Peltier leads late drive to lift Eagles
QB’s 5-yard TD run with 47 seconds remaining wins it.
MONROE — The unexpected playoff journey for Chaminade Julienne High School’s football team will continue into Week 13.
Ryan Peltier’s 5-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left lifted the Eagles past New Richmond 26-21 at Monroe on Friday night, lifting CJ into the Division III, Region 12 final against unbeaten Trotwood-Madison this Friday at a site to be determined.
The Eagles (9-3) took possession trailing 21-20 and put together a winning 11-play, 76-yard drive. Peltier awakened from his second-half struggles, completing a pair of vital passes to keep the drive alive. A perfect back-shoulder throw to Dominic Wilcox near the left sideline picked up 24 yards and a first down, and a right-sideline pass to tight end Colin Downing converted a vital third-and-4 to put the Eagles in the red zone.
“He’s a special player,” CJ coach Marcus Colvin said. “I always feel like we have a chance because he’s our quarterback.”
Peltier completed 21 of 33 passes for 254 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Wilcox, his top target, caught seven passes for 106 yards and two scores. Wilcox’s touchdowns gave the Eagles leads of 7-0 and 20-7 in the first half.
Despite the numbers, the CJ defense was called upon to shut down a New Richmond offense that put up 21 second-quarter points to take a 21-20 lead into the break. While the Eagles’ offense struggled to find a rhythm in the second half, the defense held the Lions scoreless despite three drives inside the CJ 25-yard line.
“In a game like this, we just can’t be that sloppy in the red zone,” New Richmond coach Patrick Burke said. “In a heavyweight game of this caliber, you can’t afford to come away with nothing when you get that close.”
The Lions (9-3), led by explosive quarterback Josh Anderson, squandered three different opportunities to perhaps put the game out of reach for CJ.
On a second-and-goal from 12, Anderson threw an ill-advised ball into the end zone that was tipped and eventually intercepted by Joseph Greene. On their next drive, Anderson was stopped on a fourth-and-2 from the CJ 22.
Anderson did the bulk of his damage in the second quarter. He finished the contest with 137 yards on 22 carries and a pair of rushing touchdowns. He completed just 9 of 18 pass attempts for 144 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. His second pick, on the first play after Peltier’s winner, sealed the Lions’ fate.
A 6-0 second-half scoring advantage for CJ was in stark contrast to an explosive first half. Peltier and the Eagles offense were hardly impeded through the first 12 minutes, taking a 14-0 lead on completions to Wilcox and Downing. Downing caught five passes for 75 yards to go along with his score.
Trailing 20-7 after Wilcox’s second touchdown of the night, a 24-yard catch, and a missed PAT, the Lions came to life in the second quarter and took their first lead.
Anderson’s second touchdown run, a 2-yard run, cut the lead to 20-14, and his lone touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to Chandler Kinhalt, put the Lions on top 21-20.