Rocco Williams muscles his way into the end with the game-winner in a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over recent nemesis Upper Arlington. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jim Garland – Sports Bucket Photography)
With a clutch, late-game scoring drive engineered by standout quarterback Rocco Williams, Pickerington Central overtook Upper Arlington 17-16 to play its way into yet another regional title game.
Pickerington, OH – Rocco Williams found himself in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position on Friday, when Pickerington Central hosted Upper Arlington in a Division I Region 3 semifinal.
With his team trailing Upper Arlington by six points midway through the fourth quarter, the Pickerington Central quarterback knew he was going to need to lead the Tigers to a touchdown on their next drive to keep their season alive.
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“This is the first time I’ve been in this position with this team, where I’ve had to score a touchdown late in the fourth quarter with us trailing like this,” Williams said.
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Fortunately for Central, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior was up for the challenge, as he guided his offense on a 12-play, 68-yard touchdown drive, which he capped with a 12-yard scoring run with just 2 minutes, 7 seconds remaining, to spark the second-seeded Tigers to a dramatic 17-16 come-from-behind victory over the sixth-seeded Golden Bears.
Central, which improved to 11-1 overall, will face top-seeded Olentangy Orange (12-0) in the Region 3 final Friday, presumably at Historic Columbus Crew Stadium.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to down the field and score a touchdown on that drive,” Williams said. “I had confidence in myself and plenty of confidence in my teammates that we had it in us, even though this is the first time we’ve had to come back like this all year. I just knew we could do it.”
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On the game-winning touchdown, Williams faked a handoff to a running back who drew defenders to the right, and the Middle Tennessee State University recruit sprinted through the middle of the line of scrimmage before powering his way over a couple of defenders at the goal line.
Jordan Sanders III leaps over a wall of Golden Bears for a score.
“I just followed my blockers, tucked my head down and ran as hard as I could into the end zone,” said Williams, who sported a bloody, red gash under his right eye after the game. “Upper Arlington is big and physical and that’s the best defense we’ve seen, along with Pickerington North, but we just had to fight for those extra yards to win it.
“It’s a dream to score late like that with the game on the line.”
Earlier in the drive, Williams completed three passes for 20 yards and rushed three times for 19 yards. On a fourth-and-1 from Central’s 41-yard line, running back Jordan Sanders III also plowed through two defenders for a 2-yard carry to keep the drive alive.
Overall, Williams rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries and was 12-for-20 passing for 86 yards.
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“Rocco’s the best quarterback in our area, and if there’s one guy I want leading our team in that situation, it’s him,” said Central coach Jeff Lomonico, whose squad lost to UA in a 2023 Region 3 quarterfinal 23-17 in triple overtime, and in the 2021 Region 3 final 21-14 in triple overtime. “Rocco’s probably the strongest kid on our team. He benches 315 pounds and squats 475 pounds, so he’s hard to bring down.”
Rocco Williams breaks out for a big gainer against Upper Arlington.
Upper Arlington started its final possession at its own 27 with 2:03 left, but after Mason Johnson sacked quarterback Luke Backes for a 9-yard loss and defensive lineman Cameron Miller Jr. sacked him for a 1-yard loss, defensive back Justin Martin-Falls intercepted a desperation pass attempt at the 38 and returned it to UA’s 28 with 1:18 remaining to effectively ice the game.
“We changed some things up and our kids dug deep to get a lot of pressure on their quarterback on their final drive,” Lomonico said. “I’m just so proud of all of our kids because none of them ever got down when we were behind. These kids are tough and we rallied together on both offense and defense to win this game.”
Central outgained UA 158-91 over the first two quarters en route to a 10-6 halftime lead.
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The Tigers opened the game with a 16-play, 57-yard drive that consumed 8:16 of the first quarter and resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Mason Peirano.
On Central’s third possession, Williams spun his way past two defenders at the line of scrimmage and raced 47 yards to UA’s 1, setting up a 1-yard leap over a pile of linemen at the goal line by Sanders III, to put the Tigers ahead 10-0 with 7:02 left in the first half.
“We weren’t closing down interior gaps like we worked on all week in practice,” said UA coach Justin Buttermore, whose squad finished 10-3 overall. “In the third quarter we started to hold them in check and we won the second half until that last drive.
Defensive back Justin Martin-Falls picks off a late fourth quarter Luke Backes desperation pass and returns it deep into Golden Bear territory to preserve the one-point win for the Tigers.
“Their size was a problem for us as the game went on, and you could see that on their final drive where we just couldn’t get off the field.”
The Golden Bears answered Central’s first touchdown, with a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive of their own, which was capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Luke Backes to his cousin, wide receiver Oliver Backes, with just 48 seconds remaining in the first half.
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Edward Oakley’s extra-point kick attempt was partially blocked at the line of scrimmage and rang off the left corner of the crossbar.
UA then opened the second half with a 14-play, 61-yard touchdown drive, which consumed 5:52 and ended with Luke Backes tossing a 2-yard pass to tight end Tristan DePhillips.
After Central threw an incompletion on a fake punt attempt to turn the ball over on downs at their own 23, Oakley drilled a 42-yard field goal to extend UA’s lead to 16-10 with 6:33.
“I’m most proud of the way our defense stiffened and held them to that field goal after we messed up that fake punt,” Lomonico said. “That kept us in the game.”
Luke Backes was 12-for-24 passing for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 29 yards on 12 carries to lead the Golden Bears offensively, while Oliver Backes had seven catches for 57 yards and a score, and DePhillips had three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.
“Their quarterback and running backs are really good players,” Buttermore said. “We held them in check and we just needed to make a stop or force a turnover on that final drive. It was a close game and they just made one more play than us.”
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