Patriots edge McComb in regional final

NAPOLEON – Two months ago, Lincoln Creager was not Patrick Henry's starting quarterback. Two years ago, Thomas Smith wasn't even in a Patriots' uniform. At Napoleon's Buckenmeyer Stadium on Friday, fate tapped both on the shoulder and thrust them into the spotlight. Creager threw for 224 yards and a record-tying five touchdowns, Smith caught seven passes for 173 yards and three scores and Patrick Henry survived a tight, tense and tenuous final few minutes to nip McComb 40-39 in a tight, tense and tenuous Region 26 championship game. "Lincoln Creager is a warrior. He's a bulldog," Patrick Henry coach Bill Inselmann said of Creager, a 6-foor-3, 185-pound junior who was moved from receiver to quarterback when Nash Meyer, the school's career passing leader, was sidelined with a mid-season knee injury. "And Thomas Smith, he played as a freshman, didn't go out his sophomore and junior years, and came back out this season. Lincoln gave him a chance on every one of those throws and the individual plays Thomas made were unbelievable." Patrick Henry won its eighth regional football title, and its first since 2019. The Patriots (12-2) will face unbeaten, No. 1-ranked and perennial power Marion Local (14-0) in Friday's Division VII state semifinal at Lima Senior Spartan Stadium. McComb, gunning for its first regional title since its state championship season of 2018, ended up 11-3. "Week 14, playing for a regional championship, that's what we wanted," said McComb coach Kris Alge. "Unfortunately, we came up a little short."Each of the game's first seven scores flipped the scoreboard in a wildly back-and-forth battle between two traditionally strong programs. Creager threw touchdown passes on three consecutive throws in the first quarter. The first, a 15-yarder, was to Smith and put PH up 6-0. The second was picked off by Braxton Althauser, and returned 34 yards to put McComb up 7-6. The third, a 20-yarder to Smith, put the Patriots back in front 12-7. Althauser then gained 56 yards on seven straight carries and McComb quarterback Chase Woodruff dove over from a yard out to put the Panthers up 13-12 in the closing seconds of the first quarter. Creager and Smith hooked up for a 40-yard gain but it was a 11-yard strike to Landon Johnson that earned Patrick Henry an 18-13 edge at the half. The deficit might have been bigger. But Althauser, a state track qualifier and the fastest player on the field, made touchdown saving tackles by chasing down Houston Miranda (161 yards, 19 carries) after a break-away 47-yard gain in the first quarter, and a 54-yard sprint in the second. Althauser made a third TD-saving tackle when he caught up with Smith after he had turned a screen pass into a 47-yard gain in the third quarter. "He does it everywhere," Alge said of his senior back. "He's running the ball, he's catching the ball (2 for 68 yards), he's just doing it play after play." Woodruff went from quarterback to receiver to start the second half and had two 34-yard receptions – one from Brad Miehls, one from Blake Wittenmyer. Woodruff went back under center and capped an 85-yard drive with another 1-yard TD plunge that flopped the scoreboard once again, putting McComb up 18-13. That lead lasted all of 17 seconds. On Patrick Henry's first play following Woodruff's score, Creager went right on a quarterback keeper. He appeared to be stacked up along the line of scrimmage, but he slipped right, found space and raced 80 yards to put the Patriots back in front 26-20. Althauser would break loose for a 42-yard TD run, but Patrick Henry retaliated with a four-play 60-yard drive during a stretch that saw McComb go from 26-20 down to 26-26 tied to 33-26 down again in a matter of minutes. "We struggled stopping the big plays," Alge said. "Hats off to Patrick Henry, though. They have a good running back, good receivers and their quarterback played a heckuva game." When Patrick Henry spanned the third and fourth quarters with a 73-yard scoring drive to go up 40-26 it looked like the Patriots might finally take control of the outcome. Creager hit Smith with a 38-yard pass early in the drive, but capped it with a 34-yard down-the-middle strike to Miranda that wasn't even in the playbook a week ago. "I'm not going to lie, we got that from Hopewell-Loudon," Inselmann said, referencing last week's 26-14 playoff win. "Coach (Brian) Colatruglio did that to us last week, so I guess I'm guilty of stealing it." Th clock was becoming a factor when McComb's next drive ran out of steam at the PH 27-yard line. Wilson Grubb's tackle kept Patrick Henry from converting a first down on the other end of the field, and McComb made it a one –possession game when Wittenberg and Althauser hooked up on a 40-yard catch-and-run TD. With 6:25 to play, McComb trailed 40-33. McComb needed the ball back, and did it perfectly when Woodruff squibbed a kick that Patrick Henry did not handle cleanly. Althuser raced down and covered the ball at the PH 27. Relying on the running of Althauser, Grubb and Miehls behind its big, veteran line, McComb crunched its way inside the 10. Althauser picked up 4 yards and a key first down on a fourth-and-3 from the 4. Miehls punched it in on the next play and, with 1:48 on the clock, McComb needed only a PAT kick to tie it. It would not be, though. On the touchdown, McComb had been flagged for a 15-yard penalty, moving the ball from the 3 to the 18 and making the PAT kick a 35-yarder attempt. It became 40 when McComb was flagged for movement, and Woodruff's long attempt was short and left. "I'm not sure what all happened. Our kid just made a pancake block and they said he went excessive when he got up," Alge said. "Patrick Henry made some big plays that cost us. We had a couple of big penalties that cost us too, and in big games like this you can't have those." McComb &emsp;&emsp;13 0 13 13 — 39 Patrick Henry &emsp;&emsp;12 6 15 7 — 40 First Quarter PH – Smith 15 pass from Creeager (run failed) McC – Althauser 34 intercepion return (Woodruff kick) PH – Smith 20 pass from Creeager (pass failed) McC – Woodruff 1 run (kick failed) Second Quarter PH – Johnson 11 pass from Creager (run failed) Third Quarter McC – Woodruff 1 run (Woodruff kick) PH – Creager 80 run (Smith pass from Creager) McC – Althauser 42 run (kick failed) PH – Smith 20 pass from Creeager (J. Delgado kick) Fourth Quarter PH – Miranda 35 pass from Creeager (J. Delgado kick) McC – Althauser 44 pass from Wittenmyer (Woodruff kick) McC – Miehls 4 run (kick failed) &emsp;&emsp;McC &emsp;&emsp;PH &emsp;&emsp; First Downs &emsp;&emsp;17 &emsp;&emsp;14 Rushes-yards &emsp;&emsp;52-257 30-298 Passing Yards &emsp;&emsp;135 &emsp;&emsp;224 Comp-Att-Int &emsp;&emsp;5-11-0 10-19-1 &emsp;&emsp; Punts-Avg. &emsp;&emsp;2-34.5&emsp;&emsp;1-25.0 &emsp;&emsp; Fumbles-Lost &emsp;&emsp;0-0 &emsp;&emsp;1-1 &emsp;&emsp; individual statistics RUSHING — Patrick Hnery, Miranda 19-160; Creager 10-135; Johnsobn. McComb, Althauser 33-193, Miehls 9-33, Grubb 5-18, Woodruff 5-13. PASSING —Patrick Henryu, Creager 10-19-1, 224 yards. McComb, Wittenmyer 4-9-0, 101 yards; Woodruff 0-1-0; Miehls 5-11-0, 35 yards. RECEIVING — PH, Smith 7-173, Johnson 2-16, Mireanda 1-35. McComb Althauser 2-68; Woodruff 2-68, Miehls 1-(-1).