Local Sports

Wildcats drop heartbreaker to Pirates in regional semis

WATERFORD -- It had all the makings of one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in school history.

The Waterford Wildcats scored 25 unanswered points to turn a 23-point deficit into a two-point lead with just over two minutes to play in Friday night’s D6, Region 23 semifinal against the Garaway Pirates at Waterford Elementary School.

That elation turned to heartbreak in a matter of moments as the Pirates spoiled the Wildcats' miracle comeback bid by scoring what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown with just 37 seconds to play in the game to pull out a 29-25 win and punch their ticket to the regional final next Friday night.

A 38-yard touchdown run by Waterford quarterback Avery Pottmeyer had put the Wildcats in front for the first time in the game with just two-and-a-half minutes to play.

Garaway responded by quickly moving the ball into the red zone, but faced a fourth-and-17 at their own 20-yard line.

Pirate quarterback Grady Miller fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Colson Kuemerle to put Garaway back in front and break the hearts of the Wildcats.

For almost the entire first half it appeared No. 7 Garaway would run away and hide from the No. 6 seeded Wildcats.

Garaway got a break when the Wildcats snapped a punt over the head of the punter and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Garaway lead.

The Pirates got the ball right back on the free kick and quickly added to their lead.

Garaway got great field position as they started their drive at the Wildcat 41-yard line and six plays later they were on the board again as quarterback Grady Miller connected with Trey Miller on a 36-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 9-0.

Waterford struggled to move the ball early on and punted it right back to the Pirates on their next possession.

Once again the Pirates got excellent field position as a personal foul penalty on the 'Cats gave them the football inside Waterford territory at the 43-yard line.

This time it would take the Pirates nine plays to march 43 yards for a score with running back Matthew Frey scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 16.

Garaway quickly got the ball back as Henry Miller intercepted a Pottmeyer pass and minutes later Grady Miller hooked up with Trey Miller for the second time in the opening half to stretch the lead to 23-0.

Waterford needed a big play in the worst way and they got just that late in the opening half.

Pottmeyer found fellow senior Finn Pennock open down the middle of the field for a 55-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 left to play in the half to give the Wildcats a little bit of hope heading to the second half.

The Wildcats had the ball to begin the second half but quickly turned it over to Garaway on a fumble.

The Waterford defense rose to the occasion as they forced the Pirates to punt for the first time in the game to give them the ball back at their own 38-yard line.

The Wildcats would turn to their three-time 1,000-yard rusher in Hayden Jones as he carried the ball six times on a 62-yard drive that he capped with a 4-yard touchdown run with just over seven minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Wildcats tried to go for two but came up empty, leaving them trailing the Pirates 23-13.

It would stay that way into the final period before the Wildcat defense came up with a turnover at the most opportune time.

With Garaway threatening to score to pretty much put things out of reach, they fumbled the football at the Waterford 2-yard line with the Wildcats recovering to keep their hopes alive.

The Wildcats were unable to score on their next possession, but they came up with a huge stop on defense to give them the ball back with five-and-a-half minutes to play in the game.

Pottmeyer connected on three consecutive pass attempts to move the ball into Garaway territory and for the second time in the game found a wide open Pennock for a 33-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to just four.

The Wildcat defense needed a stop and they got even better when Pottmeyer intercepted Grady Miller's long pass attempt to give the Wildcats the ball near midfield with just over three minutes to play in the game.

Pottmeyer completed an 11-yard pass to Brayden Smith to move the ball into Pirate territory and then on the very next play scrambled 38 yards for a touchdown on what appeared to be a broken play to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game.

Garaway took over possession of the football at their own 45-yard line and quickly moved into the red zone thanks to the precision passing of Grady Miller.

The Pirates had the ball at the 10-yard line, but a holding call on them and an incomplete pass found them facing a fourth-and-goal from their own 20 yard-line.

The Wildcats may have been a bit too concerned with the Pirates two leading receivers in A.J. and Trey Miller, which allowed Kuemerle to slip behind them into the end zone where Grady Miller found him for the game-winning touchdown.

The Wildcats had 37 seconds left on the clock but were unable to move the ball past midfield as time expired, giving Garaway the victory.

Grady Miller completed 26-of-39 pass attempts in the game for Garaway for 328 yards while both Trey Miller (13-128) and A.J. Miller (7-113) went over the 100-yard mark in receiving.

Jones wrapped up his outstanding Wildcat career by rushing for 133 yards on 20 carries while Pennock caught seven passes for a game-high 131 yards.

Pottmeyer completed 14-of-25 pass attempts for 192 yards for the Wildcats, whose season comes to a close with a 10-3 record.

The game was be the final one for Wildcat seniors Pennock, Jones, Pottmeyer, Gavin Hiener, Smith, Mason Dildine, Kam Johnson, Isaac McDougal, Tyler McDougal, Dylan McCutcheon, Ashton Huck and Cooper Townsend.

The thrilling win for Garaway moves them into next Friday night's regional title game against the Monroe Central Seminoles at a site to be determined.

Division VI, Region 23 Semifinal

at Waterford Elementary School

No. 7 Garaway 29, No. 6 Waterford 25

G (10-3) 9 14 0 6 - 29

W (10-3) 0 7 6 12 -25

G: Safety (Ball Snapped Out Of The End Zone)

G: Trey Miller 36 pass from Grady Miller (Graem Wallick kick) 3:22, 1st

G: Matthew Frey 2 run (Wallick kick) 7:39, 2nd

G: Trey Miller 16 pass from Grady Miller (Wallick kick) 3:46, 2nd

W: Finn Pennock 55 pass from Avery Pottmeyer (Cale Harris kick) 2:37, 2nd

W: Hayden Jones 4 run (Pass Failed) 7:19, 3rd

W: Pennock 33 pass from Pottmeyer (kick no good) 4:29, 4th

W: Pottmeyer 38 run (kick no good) 2:30, 4th

G: Colson Kuemerle 20 pass from Grady Miller (Pass Failed) :37, 4th

Team stats

Garaway: First downs: 20, Rushes-yards: 25-75, Passing yards: 328, Total yards: 403, Passing: 26-39-1, Penalties-yards: 12-147, Punts-avg: 3-28.3, Fumbles-lost: 3-2.

Waterford: First downs: 21, Rushes-yards: 34-176, Passing yards: 192, Total yards: 368, Passing: 14-25-1, Penalties-yards: 9-83, Punts-avg: 1-37.0, Fumbles-lost: 1-0.

Individual stats

Garaway: Rushing: Matthew Frey 17-60, Grady Miller 8-15, Passing: G. Miller 26-39-1, 328 yards, 3TDS, Receiving: Trey Miller: 13-128, A.J. Miller 7-113, Colson Kuemerle 3-67, Wyatt Reifenschneider 2-11, Frey 1-9.

Waterford: Rushing: Hayden Jones 20-133, Avery Pottmeyer 12-47, Finn Pennock 2-(-4), Passing: Pottmeyer 14-25-1, 192 yards, 2TD, Receiving: Pennock 7-131, Jones 3-28, Brayden Jones 3-16, Gavin Hiener 1-17.

Next game: Monroe Central vs Garaway, 7 p.m. Friday at TBD (Regional Final)