Another record Smith kick sparks Norwalk

NORWALK — Act like you've been there before. Norwalk senior kicker Garrison Smith has been in that moment several times throughout his star-studded career. But even this was too good to not react. With Norwalk leading Copley 14-10 with 23 seconds left in the first half of Friday's Division III Region 10 playoff game at Contractors Stadium at the Warren C. Whitney Complex, head coach Todd Fox was faced with a decision on a fourth-and-5 from the Copley 40-yard line. The coach called upon Smith to try and make one of the longest kicks in the history of Ohio high school football. And he delivered once again. With about a yard to spare, after Copley coach Jake Parsons even used a timeout to try and ice him, Smith made a 57-yard field goal to put the Truckers up 17-10. The Norwalk defense then made the score stand, including a fourth-and-2 stop from the Truckers' 8 with under a minute to go in the 17-10 victory. With the win, the No. 7-seeded Truckers (4-3) advance to next Friday's Region 10 quarterfinal at No. 2 Ashland (6-1). The kick breaks Smith's own school record of 54 yards, set on Sept. 25 vs. Clyde. The 57 yards is also unofficially the fifth-longest field goal in OHSAA history, and the second-longest in a playoff game. ""It's hard because I want to act like I've done it before, but I also want to celebrate," Smith said. "I want to act like I know what I'm doing, but it's hard not to celebrate on a kick like that. I have to admit it's pretty thrilling." Norwalk receiver Sam Battles is the holder for Smith. He said he knew on the hold that Smith had connected and had a shot. "I think the timeout helped him, because he's all about repetition, and he got a few more in," Battles said. "It's just an honor to hold for a kicker like Garrison. I knew it was good. I always know. You hate to just assume he'll make it from that far, but at this point you just do." Smith figured it was good off his foot as well. "It was a very well-driven ball," he said. "It wasn't my best height, but I could tell I definitely connected well on it." Smith has also made 84 consecutive extra points — tied for the sixth-longest streak in OHSAA history. He added four touchbacks and had a 58-yard punt in the third quarter while also rushing 26 yards for a first down on a fourth-and-15 punt attempt. The game seemed ominous from the start for the Truckers. Ethan Phillips returned the opening kickoff 74 yards to the Copley 19. But three plays later, the Truckers fumbled and the Indians (6-1) recovered. On the second play, quarterback Joe Reho found Antoine Campbell Jr. — a Vanderbilt recruit on defense — in the middle and he was off to the races on a 70-yard touchdown catch. The extra point by Jarrad Kerekes was good, and 1:11 into the game the Indians had a 7-0 lead. Norwalk was then intercepted by Copley's Landon Robinson — a Lehigh recruit — who took it to the Norwalk 21. But the defense held the Indians to a 33-yard field goal by Kerekes, but still, it was a 10-0 deficit at the 7:25 mark of the first. But after the Indians were stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 from their own 42, the Truckers responded four plays later with a 32-yard TD pass on third-and-10 from Garrett Chapin to Ethan Phillips. It marked the first touchdown in the first quarter this season in seven games for the Truckers. The Smith PAT made it a 10-7 game with eight seconds left in the opening quarter. Disaster then struck on Copley's next drive. The Indians were forced off the field in three plays, but the snap sailed high over the head of the punter, Kerekes, who tried recovering in the end zone. However, Norwalk's Parker Evans was there to fall on the loose ball for the surprise TD with 10:49 left in the second quarter. The PAT put the Truckers up 14-10, which then set the stage for Smith's record kick with 19 seconds left in the half. "Early in the season we didn't come out of those tough moments well," Fox said of the early 10-0 deficit. "That would have been the end for us in Week 1 or Week 2. Our young men have responded, matured and grown. "That for me is something we will walk away from and be proud of, win or lose," he added. "To respond to adversity, that's 2020 in a nutshell. That was a great team we beat tonight. Our defense was phenomenal tonight." Copley advanced the ball to the Norwalk 38 in the third quarter, and with 9:41 left in the game were at the Norwalk 25. However, Reho went for a receiver near the end zone and Phllips intercepted the pass at the Norwalk 1 with 9:41 left. After a 52-yard attempt on a field goal by Smith with 2:30 left in the game was short, the Indians took over from their own 20 with one timeout. Reho connected with Ryan Poundstone on the first play for 41 yards to get the Indians in business at the Norwalk 39. Six plays later, the Indians had advanced to the Norwalk 8-yard line — but just 38 seconds remained and they were out of timeouts. On fourth-and-2, the Norwalk defense then swarmed Darryl Pringle for a two-yard loss with 30 seconds left to seal the victory. "We felt good at halftime, but their defense dials up blitzes so well," Fox said of the Indians. "They have great players, but Robinson and Campbell are special football players and we had a hard time handling them. "But we're happy with the win, and we move on to the Arrows," he added. "For us defensively, we changed up some things this week and trying to become more multiple.It was a great game plan and we followed through … our kids responded and did their jobs. Just really proud of these kids tonight." For Norwalk, Chapin was 14-of-29 passing for 134 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Phillips caught four passes for 47 yards and the score, ran five times for 14 yards and had the 74-yard kick return. Daniel Traczek ran 17 times for 43 yards, while Kade Staley added three catches for 23 yards and Oliver Maloney had two catches for 32 yards. Copley 10 0 0 0 — 10 Norwalk 7 10 0 0 — 17 Scoring C — Antoine Campbell Jr. 70 pass from Joe Reho (Jarrad Kerekes kick) C — Kerekes 33 field goal N — Ethan Phillips 32 pass from Garrett Chapin (Garrison Smith kick) N — Parker Evans fumble recovery in end zone (Smith kick) N — Smith 57 field goal