Cavaliers rally late to hold off Rams

SIDNEY - With 3:38 left in the first half, Coldwater trailed Greenview 17-0 thanks to an interception, a bad punt snap and a three-and-out series.

Most teams would have panicked. Coldwater just went to work.

The Cavaliers cut the deficit to 17-14 at the half, took the lead with 7:52 remaining in regulation and blocked the potentially tying field goal with 92 seconds to escape Sidney Memorial Stadium with a 27-24 win over the Rams in the Division V regional semifinals.

The Cavaliers (11-1) head to Good Samaritan Stadium at Northmont High School this Saturday to face Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy for the third straight postseason in the regional final. CHCA rolled past Milton-Union 45-28 to advance.

"That back-and-forth emotion was like 'Okay, here we go again,' " Coldwater coach Chip Otten said.

"The defense did a good job stopping them in the second half."

Coldwater struggled early against the Rams' run-oriented defense, but their uncharacteristic mistakes put the team into a hole. On the first offensive series of the game, Dylan Thobe was intercepted by Lance Goodbar at the Ram 41. The Rams traveled 69 yards on 10 plays, mainly on the running of Griffin Mangan, who punched in the final yard to make it 7-0 late in the first quarter.

The Cavaliers had to punt from the Greenview 49 on the second possession, but a high snap gave the Rams the ball at the Cavalier 19. Bryce Wilson booted a 21-yard field goal with just under nine minutes left in the half to make it 10-0.

Coldwater punted the ball away on its next possession, but the Rams converted two third down plays and then Mangan scored from a yard out to make it 17-0.

"They came out and were ready to play," Thobe said of the Rams. "They moved the ball pretty well. We had the interception and the punt snap that led them to (10 points)."

Needing any kind of momentum for the second half, when it would get the ball first, Coldwater started fired up. Thobe drove the Cavaliers 76 yards on five plays. Thobe hit Zach Klosterman for a 45-yard pass to get to the Ram 12 and then Thobe used two runs to score the first Cavalier points.

The Rams struggled on the ensuing series, thanks to an intentional grounding and Coldwater's calling timeout to keep time on the clock. Getting the ball at Cav 43, Coldwater used four plays and just 50 seconds to go 57 yards, the final 27 on a Thobe pass to Muhlenkamp, who wrestled the ball away from a defender to make it 17-14 with 20 seconds left in the half.

"We've been down before," Muhlenkamp said. "We still had to be confident. We told each other to get a touchdown before half and we ended up scoring two. That was a great confidence booster."

Coldwater got the ball to the Ram 43 to start the third quarter, but could not convert a fourth-and-one and handed back the ball to the Rams, where quarterback Collin Matt ran a draw up the middle and scored from 49 yards out to put back Greenview's lead to 10 at 24-14.

The response from the Cavaliers was swift. After losing two yards on the first play, Thobe hit Muhlenkamp for a 35-yard strike to get the Ram 16. Muhlenkamp followed with a run around the tackle for the final 16 yards to make it 24-21.

After forcing a punt, Coldwater tried moving the all again, getting to the Greenview 18 before Thobe was picked off by Nick Clevenger with 30 seconds left in the quarter. The Cavaliers defense held and forced a punt, giving the Cavaliers the ball at their 46. Coldwater moved the ball quickly and gained 54 yards on six plays with Muhlenkamp scoring from 16 yards out on an exact replica of his previous score. Muhlenkamp missed the PAT to make it a 27-24 lead.

Greenview had to punt on its next drive, but the fair catch by the Cavailers was fumbled and recovered by the Rams with 5:06 left in regulation. The Rams drove down to the four-yard line and sent out Bryce Wilson to try another 21-yard field goal. Coldwater was ready, though, as the defense lined up two yards off the line and prepared to try and block. The kick was low and Thomas Klosterman slapped it down harmlessly into the end zone, giving Coldwater the ball at the 20 with 1:32 to play and Greenview having just one timeout to stop the clock. A similar predicament in the first half resulted in Thobe's losing a yard. Muhlenkamp, though, came up big one more time, rushing for 14 yards to get the first down and to allow Thobe to kneel twice to end the game.

"It came down to the wire," Thobe said. "That blocked field goal was huge."

"A hard-fought game," Otten said. "Give it to Greenview. They had a plan. We're not a stout team. It's tough on us when (the opponent) has a power running game. Lot of respect for their program."

Thobe and Muhlenkamp dominated the stats. Thobe was 12-of-17 for 204 yards passing and rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries. Muhlenkamp had five catches for 82 yards and rushed for 74 yards on six carries.

"Neal and Dylan put us on their backs," Otten said. "Man, Neal kicked it into high gear and made some great plays to help us to the victory."