New Albany built a three-touchdown halftime lead and then held on through a furious Canal Winchester rally to win 28-20 on Friday night in a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal, sending the Eagles to a regional semifinal for the first time since 2022.
New Albany led 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-0 at halftime, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s live coverage of the game. The Eagles appeared in full control at the break, having scored on three first-half possessions while their defense kept Canal Winchester off the scoreboard entirely.
Canal Winchester finally broke through in the third quarter to make it 21-7, and the visitors kept coming after New Albany pushed the margin back to 28-7 in the fourth quarter. Running back Jamari Snow, who carried the Canal Winchester offense all season, scored his second touchdown of the night from a yard out with 4:33 left to cut the lead to 28-13, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Snow struck once more with 1:31 remaining, scoring his third touchdown of the night on another 1-yard run to pull Canal Winchester within 28-20. The late score set up an onside-kick finish, but New Albany recovered and ran out the clock to close out the win.
The victory improves New Albany to 9-2 on the season. The Eagles, the No. 4 seed in Region 7, had earned their home quarterfinal by finishing near the top of one of central Ohio’s deepest regions, and Friday’s win was their second of the postseason after a first-round bye.
Canal Winchester finishes its season 8-4. Snow’s three-touchdown night capped a prolific season for the senior, who entered the game as one of the most productive running backs in central Ohio and carried the Indians’ offense throughout their playoff run, but the early 21-point hole proved too deep for the Indians to climb out of on the road.
New Albany advances to face top-seeded Columbus Watterson in a Region 7 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13. Watterson beat Whitehall-Yearling 36-6 in its quarterfinal on Friday night, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s scoreboard. The winner of next week’s semifinal moves on to the Region 7 championship game.