Will Musgrove checks for defenders as he scampers into the endzone for a TD with :10 left in the first half of play against Hilliard Davidson. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Neither rain nor wind would deter quarterback Levi Davis on a 99-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that gave Olentangy Orange a 21-14 lead over Hilliard Davidson. Luke Musgrove made a game-saving tackle just outside the 1-yard-line as time expired to preserve the win.
Lewis Center, OH – Hurricane Helene’s wrath, which included high winds and sideways rain even as far north as central Ohio, certainly played a role in an Ohio Capital Conference showdown Friday. The Central Division opener was delayed 35 minutes because of downpours and a power outage, and both teams had difficulty at times throwing, running, catching and punting the slippery pigskin.
But ultimately, Helene was no match for the heroics of Levi Davis and Will Musgrove.
Davis, a playmaking junior quarterback oozing with passing and running skills, put Olentangy Orange on his back during an eight-play, 99-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that gave the Pioneers a 21-14 lead over visiting Hilliard Davidson.
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Musgrave, a senior defensive back, tackled Wildcats quarterback Johnny DiBlasio a yard-and-a-half short of the goal line on a fourth-and-goal scramble as time expired, preserving Orange’s second straight win over a highly-regarded one-loss team.
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“In conditions like this, it was not always pretty but the guys were resilient and found a way to win another big game,” Orange first-year coach Wes Schroeder.
The game took several odd twists, often correlating with Mother Nature’s occasional outbursts. But, amazingly, neither team committed a turnover.
The Pioneers had all kinds of difficulty containing the Wildcats vaunted triple option. Davidson amassed 235 yards on the ground on a six-yard-average with 5-foot-9, 211-pound bowling ball Keevin Gibbon gaining more than half of them. It took Orange three and sometimes four defenders to drag him down.
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Levi Davis powers in for a TD, capping a 99-yard winning drive for the Pioneers in the 4th quarter.
Davidson (4-2, 0-1) grabbed a 14-13 lead on the opening series of the second half as DiBlasio connected with Kaden Windham on a skinny post down the middle.
After three straight three-and-outs by Orange, Davidson appeared primed to take over the game. But a costly holding penalty on fourth-and-1 at midfield quashed one drive. On its next series, four more penalties forced the Wildcats to try a 47-yard field goal that missed badly but rolled out of bounds at the 1-yard-line.
Without a first down the entire second half, Orange suddenly made magic happen traveling with the wind. Davis hit Terryn Thomas for 32 yards. On a third-and-four, Davis raced 31 yards on a well-schemed and blocked keeper. Then, on fourth-and-six, Davis again called his own number, bobbing and weaving 26 yards to the end zone with 5:44 left. He then connected with Thomas on the two-point conversion.
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“We just missed on a couple pass plays on that drive, and I figured if we’re going down, we’re going down with (Davis),” Schroeder said. “Levi did Levi things on that drive. I have a hard time coming up with superlatives for him.”
Davis completed 11 of 23 passes (five were dropped) for 172 yards with a TD. He rushed eight times for 89 yards and the winning score.
Zane Konzack goes full improv and scores from 6 yards out after a failed double-pass play against the Wildcats.
“Davis is a walking video game,” Davidson coach Jeremey Scally said. “We played terrible in space and just couldn’t corral him. In championship moments of a championship caliber game, Davis made plays and we didn’t.”
Davis, who owns a handful of Division I offers, now has passed for 905 yards and 11 TDs with just one interception and rushed for 375 yards and five scores.
“I was just really focused on making plays for my team and helping us win a huge OCC game,” Davis said. “We had a few things drawn up. Some of them worked and some didn’t. It wasn’t a perfect game for us by any means we showed a lot of guts to pull that one out.”
After a squib kick, Davidson drove methodically toward the Orange end in quest of a tying score. The Wildcats picked up four first downs on the 16-play march.
On first and goal at the 10, DiBlasio spiked the ball to stop the clock and save the Wildcats’ only time out. DiBlasio then ran for two yards. On third down, Orange forced him into an incomplete pass.
Davidson’s Paul Knapke leaps toward the end zone but falls short of paydirt thanks to Treyton Schroeder.
On the final play, DiBlasio found no receivers open and took off down the right sideline toward the pylon. Musgrove, who caught a 17-yard TD pass with 10 seconds left in the first half and, on the final drive, broke up a pass in the end zone, came up big once again. He met DiBlasio head-on and wrestled him to the ground to end the game.
“We were in contain, and I was waiting for him to roll to my side,” Musgrove said. “I didn’t even think about flushing him to the sideline. I just told myself I couldn’t let him get to the end zone.”
Schoeder called it “the biggest tackle of his career.”
Davidson came in riding a four-game win streak in which it allowed only 26 points.
Earlier in the game. Orange’s first TD came on a clever designed lateral from Davis on the right sideline to Zane Konczak, who was planning to attempt a double pass. When the play didn’t materialize, Konczak retreated and scampered all the way to the left side for an 8-yard TD.
With the win, Orange joined a pack of Division I teams in the OCC at 5-1. The Pioneers came in No. 4 in Region 3 and Davidson was second in Region 2.
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