Massive fourth-quarter comeback lifts East to upset of unbeaten Licking Valley
Friday, November 13, 2026
By Steve Blackledge
sblackledge@cbussports.com
East quarterback Dior Hansard carries the ball into the end zone for the Tigers’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter at Licking Valley on Friday. Photo: Kevin Rouch
HANOVER – What unfolded Friday night in an utterly stunned Randy Baughman Stadium not only will go down in the lore of 128-year-old Columbus East High School’s football program, but for the often-beleaguered City League as a whole.
Before a Division III, Region 11 semifinal matchup, East had won just four postseason games, the latter being a mild upset of perennial power Thornville Sheridan in a quarterfinal a week earlier.
Meanwhile, unbeaten Licking Valley – third-ranked in the final Associated Press poll — entered with 41 playoff wins and eight final four appearances under the legendary 51-year coach for which the stadium was dedicated.
Turning what they perceived as a lack of respect into a deep resolve, the explosive and resilient Tigers staged a comeback for the ages, rallying from a 33-14 deficit in the final 10:25 for an exhilarating 36-33 win on the road. What East’s small but mighty 26-man squad pulled off left seventh-year coach Mike Bell at a loss of words.
“That’s why you never, ever give up,” Bell said amid hugs from players and fans. “I’ve been doing this since 1999 and I’d never seen anything like this before or been so proud. There’s just 26 of us, but we brought soldiers with us. This is one of the biggest wins for the City League against such a prominent program in a long, long time.”
Third-seeded East (11-1) earned the right to face yet another Ohio blueblood in top-seeded, four-time state champion Steubenville (10-2) in a regional final Nov. 20 at a neutral site to be determined by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
“I’m still kind of in shock,” East junior quarterback Dior Hansard said. “How far down were we, like 21 points? They had us on the ropes for sure. And that’s not an easy team to beat. But you never give a hungry, determined team like us a chance or we’ll take it.”
East wideout Michael Thompson-Ayres maneuvers past the Licking Valley defense on his way to a touchdown during the Tigers’ 36-33 playoff win at Randy Baughman Stadium on Friday. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The slippery, steely, strong-armed Hansard played a giant role in the comeback. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for a pair of scores, the latter coming on a 1-yard run with 1:46 remaining. That, coupled with a two-point conversion pass to Michael Thompson-Ayers, gave the Tigers their first lead.
But proud Licking Valley fought to the final second before falling. With quarterback Brody Rodgers completing five straight passes, the Panthers briskly drove from their own 31-yard-line to East’s 20. But a humongous sack of minus-9 yards by Marquez Mattox put Valley, which had used its allotment of timeouts, into a tough predicament.
After an intentional spike to stop the clock, Rodgers faced fourth-and-15 at the 26-yard-line. His pass into the end zone just missed Conner Keeley with 20 seconds remaining, sending the Tigers bench and faithful into delirium.
“We had a lot of people going against us tonight and that just provided us more motivation,” Thompson-Ayers said. “No matter what anybody else things, we believe strongly in ourselves and our band of brothers. Even so, I still can’t believe we did it. What a moment for East High.”
Thompson-Ayers, a 5-8, 175-pounder junior with over 1,200 receiving yards and 23 total TDs, put on an absolute show. After returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in the win over Sheridan, he followed it up with 10 receptions for 182 yards, including breathtaking TDs of 59 and 65 yards. On the game-winning drive, he snagged a highlight reel one-handed leaping grab on the sideline of 18 yards that conjured images of Odell Beckham.
“That kid is as explosive as anybody we’ve ever faced,” Baughman said. “He’s just one of a few guys they have who if they get their hands on the ball, they can go the distance. We knew what they did and what they were capable of. It was just a matter of stopping it. Just when I thought we had them a few times, they came up with big plays. Sometimes, you’ve just got to tip your cap to the opponent.”
Licking Valley quarterback Brody Rodgers threw for two touchdowns and ran one into the end zone for the Panthers against East on Friday. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Throughout the third quarter, it seemed as if Valley was one the verge of pulling away.
Rodgers, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 71 yards and a score, kept East guessing with magical ball-handling and play action skills. Running behind a big physical line anchored by 6-6, 300-pound major college recruit Carson Adkins, Dylan Keeley rushed for 90 yards and two TDs. Carter Nethers made seven receptions for 106 yards. But when the Panthers tried to bleed the clock with a big lead, East made some clutch stops that turned the momentum.
Shemarion Coleman was a tackling machine for East all night.
“They were trying to user their physical game to wear us down, but our motto is kill or be killed and we fought right back until our offense and special teams could make the plays to get us back in it,” he said.
Added Bell, “When you look up at the scoreboard and see 36-33 it probably sounds strange but our defense won this game for us.”
Another key playmaker for East was Adreice Reed, who made two receptions for 76 yards, including a 41-yard TD, and recorded a pivotal third-down sack to thwart a scoring opportunity.
Valley’s defense got a sterling effort from Peyton George, whose two sacks set a program record 17 for the season.
Squandering a big fourth-quarter lead was a tough pill to swallow for Baughman, who has won 382 games in his career – good for fourth in Ohio history.
“It is hard to stomach in some ways, but that’s just the way life is … sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t,” he said. “We lost to really quality, well-coached team tonight. They were quicker on the defensive side of the ball than we’ve seen and that made it difficult to finish the way we wanted to.”
East receiver Adreice Reed makes a catch on his way to the end zone during the Tigers’ playoff win at Licking Valley on Friday. Photo: Kevin Rouch