Sandusky works OT to beat Padua Franciscan

PARMA — On the second play of Sandusky's only overtime possession, Shonsai Aaron ran left and bounced outside. Once he turned the corner, his teammates had already begun streaking after him from the sidelines, helmets in hand.Aaron's 14-yard touchdown run — his third score in a tense 2019 season opener — sealed a 20-14 overtime victory for the Blue Streaks at Padua Franciscan on Friday night.Even after the Blue Streaks had calmed down enough to shake the Padua players' hands, some of them left the line jumping into each other's arms.Sandusky coach Mike Franklin exchanged a bear hug and shook hands with Sandusky fans as he exited the field and walked back to the locker room. Once all the excitement settled, he was tasked with describing a game the likes of which he'd never experienced."That was one of the most interesting games I've ever been a part of," Franklin said. "Thank God it all came together right there at the end, man."Perhaps part of the interest in Friday's outcome is related to how mundanely it started. Through 43 minutes, neither team scored. During the final five, they combined for 28 points.It all started with 5:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Aaron kicked off the scoring by finding Noah Caston, who broke a tackle and ran 43 yards for a touchdown.In response, Padua quarterback Drew Butler faked a handoff and threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Harris with 3:21 remaining. On the 2-point conversion, Padua ran a play similar to the "Philly Special" made famous in the 2018 Super Bowl. But their backup quarterback held the ball a touch too long and missed Butler open in the end zone.All the Blue Streaks needed to secure a win were a few first downs, but on the second play of the ensuing drive, Aaron and Desmond Williams mishandled a handoff and Padua recovered the fumble at the Sandusky 31-yard line.On fourth-and-10 of that drive, Butler faked a handoff to Buehner, who proceeded to catch a 31-yard touchdown pass on a wheel route. This time, Padua converted the 2-point conversion to earn a 14-7 lead.That left Aaron with 2:13 remaining and no Terion Stewart to lean on. Stewart, the Blue Streaks' star running back, was limited with an ankle injury and finished the game with 26 yards on just seven carries. Stewart rushed for 40 yards on his first carry but had several attempts that went for negative yardage."You could see he wasn't himself," Franklin said. "So tonight he had to be more of a decoy for us. And we finally figured out that you can only decoy him so much."But on fourth-and-goal from the Padua 9-yard-line with 45 seconds remaining, Aaron scrambled right and found JT Lewis for a touchdown in the middle of the end zone. The drama didn't stop there, though.Isaac Roop kicked the extra point straight up in the air, and for a second the Padua crowd started to cheer. The kick looked short. After the game, Franklin mimicked himself leaning back to see the ball at its high point, whispering "get over, get over" to himself. And finally, it did, forcing overtime.On the first possession of overtime, JJ Henry jumped a Padua slant route to intercept Butler, which set up Aaron's game-winning touchdown run and finally ended, among other things, the first overtime game Franklin ever coached.Since the first week of practice Franklin has stressed mental fortitude. He believes his team's lack of focus played a factor in a couple losses last season. After one game this season, though, he can't help but feel good about his team's resilience."I think our guys weren't mature enough a year ago to handle this," Franklin said. "We grew up a lot tonight."Sandusky 20 0 0 0 14 6 — 20Padua 14 0 0 0 14 — 14S — Noah Caston 43 pass from Shonshai Aaron (Isaac Roop kick)P — Johnny Harris 10 pass from Drew Butler (PAT failed)P — Alec Buehner 31 pass from Butler (Harris pass from Butler)S — JT Lewis 9 pass from Aaron (Roop kick)S — Aaron 14 runSandusky's Shonsai Aaron gets pumped up during the Division III regional quarterfinal game against Bay on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, in Bay Village.