SMCC avoids upset bid in 18-14 win over Chalker

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic found itself in an unfamiliar position. The Panthers took the first punch in the mouth Saturday, trailing Chalker by two touchdowns early in the second quarter. Facing third down, quarterback Cullen Dillard hit Noah Michel for a 29-yard pass. Two plays later, SMCC scored a touchdown. The Panthers controlled the final three quarters from there, especially defensively, in a tough 18-14 Northern 8 Conference win over the Wildcats at Strobel Field. "We didn't tackle really well," SMCC coach Toby Hammond said. "They have three or four guys that run really hard and really fast. If we missed tackles, we weren't going to catch them. They're a physical team. Like I told the kids, this is the best team we've played all year. "We had to be ready. I think we were, but a lot of little things hurt us." The Panthers (9-0, 8-0 N8) had multiple chances to add on to its lead in the second half. SMCC wasn't able to and it gave Chalker (4-5, 4-4) a good chance late to take the lead. But, the Panthers' defense came up big. Chalker guzzled most of the final four minutes off the clock, getting four first downs to get to the SMCC 13. A pair of runs tallied six yards, bringing up third-and-4 at the Panthers' 7. After Vince Delvecchio was stuffed for no gain, Chalker had one final chance. The pass from Delvecchio was defended tremendously by Josh Will. The pass sailed wide, forcing a turnover on downs. That allowed SMCC to take one final knee for the win. "Me and Noah, I saw the receiver coming out and we barely had time to switch coverage," Will said. "I defended it well and I saw it was incomplete. I was so happy." That finished off the 14-0 comeback, the biggest deficit the Panthers have faced this season. "I think a great deal of that credit goes to our seniors," Hammond said. "We told them at the beginning of the year that we had a really good class of seniors last year. They were great leaders. We challenged this group of seniors to be leaders. We can't police everything because we're not out on the field. "The kids hung in there, though. They were positive at halftime." Down 14-12 at halftime, SMCC got a big stop early in the second half. Chalker picked up three straight first downs to start its drive, quickly scattering to the SMCC 22. But, after an incomplete pass, Wikel picked his second interception of the night. He returned it 63 yards, setting up the Panthers at the Chalker 20. After two short runs, Dillard hit Wikel for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion run failed, but the Panthers were up 18-14 with 7:28 to go in the third quarter. The Wildcats seemed unfazed, quickly moving down the field. Chalker picked up three more first downs, getting inside the SMCC red zone. But once there, the Panthers toughened up. Facing third-and-3 at the SMCC 8, Will and Benny Byington stuffed a Chalker run for a loss. That brought up fourth down where Byington made a big stop, keeping the Wildcats short and turning the ball back over to the SMCC offense. "We battled through adversity," Dillard said. "We struggled, but we bounced back. I think that goes to our coaching and the relentless effort our team gives." Will snatched an interception to thwart another Chalker drive in the fourth quarter, but SMCC went three-and-out, setting up Chalker's final drive with 4:10 remaining. "They ran really hard, so give them credit," Will said. "They played us really well. We got lucky at the end, but we battled it out and kept fighting." The Wildcats' defense limited SMCC to one first down on the Panthers' first three drives. In the meantime, Colton Levensky caught a pass from Tegun Noble and eluded defenders all the way to the house for an 87-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but Chalker led 6-0 with 2:50 to go in the first quarter. After a SMCC three-and-out, the Wildcats increased the lead when Noble went up the middle for a 17-yard touchdown run. He added the two-point conversion throw to Levensky to make it 14-0 just over 90 seconds into the second quarter. SMCC got things going with Dillard's 30-yard touchdown pass to Wikel. The extra point was no good, but the Panthers were within 14-6 with 8:46 left in the second quarter. "We couldn't tackle them well, so I knew I had to go get something on offense," Wikel said. "We had the momentum going back on offense." That rocketed the Panthers on both sides of the ball. Chalker marched into SMCC territory, but Wikel halted the drive with his first interception of the night. The Panthers didn't wait to cash in. Dillard connected with Trace Smith on a 37-yard completion. Two plays later, Dillard scampered up the middle and was off to the races for a 33-yard touchdown run. SMCC couldn't connect on the two-point conversion run, but the Panthers were within 14-12. After giving up the first 14 points of the night, SMCC's defense had a bend, don't break mentality. The Panthers struggled often in the tackling game, but pitched a shutout the final 34 minutes. "I didn't even think of that," Hammond said. "Cayden had a couple picks and Josh had an interception. We made the plays when we had to make the plays. Give Chalker a lot of credit. They're a good football team." SMCC will get another massive test next Saturday when they travel to Fremont St. Joseph (9-0, 8-0) in a battle of the top two teams in the conference. The winner clinches the regular-season championship and top seed in the N8 playoffs. "In about 12 hours we'll start worrying about St. Joe," Hammond said. "We have to watch film and see what they're doing. We scrimmaged them before the season and they were running the ball a lot then. (Zach Ohms) is a great quarterback and they have a great group of receivers." Chalker 6 8 0 0 — 14 SMCC 0 12 6 0 — 18 C — Colton Levensky 87 pass from Tegun Noble (run failed) C — Noble 17 run (Levensky pass from Noble) SMCC — Cayden Wikel 30 pass from Cullen Dillard (kick failed) SMCC — Dillard 33 run (run failed) SMCC — Wikel 18 pass from Dillard (pass failed)