The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Celina's Braylon Gabes (4) celebrates a touchdown during Friday's Division III football playoff game with Hillsboro at Celina Stadium. Gabes ran for two scores and passed for another in the Bulldogs' 49-7 win over the Indians.
CELINA - The current crop of Celina Bulldogs weren't even born the last time the team won a playoff football game.
But this group of Dogs made sure that streak ended Friday night by scoring five first-half touchdowns en route to a 49-7 victory over Hillsboro in the Division III Region 12 opening round at Celina Stadium.
Celina (9-2) picked up its first playoff win since beating Sylvania Southview 38-37 in the Division II regional final in 1998, a season where Celina lost to eventual state champion Lebanon in the state semifinals. Next up for Celina is a trip to Trotwood-Madison to take on a Rams team that opened with a 42-0 win over Oakwood.
"I think I was an eighth-grader that year, so it's been a long time," said Celina coach Brennen Bader. "Really happy for our kids, especially our seniors. They deserve that. To end the year 6-0 on our home field was kind of a goal, which was nice to see."
The Bulldogs quickly went to work on the Indians. A fumble on Hillsboro's fifth play from scrimmage was picked up by Celina's Logan Billerman to start the Bulldogs offense from the Hillsboro 35. Celina went with its strength, running Braylon Gabes on four of five plays - all runs - with his final run of 15 yards bringing home the first score of the game with 7:25 remaining in the first quarter.
Celina's Parker Bertke (9) gets a block from teammate Zander Jones on a long run.
Hillsboro had to punt on its next possession, and the Bulldogs blocked it to make for a five-yard punt to the Indian 26. Parker Bertke, who got more snaps with Jon Lutz battling a hand injury, set up the next touchdown with a 17-yard run to the 9, and Braylon Gabes ran in the remainder to make it 14-0 with 4:43 remaining in the opening quarter.
Hillsboro ran nine plays on its next possession, but had a big gain wiped out via a holding call and punted to the Celina 20. Bertke gained 37 yards on the opening play and added runs of seven and six with a potential touchdown run called back for holding. It didn't matter: on the next play Bobby Morris called his own number on a quarterback draw for a 31-yard score to make it 21-0 with 10 minutes left in the half.
Hillsboro's next series ended on a punt to the Celina 31, where Braylon Gabes caught the ball, moved toward his team's bench and went up the sidelines nearly unscathed for a 69-yard punt return score to make it 28-0 with just over six minutes remaining.
Hillsboro fumbled again, with Landon Bader picking up the ball for Celina to put it at the Indian 20. The Bulldogs got down to the 3-yard line to set up some brotherly love, as Braylon Gabes found twin brother Caleb Gabes for the touchdown pass with just over four minutes to play to make it 35 and - more importantly - trigger the running clock in the second half.
Bertke started the second half by carrying the ball five times for 67 yards, getting the final 36 yards on a long run to make the score 42-0.
Celina defensive back Carver Harris tries to make a tackle on Hillsboro's Logan Elliott on Friday.
Hillsboro punted the ball away on its first drive of the second half as coach Bader brought in the reserves. Carver Harris, usually a key defender, carried the ball five times on the six-play drive, getting the final 14 yards for the last score of the game for Celina with just under 11 minutes to play.
"Lot of guys got to play tonight with some younger guys getting the opportunity," said coach Bader. "Just happy for everybody in the program. Great showing from the fans."
Landon Bader got his second fumble recovery of the night on the next play of scrimmage, but Celina turned the ball over on downs, allowing Hillsboro a chance to avoid being shut out. Mason Dumpert connected with Nic Bruns for a 55-yard touchdown - the only time the Indians (5-6) crossed midfield on the night.
Bertke finished his night with 134 yards rushing on 10 carries with a score.
"Jon could have went, but we held him out on offense," coach Bader. "We knew Parker was going to be the main guy, and he did a great job. Very versatile, runs very strong and fast. Good to see him get a touchdown. He did a great job, and the offensive line did a great job all night."
Hillsboro's Austin Barrett, who entered the game with nearly 1,800 yards rushing on the season, was held to 81 yards on 16 carries.
