Seneca gets past Ike in overtime
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Zach Moats' 10-yard touchdown run and Dalton Boyd's subsequent two-point conversion burst lifted Seneca to a 42-41 overtime victory over Eisenhower in a high school football game Friday night.
"I was super proud of the effort the guys gave tonight," Knights head coach Jim Penley said. "Playing Seneca is always a rivalry game and for us being so young, our guys left it all in the field."
The Bobcats took the opening kickoff and eventually scored a touchdown on Moats' 12-yard run. The PAT kick failed, but Seneca led 6-0 with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Eisenhower (0-4, 0-3) found the end zone at the end of the period when quarterback Joe Gigliotti scored from 13 yards out. Chase Card, who made five PAT kicks in the game, connected to give the Knights a 7-6 lead.
Two touchdown passes from quarterback Dalton Boyd to Donovan Huzinec in the second quarter gave Seneca a 20-7 advantage, but the Knights didn't waste any time and began to cut into the Seneca lead when Gigliotti returned a kickoff 76 yards for a TD. Card's kick trimmed the deficit to 20-14 with 6:37 remaining in the first half.
After both teams exchanged punts and field position, the Knights senior tailback Nolan Gesing, who rushed for 185 yards on 27 carries for the evening, caught a 28-yard TD pass from Gigliotti with 34 seconds remaining in the half. Card's kick gave Eisenhower a 21-20 lead at the break.
The Knights extended their lead on their first possession of the second half when Gigliotti bolted 20 yards for a touchdown. Card's kick failed and Eisenhower led 27-20 with 9:30 left in the third quarter.
The Knights' lead was short-lived, however, as the Bobcats drove to Eisenhower's 22-yard line when Huzinec hauled in his third touchdown reception of the game from Boyd. The PAT kick was good to knot the game at 27-27 with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
After an exchange of punts, Eisenhower turned to Gesing and Gigliotti and the former found a crack in the Seneca defense and scored from 12 yards out. Card's kick gave the Knights again 34-27 to close out the third quarter.
The first half of the fourth quarter proved to be a defensive battle as neither team was able to move the ball. Finally, after an exchange of punts, Seneca had a first down at the Eisenhower 13-yard line when the game took an odd turn.
On first down the Bobcats ran the ball for no gain but a face mask penalty against the Knights moved the ball half the distance to the goal line and a new set of downs from the 6. Two runs and an incomplete pass moved the ball to the 3-yard line, but instead of a fourth down, the officials stopped the clock, conferred and awarded the Bobcats a first down.
After much discussion, a new set of downs was granted and, on second down James Burlingame scored a touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Boyd. Burlingame's PAT kick tied the game at 34-34 with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. A late interception by Seneca gave the Bobcats one last chance in regulation to win the game, but their long field goal attempt fell short.
The Knights went on offense to begin overtime and, after advancing to the 5-yard line, found themselves facing a fourth and goal. Gigliotti took the snap, rolled to his right and found senior wide receiver Ollie Boozer open in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. Card's PAT kick was good and the Knights led 41-34.
Seneca wasted little time in its subsequent possession, scoring on Moats' 10-yard run on first down to trim the lead to 41-40.
Electing to go for the win, Boyd, the Bobcats quarterback, took the shotgun snap and found a seam in the middle of the Knight defense and was able to score the decisive two-point conversion and give Seneca the win.