Versailles’ Joel Gehret hurdles over Columbus Grove defenders during Friday’s Division VI state semifinal at Wapakoneta.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — It’s hard enough to get the momentum to swing your way in a high school football game.
It’s next to impossible if you can’t even get the ball.
Versailles controlled the ball, the clock and the flow of the game for three quarters Friday night, as the Tigers beat Columbus Grove, 30-13, in the Division VI state semifinals.
“You’ve got a lot of the offensive guys that aren’t touching the field,” Columbus Grove coach Andy Schafer said. “We’re talking eight, nine minutes, and then they come in and try to have some push after they’ve methodically went down the field. It’s very, very difficult.”
Columbus Grove (12-3) ended its 11-game win streak, an improbable finish to a season that started at 1-2. It was also the second-straight year the Bulldogs made it to the state semifinals and sixth overall in program history.
Versailles (13-2) relied on the one-two punch of quarterback Michael Osborne, the Midwest Athletic Conference offensive player of the year, and Joel Gehret. Gehret had 21 carries for 126 yards and touchdowns of 1 yard in the second quarter and 2 yards in the fourth quarter. Osborne finished with 25 carries for 97 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but he’d been over 100 yards before a pair of kneel-downs at the end of the game.
“We came to run the ball, and they couldn’t stop it,” said Osborne, whose team out-rushed Columbus Grove 279-102. “Our run game is our identity, and we stuck with it today.”
The Tigers will face Kirtland, a 17-0 winner against Garaway, in the Division VI state championship at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
Columbus Grove led 7-0 early in the game, thanks in part to its defense. Zach Reynolds intercepted the ball on the fourth play of the game, taking it from the Grove 42-yard all the way back to Versailles’ 4.
Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal, the Bulldogs’ Trenton Barraza took a sweep to the left into the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:25 left in the first quarter. Barraza finished the game with 19 carries for 83 yards.
That momentum was short-lived, though, as Versailles held onto the ball the rest of the quarter before settling for a 27-yard Gehret field goal on the first play of the second half. Versailles got the ball back quickly, as Columbus Grove mishandled the ensuing kickoff, and Osborne had his 1-yard touchdown run as part of a 23-0 second quarter.
Columbus Grove showed some spark after halftime, capping an 11-play, 65-yard drive with quarterback Landon Best’s 6-yard touchdown rush, which included an elusive spin at the 1-yard line to evade a tackler and pulled the Bulldogs within 23-13. Best finished the game completing 7 of 10 passes for 85 yards with three interceptions, but Versailles limited him to 3 rushing yards on seven attempts.
Versailles, a seven-time state champion that last won it all in 2021, successfully went right back to the ground game, eating away the clock with Gehret and Osborne running the ball. The Tigers scored on all but two possessions in the game and never punted.
“I’m just really proud of the way we were able to answer that with a touchdown of our own,” Versailles coach Ryan Jones said. “Our defense got some stops. Then when we needed to late in the third, early in the fourth quarter, we were able to move the ball on the ground, even though they knew we were going to be running it. That can be the difference between winning and losing.”
It was a difficult way to end the season for Columbus Grove’s 12 seniors, Schafer said.
“They’re a very special class, the way they were able to get our team to come together and be selfless. They were just all about the team the whole team, and it was awesome. We had a lot of special underclassmen, and sometimes that’s hard on a senior class. But they embraced it and made those underclassmen part of everything.”
Versailles 30, Columbus Grove 13
Versailles Columbus Grove
20 First downs 9
307 Total yards 187
279 Rushing yards 102
28 Passing yardage 85
2-4-1 Passing 7-10-3 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0
0-0 Punts 1-7
1-5 Penalties 3-13
Score by quarters:
Versailles 7 0 6 0 — 13
Columbus Grove 7 23 0 0 — 30
First quarter
CG-Trenton Barraza 4 run (Evan Verhoff kick), 8:25
Second quarter V-Joel Gehret 27 FG, 11:57
V-Michael Osborne 1 run (Gehret kick), 11:11
V-Joel Gehret 1 run (Gehret kick), 6:54
V-Jace Watren 12 pass from Michael Osborne (kick blocked), 0:13
Third quarter
CG-Landon Best 6 run (pass failed), 6:18
Fourth quarter
V-Joel Gehret 2 run (Gehret kick), 11:55
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
