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BAINBRIDGE — Week 11 is never promised. It’s always earned. So when you have the chance to play in the postseason, you take advantage of every opportunity given.
That’s exactly what Paint Valley did on Friday.
In a Division VI, Region 24 matchup, the Bearcats (8-3) welcomed Rockford Parkway to town and sent the Panthers back home with a 37-23 loss to advance.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“In the beginning, it was slow. [Parkway] was playing great defense,” Paint Valley’s Braylon Robertson said. “But we all just thought to ourselves, ‘We ain’t going home.’ So we locked in, started playing a lot harder and it worked out for us.”
Parkway came into the contest with a 2-8 record. But that wasn’t a proper measurement of the team’s talent.
Six of the eight losses they suffered came at the hands of fellow playoff teams with a combined record of 46-20. And both wins? Also over playoff teams — Crestview and St. Henry — who each will be playing in Week 12.
“I’ve got to give credit where it’s due. Rockford is a heck of a team and to be able to go toe-to-toe with them says a lot about our program and the direction that we’re going,” Paint Valley coach Corey Dye said. “We made some really key stops.”
After opting to receive the game’s opening kick, Parkway used a quick, uptempo offense to get them into Bearcat territory. It was a bend-but-don’t break mentality for Paint Valley as they held the Panthers to a field goal, good from 26 yards out, with 9:06 left in the first quarter.
Paint Valley, however, responded on its opening drive. After a length drive put the offense in the red zone, Robertson hit the left upright on a 23-yard field goal try and saw it ricochet through the goal posts, tying the game at 3-3 with 4:40 to go in the first.
“Getting our offense in rhythm … I felt like our kids were able to do that,” Dye said. “We put together some really good drives. I know we didn’t finish off that first drive with a touchdown, but we were able to kick a field goal and match what they were able to do. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. I’m proud of each and every one of our kids. They fought their guts out.”
On the ensuing kick, Paint Valley forced a fumble and recovered to give itself excellent field position. The Bearcats cashed in on that golden opportunity in just two plays. Robertson rushed into the end zone from six yards out to give PV its first lead at 10-3.
As the second quarter commenced, Paint Valley’s defense rose to the occasion and forced a turnover on downs.
Quarterback Preston Fauber thanked the unit’s efforts by hitting Carson Free for a 26-yard pickup through the air just before finding Robertson for a 26-yard touchdown pass to double the Bearcats’ lead at 17-3.
Later, before halftime, and after PV’s defense forced another turnover on downs, Robertson made it a 24-3 ballgame with a one-yard touchdown run. At halftime, the Bearcats were in full control.
“We’ve worked on things a lot,” Paint Valley’s Carson Free said. “We’ve taken the time to make ourselves better. It really hurt us losing back-to-back games [to end the regular season]. We don’t like that feeling. We just want to keep winning. We’re going to try and do whatever it takes.”
Parkway made adjustments at the break and that quickly paid off in the third.
The Panthers found the end zone on the back of Logan Green, who scored a nine-yard touchdown on the ground, cutting the deficit to 24-10 at the 7:52 mark.
But Fauber and Robertson had an answer to that score.
The duo led the Bearcats to a fifth scoring drive of the night, one that was capped by a five-yard run from Robertson to make it 31-10 with 11:31 left in the fourth.
That’s, however, when the script started to flip.
A chunk pass play from Brayden Burns to Devon Crouch put the Panthers in the red zone before Burns scored from five yards out, making it 31-16 after a missed PAT.
Later, with just 2:27 to play, Burns found an open man in the end zone from 35 yards out, further eroding the deficit to 31-23.
“We have to pick it up on defense,” Robertson said. “It’s been a few weeks where we’ve been struggling. But I think we’ll pick it up. We have to get our heads in the right spots and be ready to hit.”
Paint Valley’s offense sputtered on its next drive and the Bearcats punted, giving Parkway possession at its own 15-yard line and a chance to tie the game.
But Jase Rinehart had other things in mind.
On the final play of the game, Rinehart stepped in front of a pass and took it back to the house, icing the game as the clock hit zero to cement a 14-point win.
The Bearcats will now look towards a Week 12 matchup with Cincinnati Country Day — a 63-13 winner over Dayton Christian on Friday.
A win will be a tall order. The Nighthawks are 11-0 and have surrendered just 33 points all season long. The team’s defense has pitched seven shutouts.
But Goliath has fallen before.
“It’s all about survival now,” Dye said. “When you can get the first playoff win, the second one is going to be even harder to get. We know that and our kids are up for the challenge. There’s nothing like playing football in November.”
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