Granville’s Devin Bodie deflects a pass in the end zone intended for Alder’s Trey Bentley. The Aces’ defense stepped it up all night long, making big defensive stops on the ground and in the air to advance to a 2nd round rematch with undefeated Licking Valley. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
After opening with six consecutive victories, Jonathan Alder’s season ended with a 26-7 loss at Granville in the opening round of the playoffs.
Granville, OH – Throughout the second quarter of their Division III, Region 11 playoff opener Friday, Granville and Jonathan Alder traded what looked like momentum-changing responses.
It was the seventh-seeded Blue Aces, however, who had the biggest answers when it counted the most—particularly on defense.
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Clinging to a one-score lead, Granville muscled past the 10th-seeded Pioneers with back-to-back stops on fourth-and-1 to seize the advantage on its way to a 26-7 victory.
That sets up a regional quarterfinal for the Aces next Friday at second-seeded and undefeated Licking Valley (10-0), which they lost to 42-28 just two weeks ago.
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“It was awesome,” Aces coach Heath Hinton said. “Our (defensive line) depth kind of helped us out tonight. We had some guys get banged up, but it was definitely a group effort. We had one (interception) and had an opportunity to get another one. It was an awesome opportunity for our guys to step up.”
Granville, which improved to 8-3 while the Pioneers finished 7-4, were clinging to a 14-7 halftime lead when its defense had a spectacular stretch.
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On the opening drive of the third quarter, Jonathan Alder moved to the Aces 42. After junior Christian Amann was held to no gain on third-and-1 from the Granville 42, junior Trey Bentley got a crack at it but also was held to no gain on fourth-and-1 for a turnover on downs.
Carter Rhyan makes a spectacular grab by getting up in traffic to get his hands on the ball and then using Trey Bentley’s back to stabilize it until he could pull it into his body for the completion.
Jonathan Alder got it back with 5:58 to go in the third quarter at its own 8 but benefitted from a defensive pass interference call and moved close to midfield. On third-and-4 from the Pioneers 42, sophomore quarterback Brett Hughes was held to 3 yards. Then on fourth-and-1, Hughes was stuffed for no gain as junior linebackers George Walter and Connor Kirby were in on the stop.
That sequence set up the Aces’ third touchdown, a 5-yard pass from senior quarterback Jackson McMillan with 11 minutes, 22 seconds remaining to sophomore Carter Rhyan that made it 20-7.
The Pioneers moved into Granville territory on the next drive, but Hughes was stopped for a 13-yard loss on fourth-and-16 from the Aces’ 38.
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Granville began the next drive at the Jonathan Alder 24. On fourth-and-1 from the Pioneers’ 25, McMillan connected with senior Luke Bosse for 19 yards. On the next play, junior running back Evan Seifert ran for a 6-yard touchdown to complete the scoring.
Connor Kirby gets in the grill of Alder quarterback Drew Hughes, stopping him dead in his tracks during Granville’s 26-7 drubbing of Jonathan Alder in Round 1 of the OHSAA playoffs.
“We had some chances,” Pioneers coach Brett Glass said. “We got stops a couple times. We had some big stops on them, but in the second half, not getting a first down twice in a row there, that really was a turning point of the game.”
Granville took a 7-0 lead with 6:39 left in the opening quarter when McMillan hooked up with senior Luke Bosse for a 10-yard touchdown.
On the Aces’ next possession, McMillan shined, throwing for 26 yards on third-and-22 from the Jonathan Alder 27 and for a 9-yard reception to sophomore Carter Rhyan before capping the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
With 7:46 to go before halftime, Hughes connected with senior wide receiver Ben McCain for a 9-yard completion that barely reached the first-down marker on third-and-9 from the Pioneers’ 18.
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That boost seemed to breathe new life into the Pioneers, as junior Christian Amann rushed for 19 yards and Bentley ran 26 yards on the next two plays. On third-and-4 from the Aces’ 8, Hughes completed a pass to McCain and was nearly stopped short of the goal line but managed his way in to cut it to 14-7 with 3:45 left before halftime.
Granville quarterback Jackson McMillan stayed tough in the pocket all night, even under pressure like this from Alder’s Luke Tubbs.
Granville moved to the Jonathan Alder 34 on the next possession, but Jonathan Alder senior Luke Tubbs forced McMillan to fumble. McMillan fell on it at the Pioneers’ 42 for a 9-yard loss and was intercepted by McCain on the next play.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Hughes was intercepted by Devin Bodle, and he returned it 29 yards to the Jonathan Alder 17 with 31 seconds to go before halftime.
The Aces got it to the Pioneers’ 2. Jonathan Alder was whistled for an offsides penalty to move it another yard forward, but on second-and-goal from the 1 with 8 seconds left, McMillan was stopped on a quarterback sneak as the second-quarter clock expired.
Rhyan’s touchdown capped a night of ups and downs for the sophomore, who dropped what would have been back-to-back receptions in the first half.
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“Once I get one, I’m not going to drop it anymore,” Rhyan said. “(My touchdown) was on a great throw. We’ve been working on those since the summer. Shout out to Jackson for playing his best game tonight and stepping up.”
After an Alder interception stopped an Aces’ drive, Devin Bodie returned the favor on the very next play, snatching away a Drew Hughes pass intended for Danny Bentley.
McMillan rushed 11 times for 57 yards and completed 13 of 21 passes for 161 yards with two touchdowns while Rhyan had five catches for 56 yards and Bosse had six receptions for 84 yards.
“We’ve got dudes who have never played who are making a big impact,” McMillan said. “Carter’s been that guy for us all year. He’s always been there to make a play no matter if he’s double-covered or triple-covered. I’ve been playing with (Bosse) since I was 9 years old. The connection we have is unparalleled.
“It feels great. We hope to get our revenge next week on Licking Valley. We’re super excited.”
Jonathan Alder opened its season with six consecutive wins but played half of the regular season without Bentley. One of the Pioneers’ big-play artists when he was healthy, Bentley had seven rushes for 50 yards and four catches for 21 yards.
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Hughes finished 18 of 30 passing for 147 yards but was held to 5 yards rushing on eight attempts. Amann had 13 carries for 52 yards.
McCain, who was one of just seven seniors in the program, reeled in 12 catches for 85 yards.
Carter Rhyan puts the final points on the scoreboard with a reception and precision toe-touch in the end zone during Granville’s 26-7 defeat of Jonathan Alder.
“We did a good job of adjusting and mixing up our coverages a little bit, but with us only scoring seven points, we weren’t able to finish enough drives,” Glass said. “The message I gave them was thank you to our seniors. It was a small group with only seven guys, and only five were able to play tonight, so I’m really proud of the way they conducted themselves and played Jonathan Alder football this year.”
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