NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford had homefield advantage as the higher-seeded team in Friday night’s Division VII, Region 22 playoff game.
But sixth-seeded Ottawa Hills earned the advantage on the scoreboard while leading throughout during a 28-21 victory over No. 3 seed Colonel Crawford.
The third-seeded Eagles broke on top first when Trevor Vogt scored on a 19-yard scamper. Braxton Morton’s PAT provided a 7-0 margin halfway through the first period.
But the Green Bears moved on top thanks to a 6-yard touchdown pass from Chase Miller to Nick Anderson. The two-point conversion gave Ottawa Hills an 8-7 edge with less than a month showing in the opening quarter.
The Green Bears goosed the margin to 15-7 midway through the second period on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Anderson.
With just over minutes showing in the third period, C.C.’s Micah Thomas plunged in from a yard out to close to within 15-13, but the two-point conversion failed with less than four minutes showing in the third quarter.
The Eagles took their last lead of the night when Vogt scooped up a fumble and rumbled 45 yards for a TD to make it 19-15. Vogt hit Kaden Bruner for the two-point conversion and it was 21-15 Eagles with less than three minutes remaining in the third period.
But Ottawa Hills didn’t waver.
The Green Bears regained the lead on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Miller to John Perozek and the ensuing PAT made it 22-21 with eight minutes remaining.
Moments later, Miller connected with Jackson Snyder for a 8-yard scoring toss to account for the final score.
Ottawa Hills won the game up front, carving out a 196-30 margin in rushing yards. The Green Bears also had a 228-131 advantage in passing yards and 424 to 161 in total yards.
The Eagles finished the season 10-2. Ottawa Hills is now 11-1 and will play No. 2-seed Bluffton, a 38-0 victor over Wynford on Friday night.
The photos below were provided by Diane Bemiller.
