TriStateFootball.com

Wayne ousted in Regional Finals

The Wayne Warriors suffered their first loss of the season Friday night as they fell to the Pickerington Central Tigers, 17-14, in an OHSAA Division I Regional Final at London High School.

Wayne Head Coach Jay Minton (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

Wayne Head Coach Jay Minton (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

Turnovers proved to be the difference in the contest as Wayne (11-1-1) gave up the football three times without generating a turnover on defense.

Both defenses were dialed in early on as the game was tied after the opening quarter. Josh Foster finally put some points on the scoreboard when the Warriors’ running back plunged into the end zone from one yard out at the 6:34 mark in the second quarter.

Pickerington Central (12-1) answered in the final minute of the half though as Trenton Gillioson pulled in a 23-yard pass Darius Coker to tie things up 7-7 at the break.

After a scoreless third quarter of play, Fred Pitts gave the Warriors the lead back early in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard TD run. The senior finished his final game with 101 total yards.

The Tigers would score the game’s final 10 points, starting a Morgan Ellison 1-yard TD run midway through the final frame and capped off by Brandon Vollmer’s 19-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired to seal the deal for Central.

The Tigers move on to next week’s state semi-final to face St. Xavier, who rallied from 14 points down in the final three minutes of their game to beat Sycamore on Friday.

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