CHILLICOTHE — The Miami Trace Panthers were looking to get back on the winning track Friday night, Oct. 18 when they traveled to Ohio’s First Capital city to take on the Cavaliers of Chillicothe High School.
Chillicothe was coming off its first win of the season, 40-7 over the McClain Tigers.
For the Panthers, they had lost last week at Jackson, 43-27.
The Cavs stunned the Panthers in this Frontier Athletic Conference match-up, 28-25.
Chillicothe had the ball first to start the game and moved it from their own 30 down the field on a 10-play drive.
Freshman Cartae Ligon scored on a 4-yard run. With the extra point, the Cavs took a 7-0 lead with 7:41 to play in the first quarter.
The Panthers had to punt on their first possession and Chillicothe had good field position thanks to a return by Ligon.
Four plays later and it was Ligon again, running in from four yards with 3:35 to play in the opening quarter. The PAT was good and the Cavs were in front, 14-0.
On their next possession, Miami Trace appeared as though they would have to punt away.
The Panthers faced a fourth down and four at the Chillicothe 41-yard line.
Miami Trace disdained the punt and Trey Robinette passed to Skye Salyers for a first down.
Cooper Enochs ran the ball down to the Chillicothe 6-yard line and Robinette found Salyers for the touchdown as time ran out in the first quarter.
Levi Morrison’s kick made it 14-7 to begin the second quarter.
The Panthers made their first defensive stop, forcing the Cavs to punt.
Miami Trace had the ball at its own 25-yard line with 9:21 left in the first half.
The Panthers moved the ball deep into Chillicothe territory.
The drive stalled and Morrison came on and successfully booted a 29-yard field goal at the 5:02 mark of the second quarter.
After an exchange of punts, Chillicothe took over at its own 26-yard line with 1:23.
The Cavs moved the ball up to their own 30-yard line and quarterback Andrew Hamman connected with Ligon. The freshman raced 70 yards for the score and with 50 seconds remaining in the half, Chillicothe held a 21-10 lead.
The Panthers were able to move the ball down to the Chillicothe 20-yard line.
A field goal attempt of 37 yards was no good and the score remained 21-10 at the break.
A look at the halftime statistics, provided by Tom ‘Chatter’ Harris, had Chillicothe 3 of 4 passing for 72 yards and one touchdown.
The Cavaliers ran the ball 15 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns, for a total of 213 yards of offense.
Trey Robinette was 15 of 20 passing for 161 yards and one touchdown.
Miami Trace ran the ball 14 times for 30 yards for a total of 191 offensive yards.
The Panthers had the ball to start the second half, but faced a quick three and out, punting to the Cavs.
Chillicothe took possession at its own 24-yard line.
The Cavs converted on fourth down and three at the Miami Trace 20-yard line.
A couple of plays later and Ligon ran the ball in for an 8-yard touchdown, his fourth of the game.
The point-after kick gave the Cavs a 28-10 lead.
The Panthers got a nice boost on a 59-yard run by Julian Baker, down to the Chillicothe 21-yard line.
Miami Trace soon faced a fourth down and seven at the Cavs’ 18 with just over one minute to play in the third quarter.
The Panthers retained possession after a pass from Robinette to Gaige Stuckey resulted in a first down at the Chillicothe 8-yard line.
From there, Robinette ran the ball in and Morrison’s kick made it 28-17 with 1:07 to play in the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, the Miami Trace defense rose to the occassion and got the much-needed stop. Chillicothe faced a fourth down and 11 from its own 36 and they punted away with 10:29 to go in the game.
The Panthers took over near midfield.
A few plays later and Robinette and Stuckey combined for an outstanding throw and catch for a 31-yard touchdown.
Trailing at that moment by five points, the Panthers went for a two-point conversion.
Robinette drilled a pass to Salyers, who was just a couple of feet inside the end zone on the visitor’s side of the field.
That put the score at 28-25 in favor of Chillicothe with 8:34 to play in the game.
Chillicothe was slowing things down, burning precious time off the clock.
The Cavs moved the ball down to the Miami Trace 19-yard line, where they faced a fourth down and one.
The Panthers utilized their first time out with 3:25 to go.
Once again, the Cavs looked to No. 18, Ligon.
So very much needed at this juncture, the Panthers’ defense stopped Ligon and took over on downs at their own 19-yard line with 3:18 remaining.
The Panthers had a scare on the first play, as the ball hit the turf, but Robinette recovered. However, it was a loss of five yards.
There followed an incomplete pass and then another incomplete pass on third down. A holding penalty was called on Miami Trace and Chillicothe declined, leaving the Panthers with a fourth down and 14 at their own 14 yard line and 2:29 to play.
Robinette punted away and with no one back to receive for the Cavs, the ball rolled to a stop at the Chillicothe 33-yard line.
Chillicothe took its first time out with 2:17 left in the game.
After a loss of three, the Cavs gained 12 and had a third down and one.
The Panthers used their second time out with 1:28 to play.
The Cavaliers got the first down when play resumed.
Chillicothe wanted to talk things over and used their second time out with 1:02 left.
The Cavs had the ball first and 10 at their own 44-yard line.
Chillicothe’s quarterback dropped back after the snap and took a knee.
The Panthers had to call their final time out.
The Cavs had the game in hand at this point and took a knee twice more on second and third down, securing their second straight FAC victory, 28-25.
The Cavs improved to 2-2 in the FAC and the Panthers fell to 2-2 in the conference.
As Chillicothe celebrated a Homecoming victory, Miami Trace head coach Jerry Williams spoke to his team and then to the Record-Herald.
“This is a tough loss,” Williams said. “We had a tough loss last week and we needed to rebound.
“I felt like our guys were loose all week,” Williams said. “I was trying to rally them and get them to focus (on Chillicothe).
“No excuses — we’ve got to play,” Williams said. “Talent doesn’t win games, execution wins games. We just didn’t get it done today.”
In other FAC games Friday night, the Washington Blue Lions defeated the McClain Tigers, 43-19.
Washington is now in second place in the FAC at 3-1, while McClain falls to 0-4.
Jackson clinched at least a share of the FAC with a 49-0 win at home over Hillsboro. The Indians stand fifth in the FAC at 1-3.
Next week’s games are: Miami Trace at Washington, McClain at Hillsboro and Jackson at Chillicothe.
In spite of the loss, according to Joe Eitel’s website, the Panthers have clinched a playoff berth, although they drop from No. 7 to No. 9 in Division III, Region 12.
Hillsboro is eliminated from the playoffs, as per Eitel’s site.
Chillicothe, despite being 2-7, is still alive for the playoffs at No. 20 in Division III, Region 12.
Jackson (7-2) has clinched a playoff berth. They are now No. 9 in Division III, Region 11.
McClain is out at 1-8 in Division IV, Region 16 and the Blue Lions, while Bethel-Tate at No. 20 and Dayton Oakwood at No. 22 are eliminated, Washington — 3-6 and No. 21 in D-IV, Region 16 — is still alive for a playoff spot.
Again, this is all according to the Joe Eitel website.
The official Ohio High School Athletic Association’s computer ratings will be announced Tuesday.
