By Matt M. Stutz

The #7 Pandora-Gilboa Rockets (9-4) playoff run came to an end Friday night, November 14, following their Division VII Region 26 Regional Semi-Final match-up against rival #3 Leipsic, 36-28. Too many costly penalties, missed opportunities, and two turnovers proved to be the difference in the rematch. In week 4, Leipsic (11-1) beat P-G 12-7.

The Rockets took the opening kickoff and marched for the first points of the contest. The drive culminated with a 3-yard Ben Burkholder touchdown with 8:39 on the first quarter clock. Layton Cannode split the uprights on the extra point kick to give P-G a 7-0 lead.  

Leipsic came back and took an 8-7 lead with a second-quarter touchdown, running just under eight minutes off the clock, along with the 2-point conversion. The Vikings would never trail again. P-G missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with 1:37 remaining until halftime.

After halftime, the Vikings tacked on a pair of touchdowns, sandwiched between a Rocket fumble at midfield. P-G found themselves down 22-7 with 8:11 remaining in quarter number three. 

An 11-yard touchdown pass from P-G’s Cory Gerten to Jace Fenbert closed the gap to 22-13 following an unsuccessful 2-point attempt. On P-G’s next possession, things looked promising as they got all the way to the Viking 17-yard line, before the drive stalled out on a fourth-down play. 

The fourth quarter is where things got interesting. Leipsic went up 30-13 early in the quarter and appeared to be on cruise control. But with 6:29 left, Gerten found Zahander Boggs for a 13-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to climb to within 30-20 with Cannode’s PAT kick. The Rocket defense forced a punt and the offense drove down for another potential score, but were stopped  at the 1-yard line with 1:30 remaining. 

The game appeared over when Leipsic converted a third-down pass into a 99-yard touchdown with under one minute remaining, to make the score 36-20. 

But the Rockets weren’t done yet. One play later, Gerten found Brayden Ferguson open for a huge 55-yard touchdown pass and catch. Fenbert caught the 2-point try, and suddenly P-G was just one possession away from tying up the contest, down 36-28 with 45 seconds remaining. 

P-G pulled off the unthinkable as they tried an onside kick and recovered it. Three plays later, an interception put an end to all hope.

With the win, Leipsic will play Columbus Grove next week.

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