New Albany rushed for 297 yards and built a 21-0 halftime lead Friday night, then held off a furious Canal Winchester comeback to win 28-20 in a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal — avenging a Week 2 loss and sending the Eagles into the regional semifinals. The final score was reported by The Columbus Dispatch and confirmed on the statewide scoreboards of the Mansfield News Journal and the Zanesville Times Recorder.
The tone was set on the game’s first snap. Kingston Torres-Lofton broke a 36-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, and Avery Bastian scored on both of his first-half carries — touchdown runs of 14 yards in the first quarter and 43 yards in the second — as fourth-seeded New Albany (9-2) piled up 230 rushing yards before halftime, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The Eagles averaged 164 rushing yards per game during the regular season.
It was the opposite script from the first meeting. Canal Winchester won the Week 2 matchup 35-28 after jumping out 14-0, and Bastian told The Columbus Dispatch the early surge was the point this time: “It was great to set the tone because the last time we played them, they got up 14-0 and really set us back. We have been spreading the wealth all year, getting the ball to a lot of guys.”
New Albany’s defense did its part early. Linebacker Mason Ackermann and defensive lineman Elijah King led an effort that largely contained Canal’s ground game in the first half, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Ackermann told The Columbus Dispatch the difference from Week 2 was preparation: “Just read and react. That first game, we were still learning our defensive coverages; we didn’t know exactly what we were doing. Tonight, we got back to fundamentals.”
The night also marked the return of Harvard commit Jett Jerwers, who had been out since mid-September with an upper-body injury. Jerwers carried six times for 44 yards, and coach Mark Solis told The Columbus Dispatch, “He’s another guy they have to account for. All year we have spread the wealth. A lot of different guys touch the ball. We will always take what defenses give us.”
Canal Winchester (8-4) refused to fold. Star running back Jamari Snow, a 2,000-yard rusher, was held in check early but amassed 79 of his 141 yards and all three of his touchdowns after halftime, scoring from 3, 1 and 1 yards, according to The Columbus Dispatch. His final 1-yard touchdown with 1:31 left pulled the Indians within 28-20 before New Albany recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Snow finished the season with 37 rushing touchdowns and, unofficially, 2,453 rushing yards this fall, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Canal interim coach Corey Coe told The Columbus Dispatch, “We knew it was going to be a little different game in terms of how they would defend us in the box. We still had some success here and there, but they did a great job of winning first- and second-down.” Canal’s six-game winning streak was snapped, while New Albany has won four straight since a Week 7 loss at Gahanna Lincoln.
Solis credited the visitors for the scare, telling The Columbus Dispatch, “They didn’t lay down. All the credit goes to them and their efforts in the second half. It was closer than we wanted it to be.”
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: New Albany (9-2) advances to face top-seeded Watterson (10-0), which beat Whitehall-Yearling 36-6 on Friday, in the Region 7 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13 at Ohio Dominican, according to The Columbus Dispatch. What we’re still waiting on: the status of New Albany senior quarterback Drew Jackson, who went down at the end of a 48-yard run early in the fourth quarter, stayed down for several minutes and walked off with assistance, visibly limping. Solis had no update after the game, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Central Ohio’s other unbeaten powers kept rolling Friday as well — read our coverage of Big Walnut’s 37-7 win over Louisville in the same region.
What happens next is the biggest test of New Albany’s season: a semifinal date with a 10-0 Watterson team, with Jackson’s health the week’s central question. A healthy Eagles ground game — 297 yards against a defense built to stop it — gives New Albany a puncher’s chance, but the margin for error shrinks considerably from here.
Photo: Sixflashphoto, CC BY-SA 4.0
[…] 7’s other quarterfinals reshaped the bracket around the Eagles on the same night. New Albany ran past Canal Winchester 28-20 behind 297 rushing yards, Big Walnut stayed unbeaten with a 37-7 win over Louisville, and Massillon […]