Regional Champs: Fort Frye defeats Bellaire for title
Trending
ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- Fort Frye was its own worst enemy while falling behind by two touchdowns at halftime.
In the second half, much different story. The Cadets did what they did best, scoring on every opportunity and defeating Bellaire 35-28 during Saturday's Ohio Division VI regional championship at Sulsberger Stadium on the campus of Zanesville High School.
After halftime, Fort Frye's defense also hunkered down as the Cadets secured the school's third regional title in football.
Both Owen Brown and backfield mate Austin Powell scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to erase a 20-7 deficit. Brown finished the game rushing for 164 yards on 18 carries. Powell accounted for 72 of his 102 yards on the ground in the final two quarters.
Fort Frye (13-1), making its third appearance in a regional final in the past four years, won for the eighth consecutive game and will play its state semifinal game Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
"This is big," Fort Frye coach Eric Huck said. "You fight so hard all offseason to get here. It's a lot of work for these kids. It's great to see them accomplish this."
Fort Frye swept the two meetings with Bellaire this season, but the manner in which the games were played were drastically different. In Week 2 of the regular season, Fort Frye won 62-26.
On Saturday, Bellaire scored on its first two possessions of the game.
The Big Reds (9-5) took the opening drive and covered 64 yards in nine plays. Quarterback Jake Heatherington connected with Ray Ray Pettigrew for a 11-yard scoring strike.
On their next series, the Big Reds took advantage of ideal field position and needed just six plays to complete a 51-yard scoring drive, capped by Drew White's 16-yard TD run.
Bellaire failed both times on the two-point conversion, but led 12-0 at the 4:13 mark of the first quarter.
Fort Frye, which turned the ball over on its first and last offensive series of the first half, broke through early in the second quarter on Clayton Miller's quarterback keeper from a yard out to cut the gap to 12-7.
Bellaire made it 3-for-3 on converting possessions into points in the first half. With five minutes left before halftime, Brayden Roth's 7-yard TD run and the ensuing two-point conversion put the Big Reds in front 20-7.
In the second half, Fort Frye's shine on one of its biggest stage and held Bellaire to just 100 yards of total offense.
"I don't think we changed anything defensively in the second half - it just came down to how bad each team wanted it," said Caleb Riggs, who recorded the sack which ended any hope for Bellaire's offense. "We have eight or nine seniors starting both ways who have played a lot of football in big-time games, so it came down to staying calm and do what we do."
Meanwhile, Fort Frye's offense barely missed a beat, scoring on its first four series. The only drive which didn't result in points occurred on their final attempt when the Cadets were able to go into the victory formation.
Brown set the tone, scoring on runs of 3 and 50 yards in the third quarter. Brown's second TD gave Fort Frye the lead for the first time at 21-20 at the 1:50 mark.
"They punched us in the mouth in the first half - we came out in the second half and punched back," Brown said. "As a senior, this win feels amazing. The younger guys stepped up and helped the seniors get the win."
Bellaire went in front for the final time at 28-21 as Pettigrew found the end zone on a 15-yard run with 7:38 showing in the fourth quarter.
Powell kept the Cadet's offensive momentum in play in the fourth quarter with TD runs of 19 and 30 yards.
Instead of relying on the reliable leg of placekicker Zaiden Huck after Powell's first TD of the fourth quarter, Huck went for two and Powell easily found his way in for the conversion and a 29-28 Cadet lead with 5:54 showing on the clock.
"We had those two big turnovers in the first half and they were driving down the field, and scoring," Huck said. "We had to fix some things defensively at halftime. Offensively, we just had to keep doing what we were doing and eliminate the turnovers.
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com