Jackson Davis’ 5-yard touchdown catch on a jet sweep pass from Larkin Thomas iced the game with 26 seconds left, setting the final at 35-21.
It was set up by Xavier Melton’s 66-yard sprint three plays earlier, a backbreaker for a Xenia defense desperately trying to get the ball back to its offense one more time.
Melton, who finished with 182 yards on 19 carries, also had the go-ahead touchdown, a 55-yard dash through the Xenia defense that broke a 21-all tie with 7:09 to go in the fourth quarter.
On both plays, the visitors caught the Buccaneers (9-1, 8-1) off guard with misdirection.
“Good things happen to good people, and he’s not even a good person. He’s a great person,” Tippecanoe head coach Matt Burgbacher said of Melton. “But Xavier is going to be the first one to tell you, it’s the offensive line.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Xenia drove to the Tippecanoe 35 on the ensuing possession, and they got the ball into the hands of their top playmaker on a crucial fourth-and-8.
Junior running back Deaunte White, the area’s leading rusher entering the night, hauled in a screen pass from Gavin McManus and looked like he had enough room to make the first down after making one man miss, but four Red Devils engulfed him two yards short of the line to gain.
White ran ended up with 135 yards rushing, but he needed 33 carries to get them as the Red Devils mostly kept him in check.
“He is a load,” Burgbacher said. “He is a great running back, but that’s what we preach: Swarm to the ball. Swarm to the ball. One guy can’t do it. They all got to do it.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Xenia coach Maurice Harden was satisfied with the final play call despite how it turned out.
“We lined up in the trips look, and I really thought we had the play that we wanted and we needed,” Harden said. “But it was two yards short. So, I mean, it sucks, and I thought it was a good call. Thought we had what we needed, but we just did not finish the game.”
Xenia scored first when White powered in from two yards out with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
That capped a 13-play march that started at the Xenia 36.
Tippecanoe answered with an eight-play, 55-yard drive that began with a short field after a short Xenia kickoff.
The Red Devils took the lead on a powerful 10-yard run by Thomas three plays after they recovered a Xenia fumble and returned it to the Buccaneers 20.
White scored from two yards out to tie the game early in the third quarter, but the Red Devils responded with an 86-yard touchdown drive after the teams traded punts.
The efficient nine-play march featured a handful of runs from the normally pass-happy Red Devils before Thomas found Dylan Herndon in one-on-one coverage on the outside and heaved a rainbow pass for him.
The 33-yard touchdown gave the visitors a 21-14 lead with 1:45 left in the third quarter.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
That did not last long as Xenia went 80 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive. White finished it with a 1-yard run, but the big play was a 35-yard pass from McManus to Trimonde Henry that gave the Buccs a first-and-goal at the 1.
Again Tippecanoe had an answer, though.
Melton streaked 55 yards over right tackle for another go-ahead touchdown for the Red Devils, who faked a jet sweep to the left to draw the pursuit and give Melton a crease on the other side.
“We knew we were close,” Burgbacher said. “We were close to breaking one there in the first half. We knew what they wanted to do defensively, and it just took a little bit of time. But he’s a great running back. And, again, our kids just played their hearts out.”
Xenia lost a chance for its second 10-0 season in three years, but the Buccaneers won the MVL Valley division and will be home to start the Division II, Region 8 playoffs next week.
“I think we’re going to use this game as a stepping stone for our kids to understand that you can’t make mistakes when you’re playing a really good football team, and all the little things matter,” Harden said. “So just like the stuff we talk about in practice and being behind the line and making sure your shirt’s tucked in and all the little small things that we talk about, they kind of matter in these big time games. So I mean, we’re just going to get back to work in the morning, figure out what we need to fix, get the small stuff kind of cleaned up, and we’ll be good to go.”
Tippecanoe had already clinched the No. 1 seed in Division III, Region 12, but Burgbacher was more interested in celebrating with his team Friday night.
“These kids earned it,” Burgbacher said after receiving an ice bath from his players. “The kids earned it. You know, nobody gave us anything all year long. And you know, there was a lot of doubters. We doubted ourselves maybe a little bit there, but you know what? Our kids just kept battling. Our kids kept fighting. We weathered the adversity throughout the year, and our kids have always responded the right way. And tonight, they did the exact same thing.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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