Tornadoes fend off West Holmes, advance to regional final

Columbian knew West Holmes was going to throw the ball all over the field Friday night at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in a Division III regional semifinal. The key was to either sit back and play coverage or mix it up with an aggressive scheme to blitz and put pressure on the Knights' 6-foot-4 quarterback, Peyton McKinney. The Tornadoes chose the latter. And it was the right decision. The Knights had some big plays and McKinney threw for 323 yards, but TC forced him into some hurried throws, which turned into four interceptions, including the game-sealing INT by Brody Conley with a little over two minutes left to give the Tornadoes a 34-24 victory."Countless plays by a number of different guys in different positions and it was a great team win," TC coach Judd Lutz said. "It wasn't perfect and nearly any of them are because you are going to play against a really good team every round. I'm really proud of the team. There was some adversity mixed in with success, but it was a great team we played."We're really multiple on defense, which is awesome because we can play coverage and sit back because we have the athletes to do it and we also have the athletes on the edge to bring pressure and play some man-to-man when needed. I thought coach (Shawn) Conley and the defense did a great job of mixing it up and keeping them on their toes. We took some body blows from their offense early, which we knew was definitely possible, but we figured it out really quick and I think that showed." Columbian (8-1) came out hot as it drove the ball right down the field on the opening possession, which ended with a Logan Beaston 16-yard strike to freshman Bryce Roggow not even three minutes into the contest. West Holmes responded, like they did most of the night, but never could grab the lead from the Tornadoes. Knights' McKinney found Brady Taylor for a 32-yard score on a wide receiver screen. Taylor had a monster game for the Knights with 12 catches for 230 yards.TC responded quickly with a four-play drive capped by a 5-yard TD pass to LJ Reaves from freshman Brayden Roggow.West Holmes (7-3), which looked poised to respond right back on the ensuing possession, tossed an interception in the end zone. Columbian's Gunther Kissell had the huge pick.However, the momentum didn't last long as TC was intercepted right back, giving way to a Knights TD. McKinney hit Taylor in stride down the left seam for a 57-yard score, knotting the game at 14.But, once again, TC came right back. Kesean Jackson put the Tornadoes ahead 21-14 with a 5-yard plunge into the end zone. It stayed that way into halftime."When you're playing the No. 1 seed, you have to cash in in the red zone offensively, you can't turn the ball over like we did. You can't give up third downs and you have to be clean in special teams game and we weren't and that's why we fell on the short end of the stick," West Holmes coach Zach Gardner said. "That's a great program over there and I think they they have an opportunity to continue this and do a lot of great stuff for them, but this one hurts now for us. But we will get back to the drawing board and keep doing what we're doing, which is building this program into a playoff-caliber program." The Knights tied things up at 21 in the third quarter as McKinney found Garrett Eastep for a 29-yard TD. Columbian drove the ball down the field in response, but turned the ball over on downs. But in another huge momentum swing, McKinney was picked on the first play by Bret Minnick, setting up TC at West Holmes' 48.On the third play, Brayden Roggow hit Jackson on a screen pass out of the backfield and Jackson did the rest as he broke multiple tackles and blazed his way into the end zone for a 50-yard score.TC's defense held West Holmes to a field goal on the ensuing possession. TC tossed a pick and then West Holmes gave it right back with its third interception of the contest. Down 27-24 late in the fourth quarter, West Holmes lined up to punt from its own 21. TC's Seth Belville blocked the punt, setting up the Tornadoes at the Knights' 2. Conley ran in a 7-yard TD with 3:16 remaining. On the kickoff, Xavier Coppus drilled the ball into a front row player on the kickoff return for the Knights and he couldn't recover the ball as TC's Cole Jordan made the recovery, sealing the game for the Tornadoes."LJ does LJ things and had a few huge catches for us and the freshman Bryce Roggow stepped up with the first TD catch and played well, but the quarterbacks threw the ball on the money and both came out hot feeling it," Lutz said. "They made some throws they'd probably like to have back when we look at the film, but for two young kids they are maturing really quickly and coming up big."Beaston threw for 170 yards, while Brayden Roggow added 107 yards through the air. Jackson ended with 103 yards rushing on 23 carries, Reaves made six catches for 120 yards and Maddox Simcoe finished with six catches for 52 yards.Next, the Tornadoes host Holy Name, who topped Ashland in the other regional semifinal Friday night. Holy Name knocked out the Tornadoes in the opening round of the playoffs last season.