Piketon’s undefeated (red)streak comes to an end
By: Cameron Young, Morgan Anderson
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PIKETON, Ohio (WOUB) — The Piketon Redstreaks’ historical season came to an end on Saturday in a Regional Quarterfinal loss to the Columbus Academy Vikings. It was their first undefeated regular season since the 1960s.
There was no secret of what Piketon was going to try to do on offense in this game. Gridiron Glory Player of the Year candidate Levi Gullion had a monster year and showed why he earned such high prestige, in the first half.
It was the Vikings who got on the board first though with an impressive drive capped off by quarterback Henry Rubey on a three-yard touchdown run nine minutes into the first quarter.
Piketon would go on to show off their explosive offense that has been so dangerous all year. Within 30 seconds, Levi Gullion and John Burton were able to connect for two touchdowns for 120 yards thanks to an onside kick recovery in between. The first went for a 71-yard Burton catch and run while the second went for a 49-yard bomb over the top of the Columbus Academy defense.
The Redstreaks and Vikings traded scores with a touchdown and two-point conversion each before going into the locker room at halftime with Piketon leading 22-15.
A one-score deficit was not the biggest concern of Columbus Academy entering halftime. Backup quarterback Rex Whitney was forced to come into the game after losing starting quarterback Henry Rubey to injury at the end of the half. This meant that the Viking would need to rely heavily on their defense and running game in the second half to upset the explosive Redstreaks.
Columbus Academy did just that for the duration of the entire second half. Linebacker Harold Hacker tied the game up at 22-a-piece with a tipped interception and return for a touchdown.
On offense, neither team was really able to get it going in the second half. Both defenses stepped up with huge turnovers on down in the redzone multiple times.
When it mattered most, it was Columbus Academy that was able to deliver a game-winning drive with the majority of plays coming on the ground. Drake Bellisari would punch it in for the Vikings. They would convert the two-point conversion with a creative jump pass to go up 30-22.
30-22 would be the final score from Piketon. Despite valiant efforts from the entire Piketon team, the Columbus Academy defense was able to come up with the huge stop in the end to keep the Redstreaks out of the endzone.
After a heartbreaking loss, Piketon head coach Tyler Gullion touched on how special this years’ senior class was.
“They’ve stuck together. They’ve battled.” Gullion said. “What they have gave us and where they took is is really special.”
The Redstreaks finished the season with a 10-1 record. Their historic season included an SVC championship and a home playoff win that Piketon has not seen in their school history.