Dealing with several key injuries to several starters on offense and defense, Kenston waged a comeback win against Buchtel, escaping with a 21-18 victory.
The game began with three straight punts before Buchtel struck first with a 12-play methodical drive, culminating in a 14-yard touchdown pass. Seemingly without a kicker for the game, the Griffins two-point attempt failed as they took a 6-0 lead.
On the next two Kenston possessions, the Bombers turned it over, first with an interception, then with a fumble in the Buchtel red zone. However, the Kenston defense stepped up and got the ball back in the offense's hands.
Following a 21-yard punt return by Kahlil Hinton, three long runs by Will Hamm brought Kenston down to the Buchtel five-yard line. From there, Adam Barr, starting for the injured Jack Bryner, hit Hinton for a touchdown pass, tying the game at 6 before a Grady Kucharson extra point gave Kenston the 7-6 lead in the second quarter.
Buchtel came right back with another prolonged scoring drive and hit on a 40-yard touchdown pass to give them the 12-7 lead.
Kenston was able to do just enough on their ensuing possession to get Kucharson within striking distance for a 28-yard field goal, drawing the Bombers within two at 12-10 just before the close of the first half.
Right out of the locker room, another sustained drive by Buchtel ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass, handing them the 18-10 lead. Kenston then turned the ball over on downs just before the close of the third quarter.
The Griffins looked to be headed towards another score before defensive end Ethan Black stormed into the backfield swallowing up the Buchtel QB for a 14-yard loss. An offensive penalty for an illegal chop block set Buchtel back even further and the defense forced a punt that was fair caught by Hinton.
Kenston's drive stalled but once again, but Kucharson stepped up to drill a 39-yard field goal to bring the score to 18-13 with just 5:26 to play.
The defense then forced a huge three-and-out and Hinton came through with another long punt return for 25 yards. A couple of big penalties on Buchtel mixed with 50 yards on the ground from Hamm set up the play of the game.
With their backs to the wall and one last hope left, Kenston had to go for the touchdown on fourth down. In a classic misdirection play, Barr handed the ball to the upback Toran Savransky and he plunged into the end zone for the game-winning score. Barr would go on to run in the two-point conversion, giving Kenston the 21-18 lead.
With no time outs left, Buchtel received a Kucharson squib kick with less than a minute to play. After a few completions, Black put the finishing touches on a solid defensive effort and hurried the Buchtel quarterback into a final incompletion to close the game.
Taking over primary ball-carrying work from the injured Ethan Burge, Hamm toted the ball 29 times for 161 yards. He also added two receptions for 19 yards to lead the Bombers in total offense. Hinton also added his fifth touchdown catch of the season to lead the team in receiving, also with 19 yards.
Jake Rostocil again led the defense with 16 tackles (8 solo, 2 TFL), 1.5 sacks, and a QB pressure. Colin Weiland and Tucker Meeks also hit double digits in tackles with 11 and 10, respectively.
Kucharson bounced back from a difficult outing against NDCL and was the difference-maker, hitting both of his field goals and his lone extra point try to finish with seven points.
The win brings their record to 2-2 and Kenston will try to get over .500 with a win next week at Manchester.
FULL BOX SCORE AND SEASON STATISTICS
