit them with a double post,” said Wolpert, who finished with seven receptions for 155 yards and a 44-yard touchdown. “Luke had to fit it into a certain spot and he did.”
Backes, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 250 yards with a TD and no interceptions and also ran for a score, made savvy decisions all night against an aggressive North defense that brought heavy pressure on almost every down. He was careful to avoid sacks or big losses with timely check downs and unscripted scrambles.
“I saw the corner on that post play and I thought Trent had a favorable matchup,” Backes said. “It turned it he made the best play of the season. We were up, lost the lead and they got the momentum, but we didn’t flinch. This is what championship teams are made of.”
With the win, Upper Arlington (10-2) earned the right to return to Pickerington Friday to meet second-seeded Central (10-1). Top-seeded Olentangy Orange (11-0) will host fifth-seeded and defending state champion Olentangy Liberty (8-4) in the other semifinal.
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Given that Pickerington North came in allowing 6.5 points per game and UA 8.0, most would have predicted a low-scoring slugfest. Instead, it turned into a somewhat disjointed and sloppy game (the teams combined for 20 penalties covering 160 yards) with some wild twists.
Amar’e Miller gets to Trent Wolpert early, drawing a pass interference call and setting up the Bears deep in Panther territory.
Upper Arlington drove right down the field nine plays on the game’s opening possession to seize command. Its defense asserted itself to two straight three-and-outs and tilted field position in a big way.
Not long after Oakley hit a 32-yard field goal, Jaden Chindavong broke a 42-yard TD run straight up the gut and the Golden Bears held a 17-0 lead with 4:51 left in the first half.
But a shanked punt by Oakley under heavy pressure gave North excellent field position and the Panthers responded as quarterback Jarin Mock scored on a 1-yard run with 1:04 left in the half.
As Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division champion North (9-2) finally found its footing after managing just one first down in the first half, a track meet inexplicably broke out with each team matching each other’s touchdowns.
The Panthers finally seized the lead 27-24 with 4: 51 remaining on another 1-yard TD keeper by Mock. The extra point try was tipped by Tyler Witten, bouncing off the crossbar, and it proved to be huge as it allowed Oakley’s second field goal tie it.
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“It was a game of swings for sure,” UA coach Justin Buttermore said. “Once they got the momentum from us, they were hard to stop. That quarterback (Mock) is a great athlete and was hard to stop on those broken-field plays. Thirty to twenty-seven sure isn’t the way I saw this going coming in.”
Ryan Miller delivers a brutal hit to UA’s Tristan DePhillips.
Coming in, only two opponents had topped 10 points against Pickerington North, and just two had topped 14 against Upper Arlington.
But although the outcome might have suggested that defenses played poorly, they did come up with key stops. On third down, UA was just 3 of 15 and North 1 of 11. The Panthers also managed to convert just one fourth down in seven tries.
Mock, who had trouble negotiating UA’s three-man front and zone coverage in the first half, finally adjusted and simply used his legs to escape trouble. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 201 yards and TD connections of 32 yards to Noah Dumas and 8 yards to Kyami Johnson. He also rushed for 81 yards and two scores. Tailback Andyriq Thomas added 87 yards rushing on 18 carries.
“We didn’t execute at all in the first half, and we were hurt badly by poor field position and penalties,” Panthers coach Nate Hillerich said. “To the guys’ credit, they really fought back and left it all out there on the field. As I said leading into the game, this matchup didn’t have the feel of a quarterfinal. These were two really good teams out there … and they produced a fantastic football game.”
The win secured a fifth straight 10-win season for UA under Butterfield, who guided the 14-1 Golden Bears to a state semifinal in 2021.
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