Columbus Grove topples LCC again

LIMA – Lima Central Catholic wanted redemption.But Columbus Grove made sure the rematch became a repeat for the Thunderbirds,Columbus Grove turned two turnovers into touchdowns, Trevor Baxter turned two of his seven receptions into scores as well and the No. 4-seeded Bulldogs validated a 33-25 Week 9 win over LCC with a 28-6 victory over No. 1-seeded the T-Birds in Friday's Division VII, Region 26 semifinal at Lima's Spartan Stadium."We knew playing the same team twice, they were going to be more prepared the second time," said Grove coach Andy Schafer."It was difficult. They were really loading the box, they were really bringing people. Hats off to LCC. It was a good hard-fought, physical game and I don't think the score really shows what it was."Columbus Grove's ninth straight win earned the Bulldogs (9-3) a spot in the Region 26 final against No. 3 Leipsic (11-1), which defeated Pandora-Gilboa 36-28 in Friday's other Region 26 semifinal. The two Putnam County schools, separated by just 15 mils of State Route 65 highway, will meet Friday at a neutral site to be announced by the OHSAA on Sunday.Lima Central Catholic took the opening kickoff and started marching right down the field. With second-team all-league quarterback Brady Parker and sophomore running back Carter Lester mixing counters, keepers, jet sweeps and draws with quick passes to Michael Quatman, also a Northwest Conference all-league player, and Lausen Flores, LCC covered 56 yards in 14 plays and had a first down at the Columbus Grove 12.Parker got four yards on a keeper, and Lester four more on a couple of counters. The T-Birds went for it on fourth-and-2 from the 8, but the snap came early. Parker grabbed for the ball once, twice, but couldn't get a handle on it.Gavin Baxter could, though.The sophomore corner swooped in, scooped up the ball and raced 82 yards the other way.Eight minutes into the game, LCC was marching steadily down the field.Ten seconds later, the T-Birds were facing a deficit that, eventually, they never got over."What's past is past. That's why getting a fast start was really important," said Schafer, has guided Grove to three straight regional championships. "The key to this week, the big speech, whatever you want to call it, was not defending the title but chasing it. It felt like if we got a fast start, then we were chasing the title. If we didn't, then we were just sitting there and defending it, and I thought we could lose that kind of game."Grove expanded its lead to 21-0 when Trevon Baxter and senior quarterback Landon Best hooked up on two touchdown passes. The first, after a short LCC punt, capped a two-play, 57-yard drive. Gavin Barraza ripped off a 22-yard run on the first play and, after a holding penalty, Best hit Baxter with as quick pop pass over the middle. Baxter shrugged off one tackler, switched directions and went 42 yards for the score.Another short punt set Grove up near midfield for its third drive. Brody McCluer powered for 9 yards on a fourth-and-3 play from the 40, and on third-and-long Best went deep and hit Trevon Baxter with a perfect pass between two defenders in the end zone.Baxter would actually catch three TD passes in the game. LCC got on the board late in the second quarter when Parker hit Quatman for 40 yards, Flores for 27 and then plunged over from 2 yards out.The T-Birds had some nice drives brewing in the second half as well, but Baxter took any late-game drama out of the equation when he picked Parker off and returned the interception 30 yards for a score just 90 seconds into the fourth quarter."You can't turn the ball over against a good team, especially when you turn the ball over and they score twice," LCC coach Colin Stolly said after the T-Birds completed a 10-2 season."We started off well. Once things didn't start going well, we didn't play up to our potential. That's something we have to get over. We have to find ways to win big football games."LCC had more rushing yards (159-46), more yards passing (186-176), ran more plays (57-41) and had more first downs (14-10). But the T-Birds also had three turnovers while Grove had none.Best completed 17-of-19 passes for 176 yards and the two TD passes to Trevon Baxter."Landon made smart decisions, not just on offense but on defense as well," Schafer said of his senior quarterback/defensive back."He's not really a big kid (6-0, 165) but he's physical for a quarterback and not afraid to stick his nose in there and make hits." Col. Grove 14 7 0 7—28LCC 0 6 0 0—6 First QuarterCG – G. Baxter 82 yard fumble return (Verhoff kick)CG – T. Baxter 45 pass from Best (Verhoff kick) Second QuarterCG – T. Baxter 30 pass from Best (Verhoff kick)LCC – Parker 2 run (kick blocked0 Fourth QuarterCG – T. Baxter 30 yard interception return (Verhoff kick) CG LCCFirst Downs 10 14Rushes-yards 22-46 33-159Passing Yards 176 186Comp-Att-Int 17-19-0 11-24-1Punts-Avg. 4-41.5 3-26.0Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-2Penalties-Yards 6-50 4-50INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING – Columbus Grove,McCluer 12-58, Best 8-(-14), G. Baxter 1-(-3), Barraza 1-5. Lima Central Catholic, Parker 17-86, Lester 9-26, Flores 7-47.PASSING – Columbus Grove, Best 17-19-0, 176 yards. Lima Central Catholic, Parker 11-24-1, 186 yards.RECEIVING – Columbus Grove, T. Baxter 7-124, G. Baxter 5-2, Barazza 4-44, McCluer 1-6. Lima Central Catholic, Flres 6-56, Quatman 3-86, White 1-32, Pernell 1-10.