Johnstown football stays step ahead of Utica
UTICA — The ground and pound of the Johnstown football team set up the biggest play of the game Friday.
With 5:36 left in the fourth quarter after many consecutive runs, senior quarterback Caleb Schneider faked and dropped back to find senior receiver Spencer Thomson for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give the Johnnies their final eight-point lead in a 28-20 victory at Utica in Licking County League-Cardinal Division play.
“Our passing offense is built off our run offense,” Thomson said. “We get the ball in a good position, then we can take a shot at the end zone, and that’s exactly what happened. I took my first couple of steps and saw no one there, and I turned around and the ball was coming right for me.”
Utica (2-6, 0-3) had some costly late-game miscues in the loss to the visiting Johnnies (2-6, 2-1). A missed extra point, a field goal that came up short, a bad snap and a blown coverage sent Utica to its third consecutive defeat and dealt a blow to its Division V playoff hopes.
“I told the guys I have no complaints effort wise,” Utica coach Charlie Rowley said. “We fought and battled. It was a game that could’ve gone either way. There were a couple plays that we hurt ourselves, and it did not help us with the outcome. Johnstown is a tough team to get behind on.”
The Johnstown run game indeed makes it tough for a team to play from behind. The Johnnies racked up 351 yards on the ground as seniors Caleb Schneider and Nathan Sheets had big nights rushing for 170 yards and 168 yards respectively in an attempt to keep the explosive Zach Heckman and Gavin Chinn connection off the field for Utica.
Johnstown started off the game with a 14-0 lead due to the 1-2 combination of Schneider and Sheets. Heckman and Chinn made it a ball game with a 23-yard touchdown connection right before halftime.
Junior running back Justin Giffin opened the scoring in the second half with a one-yard plunge. The score was set up by a scrambling Heckman finding running back Tyler Collura for 59 yards on the previous play.
Johnstown responded with a long methodical touchdown drive when Schneider had his second score of the night — this time a 6-yard run.
Not to be outdone, Heckman escaped pressure yet again to find Chinn who evaded the Johnstown secondary for a 67-yard touchdown connection on Utica’s next possession. The extra point kick never got off the ground, and that’s when things went haywire.
Sophomore Grayson Tyo stopped Schneider short on fourth down at the end of the third quarter, but Utica could not seize the lead when a 28-yard field goal attempt came up short. Utica would make another stop, but a bad offensive snap led to a 25-yard loss that forced a punt and Johnstown would be able to chew more time off the clock.
Johnstown then hit the rare clutch pass from Schneider to Thomson.
“We saw that they were bringing a lot of pressure in certain situations,” Johnstown coach Mike Carter said. “We called play-action, and it worked out for us.”
Still alive and down one score Utica would get to the Johnstown 23-yard line, but on fourth-and-nine, a Heckman pass sailed through the hands of a receiver, and the Johnnies were able to take a knee.
Heckman finished 9-of-19 passing for 203 yards, and Chinn had five catches for 142 yards. Collura had 40 yards on just five carries.
Junior Jacob Myers led the Johnnies in tackling with six as he and Schneider also had a sack. Utica sophomore Brandon Thornsberry had a big night, tallying 14 tackles.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Johnstown Johnnies football stays step ahead of Utica
