Granville takes first loss at hands of Licking Heights
By: Grant Kiefer, Parker Kopronica
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GRANVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) – Granville’s homecoming game saw the Blue Aces put their undefeated record on the line at home against a stellar 3-2 Licking Heights Hornets squad looking to follow up its victory against Newark Catholic. However, the Hornets were playing with house money and pulled off yet another upset victory, this time a 28-18 win.
After trading back-to-back three and outs, Granville began working the ball downfield. Aided by a couple of pass interference calls on Licking Heights, the Blue Aces were able to strike first in this game.
Granville started with an excellent field position at their own 41-yard line after a bad Hornets punt, which they took full advantage of. The Blue Aces got the game’s first down after a Tyler Ernsberger rush, which was followed by a Licking Heights pass interference, putting Granville at the Hornets’ 38-yard line. After a Dante Varasso catch was taken out of bounds at the 14-yard line, the Blue Aces drew yet another pass interference.
Now at the 7-yard line, the Blue Aces worked it up to the 2-yard line on a Beckett Long rush. Despite a chop block penalty on Granville, Tyler Ernsberger immediately found his guy Dante Varasso in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, making the score 6-0.
Granville led 6-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, but that didn’t last much longer. Licking Heights’ DJ Fillmore blocked a punt for a touchdown to put the Hornets in the lead, 7-6.
The Blue Aces tried to fire back right away with a quick throw downfield to Kyle Kirby, setting the Blue Aces up nicely in the red zone. However, this drive fell apart and ended on a missed 43-yard field goal.
Granville’s next drive consisted of Dante Varasso absolutely dominating. He had 4 major catches on the drive that played a huge part in getting into the red zone. The Blue Aces were knocking on the door at the goal line, but fumbled on the one-yard line and gave the ball away to Licking Heights.
Somehow, after all of this, the score stood at 7-6, Licking Heights. However, this didn’t last for long as the Hornets ran the two-minute drill perfectly. Dante Varasso started us off with an 18-yard run followed by a Randy Moss-Esque catch from Josiah Ayers all the way at the Granville 10-yard line. Licking Heights punched it in with Deuce Caldwell at the end of the half, putting the Hornets up 14-6 at halftime.
Just about halfway through the 3rd quarter, Licking Heights began their 2nd half scoring run, as a 41-yard run from Jake Lopinto set up the Hornets to score from three yards out on a Deuce Caldwell run, putting Licking Heights up 21-6.
Licking Heights put their mark on this one during their next drive, as a great starting field position set up another Deuce Caldwell 3-yard rushing touchdown, giving Licking Heights a 28-6 lead.
It seemed over after this, but Granville wasn’t ready to give up. A pair of onside kick recoveries led to two touchdowns in a one-minute span, however, the Blue Aces were not able to convert a 2-point conversion on either touchdown. Ultimately, Licking Heights would put Granville away with a final score of 28-18.
Licking Heights, now standing at 4-2 and coming off back-to-back incredible wins, will host Zanesville for its homecoming game next Friday.
As for the Granville Blue Aces, they’ll look to rebound from their first loss this season in a matchup at home against Bishop Watterson.