Football: Gahanna battles back to beat Pickerington North, wrap up unbeaten regular season
Friday, October 20, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Gahanna’s Brennen Ward throws a pass while Pickerington North’s Austin Taylor (44) applies pressure Oct. 20. Photo: John Hulkenberg
With a league championship, a perfect regular season and the No. 1 seed in Division I, Region 3 on the line, Pickerington North and Gahanna Lincoln put on a showcase that didn’t disappoint Friday from an entertainment perspective.
The host Lions, who last made it through a regular season unbeaten in 1998, leaned on a few big defensive plays and on the legs of senior running back Diore Hubbard to rally from a two-touchdown deficit and win 35-28 in two overtimes.
In the first meeting between Division I area programs that both entered the final week of regular season with perfect records since 1999, Gahanna got a goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter and a game-ending interception on the final play by Terrell Holcomb.
“I just feel like me and my brothers play for each other,” said Hubbard, who rushed 35 times for 265 yards and three touchdowns. “You’ve always got to keep going no matter the circumstance.”
The Lions, who improved to 10-0 and wrapped up their second consecutive OCC-Ohio Division championship at 5-0, fell behind 14-7 when North quarterback Landon O’Connell hit Jaden Vital for a 77-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half.
Gahanna drove to the North 8 on the ensuing possession, but Rafael “Tank” Washington then returned an interception 98 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-7.
A 5-yard touchdown run by Hubbard with 4:25 to go in the third quarter made it 21-14, but the Panthers had an opportunity to make it a two-score lead again two possessions later.
Members of the Gahanna defense try and block the extra point of Pickerington North’s Landon Grosh on Oct. 20. Photo: John Hulkenberg
North’s Dorian Hamilton ran 17 yards to make it first-and-goal at the Gahanna 5 but then was held to runs of 3, 1 and 0 yards. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, the Panthers handed it to 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman and Illinois-commit Angelo McCullom, but he was stopped short of the goal.
Gahanna then drove 99 yards, with Hubbard breaking for a 60-yard run on the sixth play of the drive to set up his own 1-yard touchdown run with 4:07 remaining that tied it at 21.
“We’ve got to find a way to score when we’re on the 1 1/2-yard line,” North coach Nate Hillerich said. “They converted some big fourth downs all game. They’re well-coached. It was a classic game right there.”
The Lions had a chance to end the game in regulation after getting to the North 7 on a 24-yard pass from Brennen Ward to Tayshawn Parm with 26 seconds to go, but on third-and-goal from the 4, Hubbard had the ball knocked out of his hands just before crossing the goal line with 4 seconds left for a touchback that forced overtime.
“There’s been one game I think we honestly played clean all year,” Gahanna coach Bruce Ward said. “We’ve been here before. Obviously Pickerington North is a great team, but we were making a lot of mistakes mentally and doing things we typically don’t do. (Hubbard) reached out and tried to put it across the goal line, and it was questionable whether he got in or not. He’s the best back in the state, so you can’t be too mad at him. He’s trying and he’s fighting for it. My comment to him was ‘Let’s go get it back.’”
Gahanna’s Diore Hubbard tries to fend off Pickerington North’s Austin Taylor on Oct. 20 at Gahanna. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Hamilton ran for a 5-yard touchdown and Ward connected with Parm for a 12-yard scoring pass in the first overtime.
Gahanna got it to start the second overtime, and Amir Simmons rushed for 11 yards to set up a 9-yard scoring run by Hubbard that made it 35-28.
On third-and-8 from the Gahanna 18 on North’s possession, Holcomb reached out and picked off O’Connell to seal the win.
“I saw I was free when the ball came my way, I caught the ball and we made history,” Holcomb said. “I knew it was going to be a fight for all four quarters. We gave everything we had. Gahanna hasn’t been back-to-back OCC champs since the 1980s, so it means a lot.”
Holcomb started the first two games in 2022 before going down with a season-ending injury but has settled in at outside linebacker this fall.
“Terrell’s played well,” coach Ward said. “Terrell was a starter for us last year and breaks his leg in Week 1, so that was 13 games he missed. It’s been like starting over for him this year, but he’s been getting better as the week’s have gone on, and obviously he made a heck of a play.”
Gahanna is the No. 1 seed in the region and will play 16th-seeded Reynoldsburg on Oct. 27 to open the postseason. The Lions beat the Raiders 49-6 on Sept. 8.
North, which finished runner-up at 4-1 in the OCC-Ohio, is 9-1 overall and the No. 3 seed in Region 3. The Panthers will open the playoffs at home against No. 14 Westerville Central on Oct. 27 in a rematch of a game North won 16-14 on Sept. 22.
“You’ve always got to turn the next page and you can’t dwell on the last mistake,” Hubbard said. “I know I’m not supposed to fumble, but it’s all about facing adversity.”