JOHANNESBURG -- Johannesburg-Lewiston rallied from a 13-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat St. Ignace 30-27 Friday in a Division 8 district championship game.
The Cardinals (10-1) now play host to Frankfort in the regional title game.
The Cardinals used a grinding ground attack to pile up more than 400 yards rushing, including long back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter to pull in front 30-20. Senior quarterback Darren Dobbyn, who led the way with 197 yards on the ground, scored on a 1-yard plunge at the 7:02 mark of the quarter and then ran in for two points to give Johannesburg its first lead of the game, 22-20.
After forcing a three-and-out series on the Saints' next possession, Johannesburg marched the ball down the field once gain, this time going 79 yards in 10 plays with fullback Jake Graham taking it the final 32 yards. Dobbyn passed to tight end Gavin Koronka for two points and a 30-20 lead at the 1:21 mark of the quarter.
The Saints rallied to score on a 13-play, 94-yard drive when Gerrit Mortensen passed 4 yards to Austin St. Louis with 5:38 remaining, trimming Johannesburg's lead to 30-27.
The Cardinals took all the remaining time off the clock on their final possession, however, to clinch the win and their first district championship since 1998. The key play in the drive was Graham's seven-yard run up the middle on third-and-6 from the Cardinals' 39-yard line.
Dobbyn scored on runs of 5 yards and 1 yard in the first half in addition to his short TD run in the third quarter. Graham racked up 187 yards rushing and senior halfback Joe Yeskey had 70 yards.
Mortensen capped his prep career by hitting on 16 of 23 passes for 282 yards. He connected with St. Louis for scoring strikes of 50 and 4 yards. Mortensen also scored on a 5-yard run and St. Louis scored on a 1-yard run.
Print this story
E-mail this story
