By Bud Milroy
Sports Correspondent
In a game of tremendous efforts, it seemed only fitting that Saturday’s WIAA Division 7 Level Two playoff game between Catholic Central and Randolph came down to one more display.
Randolph’s Allan Pocernich rushed the extra-point attempt by Catholic Central’s Spencer Wilker, and got just enough of the boot to push the kick wide right to preserve a 36-35 Randolph victory Saturday at the Topper Bowl.
“It was a fun game to be a part of,” said CCHS coach Tom Aldrich. “Everyone played with great effort and attitude.
“You always want to win the game, but it doesn’t always turn out that way.”
The Hilltoppers drew first blood after stopping Randolph on a fourth and two play. Catholic Central then marched 60 yards, capped by a touchdown pass from Carson Meinholz to Tegan Miles.
Wilker booted the extra point to make it 7-0.
Over the rest of the first quarter, the two defenses battled it out. Randolph, with the ball in the second quarter, connected for a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jay Peters to Sam Wilcox. The extra point tied the score.
Randolph then went ahead on a 24-yard Thomas Vander Galien touchdown run, before CCHS responded to tie the score – this time on a one-yard TD run by Meinholz.
Randolph closed out the first half with one more impressive drive, capped by a 25-yard field goal by Vander Galien to give the Rockets a 17-14 halftime lead.
Aldrich praised Vander Gailen’s kicking ability, but also said Randolph passed the ball better than expected.
“We knew that Peters is very athletic, but the films we watched showed less accuracy when he passed the ball,” Aldrich said. “Our plan was to make them throw the ball. Hats off to them, they took what we gave them and made it work.”
The two teams exchanged scores late in the third quarter and early into the fourth, and CCHS trailed with 9:02 left in the game.
The CCHS defense stiffened on a Randolph drive, but Vander Gailen made his second field goal (26 yards) of the game to put Randolph up 26-21.
CCHS couldn’t respond on its next possession, but got a critical defensive stop and got the ball back. This time, Grant Alderman scored, and with the score 27-26, Meinholz hit Jeff Stemper with the two-point conversion to make the score 29-26.
Randolph’s aerial attack then drove down the field, and with 1:28 left in the game, Vander Gailen hit his third field goal of the game – this time from 36 yards out – to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Randolph scored on the first of the possessions, with Vander Gailen running in from eight yards out and adding the extra point.
Meinholz hit Stemper with a 23-yard pass for the CCHS touchdown before the extra point was partially blocked.
“No one play determines the outcome of a game,” Aldrich said. “Both teams had a number of opportunities.
“It just didn’t turn out in our favor.”
For the Hilltoppers, Meinholz completed his career with 265 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown. Alderman had 89 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Tegan Miles and Tyler Burzawa had 84 and 109 yards receiving, respectively, with a touchdown apiece.
Defensively, Stemper led CCHS with nine tackles and four assists, while Adam Oehlers chipped in seven tackles and three assists.”
Randolph, ranked No. 1 in the state, will face Lake County Lutheran in a Level Three game at Randolph Saturday at 2 p.m.
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