Thomas Leads Tipp Back From The Brink, Earns Rematch With Bellbrook

Not done yet: Larkin Thomas scored two fourth-quarter TDs to lead Tippecanoe to a miraculous come-from-behind win over McNicholas

Tipp City, OH — The beautiful career of Larkin Thomas looked destined for an ugly finale for a good two hours Friday night.

Tippecanoe fell into a 14-0 hole early against a battle-tested Cincinnati McNicholas team that was loaded with big, impressive athletes on offense and a swarming defense. 

The Red Devils rallied once to tie only to then go down 13 again against a Rockets defense that had not allowed a point since Oct. 16 and only gave up more than 10 once all season. 

But instead of a nightmare, the Red Devils quarterback’s final chapter at Tipp City Park will forever be remembered as a triumph thanks to both his determination and a lot of help from his friends.

Thomas ran for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a 13-point deficit and send Tippecanoe into the Division II, Region 12 final with a 28-27 victory. 

“You have that creeping in the back of your head, everyone does, especially being a senior. You’re thinking, is this it? Is my career done here?” Thomas said after doing one last walk across the field with his classmates. “And I think none of us vocally said that. We might have thought that, but our leaders did a great job of installing energy on our sidelines. That was one of the big things. Once we got momentum, we held on to that momentum in the second half, and we just executed. 

“Our defense got incredible stops at the end of the game, and that’s a great McNick offense, but our defense was just bend, don’t break, and everyone just believed. As as we got that momentum, everyone believed in each other.”

The rally was amazing enough even loquacious Tippecanoe coach Matt Burgbacher professed to be at a loss for words once the last second had ticked off the clock, but he still ended up finding plenty to say.

“These seniors knew this was their last game on this field,” said Burgbacher, a Tippecanoe alum. “This was their last walk from the roundhouse. I did it 31 years ago. I remember that walk from the roundhouse, and I told them they’re playing for everybody that has walked from that roundhouse. Everybody — every former player is playing through them tonight, and that name across their chest that has a lot of responsibility.”

The Rockets leapt out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of long touchdown drives, but the Red Devils got a 26-yard return of the kickoff following the second one by Bentley Heckman to take possession at their 39. 

On the first play, Thomas found Grant Titley on a deep out to the sideline. He cut up field and the safety pursuing from the field fell down, leaving Titley to race up the sideline until being caught at the McNicholas 5. 

Three plays later, they faced fourth-and-goal from the 6, and Burgbacher never looked like he thought about calling for a field goal. 

Then the play call met the moment.

Thomas started to his left on a speed option then pitched the ball inside to Heckman on a reverse. The shifty receiver had some space initially then juked a defender near the goal line for a gotta-have-it touchdown with 7:54 left in the second quarter. 

That kept the Red Devils in the game, and they tied it not long after with some opportunistic defense. 

After pinning the Rockets at the 5 on the kickoff, the Red Devils had the visitors facing third-and-11. They dialed up a bubble screen that ended in disaster when Evan Sandfoss threw it behind his man in the slot. The backwards pass landed in the end zone, where Tippecanoe safety Talan Hoover jumped on it for a touchdown that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. 

Their elation was soon tempered, though, as McNich needed only one play to respond. Sandfoss took a quick drop and threw a short pass to his left to Max Orlando, who raced the rest of the way for a 77-yard touchdown that put the Rockets back on top 21-14 with 6:42 left in the second quarter. 

They extended their advantage on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Sandfoss to Connor Powderly, who was all alone 25 yards downfield thanks to a busted coverage, in the third quarter, but the difference remained only 27-14 when the PAT kick went wide left.

While that provided a glimmer of hope for the Red Devils, the embers of their usually high-powered offense still would not ignite for the rest of the third quarter. 

Not until Hoover made a leaping interception of a Sandfoss pass deep along the McNicholas sideline with 9:01 left in the fourth quarter did the Red Devils finally spring to life on offense.

Thomas hit fellow senior Titley on a post for 14 yards to convert a third-and-10, and that got Tipp rolling. 

A 23-yard pass to Kam Hypes came next, then an interception was waived off because of defensive holding. 

After an incomplete pass and a pair of short runs, the Red Devils faced pretty much fourth-and-the-season at the McNicholas 19 with 6:46 to go. 

Actually they only needed three yards, and there was no doubt who was getting the ball. 

Although the Rockets had keyed on Tipp’s designed QB runs all night, Thomas’ number was called.

He delivered, catching a shotgun snap and slamming over left guard. Thomas pushed forward for the yards needed for a first down, but he didn’t stop there and eventually popped free for a 19-yard touchdown with 6:17 on the clock. 

That revived the hosts hopes of living to play at least one more week, and they got the ball back less than two minutes later.

After Levi Jones picked up 18 yards on two carries, Thomas found Titley on a pump-and-go he said they had been waiting to unleash for a long time. It picked up 27 yards and set the Devils up at the Rocket 23. 

Two plays later, Thomas weaved his way into the end zone from 17 yards out to tie the game at 27, a play he said wouldn’t have been possible without a block from Heckman downfield — and the offensive line, of course.

“We ran those plays a lot from the first snap of the game to the last, and what was different about those was we needed them to step up up front,” Thomas said. “We we’re getting out-physical, but when we counted on that offensive line, they did their job. And we can’t score those without that. Our receivers know how to block, and they love to block. It’s a thing about celebrating others’ success, mudita, and that’s what we do.”

Of course, the touchdown also left the all-important PAT kick to Owen Baileys, who did his part and slammed the ball through the uprights for a 28-27 Tipp lead with 2:48 to go. 

That left it up to the defense, and they were up to the task as well. 

The Red Devils made their last stand at their own 38, breaking up three passes and benefiting from one dropped ball. 

The fateful final fourth-and-10 was an attempt to the sideline Titley broke up to send his fans into jubilation and give the Red Devils the chance to run out the clock.

“It’s definitely nerve-wracking, but I mean, we stayed sound to our our core values for trust, technique, toughness, and tackling, and that’s exactly what we did,” Titley said of the defense’s final stop. “We executed, and we did exactly we had to do to come out with the win, and I’m hyped about it.” 

Next up is a rematch with No. 1 seed Bellbrook in the regional final next week at a site to be announced.

To further the fairytale aspect of the night, the Golden Eagles present a rematch for the Red Devils — a true opportunity for revenge. 

Bellbrook came to this field in Week 1 and pushed Tippecanoe all over the place after a long weather delay. 

The 27-14 victory stamped the purple and gold as bullies to be reckoned with across the region and they hope beyond, and they earned their chance to win the region next week by rallying to beat Miami Trace 24-21 on Friday night.

Burgbacher said getting another shot at them hasn’t been a huge focus of the rest of the season, but it is definitely welcome. 

“I’ll think about that tomorrow,” he said. “I’m gonna enjoy this one tonight because these boys earned it. They earned it.

“We both know what each one’s going to do, and I respect the heck out of (Bellbrook coach Jeff) Jenkins and his program. We are so similar in everything, so it’s going to be fun. Not too many times you get a second chance. We got a lot of work to do, and but it’ll be fun.” 

As for Thomas, he was grateful for one more chance to walk off the field at Tipp City Park a winner and another chance to compete with ‘Tippecanoe’ across his chest.  

“I sat down on my on my knees and prayed, you know, not just because I didn’t have faith in our defense. It’s just because you know sometimes you you got to have faith in everything, and the Lord responded,” Thomas said. “He answered a prayer there, but our defense is great, and everyone on defense had their shine tonight.”