After Alder scored on its first possession of the 2nd half cutting the lead to 14-7, Grady Lantz answered, driving his team down the field and scoring right up the gut on this bruising, 14-yard TD run that extended Urbana’s lead to 21-7. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
The combination of Grady Lantz’ brilliance and an improved defense helped the Hillclimbers down the previously unbeaten Pioneers 28-27 in Central Buckeye Conference action.
Urbana, OH – Urbana didn’t bother sugar-coating where it stood heading into its matchup Friday against previously undefeated Jonathan Alder.
Following a 41-point loss to five-time defending Central Buckeye Conference-Kenton Trail champion London a week ago, the Hillclimbers had their eyes opened and understood their focus needed to sharpen.
The result was a brilliant first half, and what could be a season-defining game-winning drive during the game’s final minute.
Urbana had lost to the Pioneers each of the last three seasons before senior quarterback Grady Lantz’ 24-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Carter Houseman with 3 seconds left helped provide a 28-27 victory.
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“To be quite honest, we got our butts kicked last week, and it was a punch in the mouth,” Lantz said. “We knew we had to come back and step it up and just do better, just coming back and getting better this week.
“We just came together, with all we go through all week, and all the early mornings we’ve gone through together and came back and won the game.”
The dual-threat capabilities of Lantz stood out as he wound up with 105 yards rushing on 19 carries and completed 27 of 40 passes for 290 yards with three touchdowns.
The Hillclimbers trailed 27-21 with 39 seconds left and took over at their own 25 on what would prove to be the decisive drive, with Lantz completing passes of 18 and 33 yards to his sophomore brother, Tate Lantz, to move into striking distance.
With 16 seconds to go, Grady Lantz threw toward the end zone to Houseman—but he was unable to reel it in.
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On the next play, Urbana attempted a similar play, and this time Houseman came down with it and stepped into the end zone for the touchdown with 3 seconds left. Junior kicker Riley Mounce connected on the extra point to seal it.
Dexyn Yohey puts the ball down and Riley Mounts connects on the game-winning extra point with 3 seconds left in regulation.
Urbana is 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
“The play before it was the same play, and I was still pretty open on that play too, but he couldn’t really get it to me,” Houseman said. “It all worked out in the end. Going through each play, you just have to make sure to get everything going and have positive thoughts all the way through, telling myself I could do it and staying locked in the whole time.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten Jonathan Alder in football in a while, and it feels great. I want to beat these guys every time we play them.”
The Pioneers, who dropped to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the CBC-Kenton Trail, put themselves in position for the win when Ben Petzinger intercepted a tipped pass with 1:19 to go on the Jonathan Alder 45.
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Ben Petzinger bobbles, then secures, a deflected pass in front of Urbana’s Hayden VanBuskirk to set up another Pioneer scoring drive.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Hughes hooked up with sophomore Parker Bates for a 17-yard pass, and junior Christian Amann ran for 18 yards to set up a 20-yard touchdown from Hughes to Bates on a shuffle pass with 45 seconds remaining. Gavin Johnson’s extra-point attempt, however, went just wide to keep it a 27-21 lead.
“The whole game was up and down, up and down, and there was 45 seconds left,” Grady Lantz said. “That was too much time because we can score at any time. I trust in my guys.
“(On the game-winning touchdown) we ran it the play before and it kind of didn’t work out, but we ran back to it and (Houseman) made an unbelievable play. I’m just so proud of my guys. We just came through when we needed to and made a play.”
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Urbana had given up an average of 40.7 points over its past four games but looked like a much sharper unit against the Pioneers.
Much to the distress of a hometown fan, Drew Hughes celebrates after 1 of his 2 second half TD’s that shifted the momentum in the Pioneer’s favor. But a defensive breakdown, plus a missed extra point, sealed Alder’s fate as they suffered their first loss of the season to the Hillclimbers, 28-27, in Central Buckeye Conference play.
With 21 seconds left in the first quarter, Grady Lantz hooked up with junior Drew Dixon for an 11-yard touchdown to cap a nine-play, 80 yard drive.
On the ensuing possession, Hughes was intercepted by senior Colton Roberts.
“It was definitely the way we practice,” said Roberts, who has three interceptions on the season. “We practiced freaking hard this week because our defense needed to step up. We can’t let up all these points we’ve been giving up, and we stepped up and really fixed a lot of stuff this week.”
Roberts returned the interception to the Jonathan Alder 8, setting up a touchdown pass on the next play from Grady Lantz to Tate Lantz for a 14-0 lead with 10:14 to go in the first half.
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“We played great in the first half,” Urbana coach Geron Stokes said. “Our kids kind of waited for the dam to break defensively. We started to go make a play late, and it was really cool for their belief system.
“(Our defense) couldn’t be worse (than it was the past few weeks). We had a tough week in practice, where you had better compete or you’re going to suck, and I’m not going to let us suck. They chose to compete and it was awesome. We always believe we can beat them. Our defense held strong early. We’re going to keep getting better.”
Parker Bates evades the grasp of Urbana defender Colton Roberts en route to a score.
The Pioneers had a strong answer after halftime, with Hughes connecting with Bates for a 43-yard touchdown pass with 9:59 to go in the third quarter.
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Grady Lantz burned Jonathan Alder with his feet on the ensuing drive, running for 7 and 12 yards to move the Hillclimbers to the Pioneers’ 22. After hooking up with Houseman for 8 yards, Grady then ran for a 14-yard touchdown with 6:21 to go in the third to make it 21-7.
There was certainly no love lost between these programs, as evidenced in this case, when Alder’s Caleb Wiltshire drove Urbana’s Drew Dixon into the ground after a pass reception.
Jonathan Alder then responded with three consecutive touchdowns, with Hughes running in from 40 yards with 5:11 to go in the third and tying it on a 99-yard run with 10:57 remaining.
“We were spinning our tires in the first half and then got on track in the second half, but it was obviously too little, too late,” Pioneers coach Brett Glass said. “Obviously we gave up the drive with 38 seconds left. I just feel for our kids. It’s a tough loss. Without watching the film, it’s hard to say what went wrong, but hats off to them.
“Every week is going to be a battle (in the CBC), and next week obviously we’ve got a big one.”
Alder’s Christian Amann finds a hole in Urbana’s defense for a gain.
While Jonathan Alder plays host to London on Oct. 9, the Hillclimbers play at Kenton Ridge. Both the Cougars and Red Raiders are 2-0 in the league.
As long as Grady Lantz continues to light up defenses as he did against the Pioneers, the Hillclimbers should remain in the league title race and in contention for a home playoff game.
“We’ve got an unbelievable quarterback,” Stokes said. “He’s a winner. He’s starting to lead and it’s affecting everyone else and how they work. It’s cool to get that ingrained in them.
“We have worked our tails off in a drastic different manner than they’ve ever had to work. They’ve been literally the definition of relentless.”
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