This Springfield Shawnee player breaks up a pass in the end zone to Jonathan Alder’s Gibby Wilson. The Braves, though, were called for pass interference. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Springfield Shawnee staged a fierce fourth-quarter rally, but still fell to Jonathan Alder, 36-28, on Friday.
The Pioneers (6-4) held a comfortable 36-7 lead with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Braves (6-4), however, refused to wave the white flag of surrender.
They scored three touchdowns within five minutes to make it a contest.
The victory though, enabled the Pioneers – after an 0-3 start to the season – to finish as runners-up in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division.
London, which clubbed Bellefontaine 35-14 on Friday, finished as the division champion at 5-0.
Alder turned in a 4-1 slate within the conference.
“We played three very good quarters of football,” said Pioneer head coach Nathan Snedeker. “Cameron (Jewell) and Will (Heisler) both ran the ball very well.
“You also have to give credit to our offensive line,” said the coach. “They made some blocking adjustments by recognizing what Shawnee was doing on its defensive line.”
The Braves took the game’s opening kickoff and needed only six plays to put their first touchdown on the board.
Quarterback RJ Griffin nickel and dimed the JA secondary with several short passes that moved the ball into Pioneer territory.
He then connected with Brian Morgan on a 29-yard toss that pushed down to the Alder one-yard line.
Max Guyer bulled his way into the end zone for the touchdown on the next play.
Mitchell Humphries booted the extra point for a 7-0 Shawnee edge.
The Pioneers didn’t take long to respond.
Will Heisler carried on four consecutive plays to move from the Alder 34 to the Shawnee 43.
He then took a handoff from quarterback Tabor Headings and burst through the defense.
Heisler didn’t stop until he crossed the end line for the score.
Charlie Aurin booted the PAT to tie the game at 7-all.
Although Griffin was able to complete a few additional passes, the Pioneer defense forced the Braves to punt on their next possession.
This time, it was Cameron Jewell’s turn to shine in the ground game.
Headings fed handoffs to him for three straight plays, the last of which resulted in a 58-yard scoring run.
Aurin’s conversion pushed JA out to a 14-7 lead.
The teams swapped punts as the first quarter ended and the second got under way.
Headings showed his arm strength and Jewell turned on the jets as they teamed for JA’s third long touchdown.
They combined for an 82-yard pass that sent Jewell into the end zone.
Aurin was once again perfect with the PAT as Jonathan Alder’s lead grew to 21-7.
The Braves drove deep into Pioneer territory during the waning minutes of the quarter.
The drive was halted, however, when Jonathan Keith picked off Griffin’s pass.
Headings then took a knee as the Pioneers carried their 14-point margin into the break.
The Pioneers’ next scoring series came in the third period after Logan Shafly blocked a Shawnee punt.
JA’s Jackson Bennett fell on the ball at the Braves’ 28-yard-line.
Alder scored on the series, but not without a “herky-jerky” possession.
Headings hit Wyatt Kaizer with a pass to the Shawnee 17.
The JA QB then threw toward Gibby Wilson in the end zone.
The pass was incomplete, but the Braves were called for pass interference.
That gave Alder the ball on the Braves’ nine-yard line.
The Pioneers were flagged for a false start before Headings connected with Kaiser on a pass to the one-yard line.
JA was knocked back three yards before Jewell appeared to score on a carry up the middle.
Alder, though, was whistled for assisting the runner, which put the ball back at the six.
Jewell picked up a couple of yards.
Headings then went around the left side for a four-yard TD.
The extra point pushed JA up 28-7 with a little more than a minute left in the quarter.
Shawnee had to punt on its next possession.
The Pioneers scored once again shortly into the fourth period.
Jewell capped the drive with a six-yard run.
Aurin lined up for the extra point.
Keith, the holder, instead took the ball and went to the right side.
He flipped the ball to Chase Maynard for the two-point conversion that gave JA a 36-7 lead.
The Braves, however, were in no mood to surrender during the final 8:56 of the contest.
Griffin engineered scoring drives on two consecutive series.
The QB went into the end zone on carries of 12 and 34 yards.
Humphries added one extra point as Shawnee narrowed its gap to 36-20 with a little more than four minutes to play.
A Pioneer fumble then set up the Braves’ final score.
JA coughed up the pigskin on its own 10.
A quick three plays resulted in Griffin’s next touchdown, which was a five-yard run.
He also took the ball in for the two-point conversion that pulled Shawnee to within an uncomfortable (for Pioneer Nation) 36-28 margin.
Everyone in the stadium knew the Braves would attempt an onside kick.
Alder, however, recovered the ball at its own 46.
JA drove into Shawnee territory, which caused the Braves to consume all of their second-half timeouts.
Jewell got the ball down to the Braves’ 13 with 1:18 to play.
With no Shawnee timeouts remaining, the Pioneers went into victory formation and ran out the clock.
“Shawnee did a nice job of rallying back,” said Snedeker. “They didn’t give up when they were down.
“They’re a good team and I think they’ll make some noise in the playoffs.”
That’s what the Pioneers also want to do. They have unofficially moved up to 10th in Region 11 of Division III. They were 14th going into Friday’s contest.
The top 16 teams will advance to the post-season.
This morning’s unofficial tally will have JA travel to play No. 7 Columbus Eastmoor Academy on Friday.
The official ratings will be announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Sunday afternoon.