Sycamore beats Mason; make playoffs

The Greater Miami Conference is one of the toughest leagues in the state of Ohio and Friday night proved why as the Sycamore Aviators upset the Mason Comets 17-10 at Sycamore Middle School to even the overall records of the two schools at 6-4 heading into the playoffs next week.

Sycamore DB Khalis Hicks (photo by Mark Pinto/TriStateFootball.com)

Going into the Friday night matchup under the lights, the Comets were ranked third in the most recent computer rankings while the Aviators were ranked sixth. The win should solidify a playoff spot for the Aviators in the very tough Division I, Region 4.

Sycamore got on the board first in the first quarter when kicker Jacob Hasslebeck nailed a 32-yard field goal to give the Aviators a 3- lead early.

The Aviators extended the lead after a botched punt attempt by Mason gave Sycamore the ball back at the Comets 20-yard line, which set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Illinois-commit Ra’Von Bonner to give Sycamore a 10-0 lead.

Mason would put something on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when kicker Andrew Hauer put a 45-yard kick through the uprights for a field goal.

Sycamore RB RaVon Bonner (photo by Justin Sheldon/TriStateFootball.com)

The Comets would tie the game in a defensive second quarter on an eight-yard run by running back Matt Sora. The sent the teams into the halftime locker room tied at 10 apiece.

Neither team was able to light up the scoreboard in any way in the third quarter.

Once the clock struck 12:00 to begin the fourth quarter, Sycamore put the game away on a decisive 43-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Malek to Myron Williams to put the Aviators up 17-10 with still 11:41 left in the quarter. The defenses held up for the rest of the game and Sycamore pulled out the win 17-10 in front of the home crowd.

The storyline of the night was the defensive battle and Sycamore won the battle with Khalis Hicks, who had two interceptions and returned them for a combined 25 yards.

Hicks credited Head Coach Scott Dattilo for preparing the team for the game and eventual win.

“Coach put us in the right spot to win,” Hicks said. “Defense started playing better in Fairfield game last week and Coach challenged us this week to really step up.”

The Sycamore offense was led by running back Ra’Von Bonner, who finished with 26 rushes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Bonner finishes his senior season with 1,690 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.

Mason was also led on offense by its running back, Matt Sora, who finished the game with 136 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown.

Sycamore finishes the 2016 regular season with a 5-2 GMC record and 6-4 overall record, while Mason fell to 4-3 in the GMC and 6-4 overall.

Both teams should fins out late Saturday or early Sunday who they play in the Division I, Region 4 playoffs, which begin next week.

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