By BEAU WICKER
KENTLAND — When Caston fullback Austin Ault broke about a half dozen tackles en route to a 31-yard touchdown run in the first half, it exemplified the effort the Comets got all night here Friday night.
The Comets finished off every run and every play to their fullest, and they controlled most of the game in a 14-7 win over South Newton in a Class A Sectional 34 semifinal. With the win, Caston (8-3) advances to its first sectional championship game since 2003.
“They were all over me, they just couldn’t tackle me,” Ault said of his TD run that gave the Comets an early lead. “They tried strippin’ me a couple times, I just kept running, kept moving.”
“From what I saw, half the team,” Caston lineman Jordan Graham said of how many tackles Ault broke during the run. “He was unstoppable on that play.”
The field was so muddy it closely resembled this year’s Twelve Mile 500. On top of that, there was a 22-mph wind blowing straight east throughout the game, making punts against the wind almost futile.
The conditions seemed to favor the Comets’ “wildhog” offense, which is a sort of hybrid of the single wing and the wing-T, over the Rebels’ spread offense. Caston outgained South Newton 343-37 in rushing yardage and 363-146 in total yardage.
Once again the Comets had a balanced rushing attack, with Trevor Hoover leading the way with 70 yards, followed closely by Eric Goller (69 yards), Ault (68), Wil Holloway (68) and Blain Hizer (54).
Ault’s TD run gave the Comets a 6-0 lead with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. They ran a swinging gate formation for their two-point conversion try, but a pass fell incomplete.
South Newton (8-3) answered with a five-yard TD pass from Tyler Lowe to Trent Alenduff with 8:39 left in the second quarter. The drive was set up by a short punt and a 33-yard reception by Jordan Purdy.
The Comets were stuffed on two fourth-and-1 plays in Rebels’ territory in the second quarter, the last of which was on a fourth-and-goal play as time expired that allowed South Newton to take a 7-6 lead into the break.
The Comets faced a fourth-and-5 play late in the third quarter when Goller broke a tackle and darted 52 yards to paydirt to give the Comets the lead back.
“I can’t give my line enough credit for doing that,” Goller said. “They did a fantastic job of blocking for me, and I just hit the hole and ran.”
All told, the game-winning drive covered 11 plays, 77 yards and took 6:09 off the clock. Goller also converted a fourth-and-4 run on the drive by the nose of the football. Holloway broke a tackle to convert the two-point conversion attempt to give Caston a 14-7 lead.
The Comets also had a long drive that took more than five minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on downs, but they forced the Rebels have to drive 89 yards for a tie with just 3:17 remaining.
Running a no-huddle offense, the Rebels converted two first downs but later had a fumble on a bad snap, and Graham came away with the ball on the Comets’ 37-yard line with 2:12 remaining to all but secure the victory.
“It was under somebody and I just pulled it out, fighting underneath the pile, just wanting that ball and I got it,” said Graham, who also had a key sack in the second half that helped stop a Rebels’ drive.
Linebacker David McMenamin had a dozen tackles for the Caston defense.
The Comets host top-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic Friday night for the sectional championship.
“It’s gonna be tough,” Goller said. “We’re gonna have to have a great week of practice, but we’re gonna go at it and see what we can do.”
• Beau Wicker is the sports editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5113 or beau.wicker@pharostribune.com
