“We’re in the playoffs, we’re home, and Ridge Reed’s in the backfield,” Brown said of his decision to go for two instead of sending Brad Harrison out to kick the extra point. “You want to get the ball in (his) hands when you’ve got an opportunity like that to win the game.
“It wasn’t like Ridge did anything bad. It ends up being a slick night with a plant, and Greeneview did a good job. They made him make a cut, and the ball went their way.”
Reed ran 19 times for 83 yards and two touchdowns for the Indians, who finished 8-3 and saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end. Teammate Spencer Mays also scored.
Carlisle is now just 1-8 in eight postseason appearances.
“When you end like this, you’re going to feel disappointed,” Brown said. “This class of (10) seniors … what a great job they’ve done. My disappointment is for them. We wanted to play another game. I guess the season comes to an end at some point. It’s just we’re out a little earlier than we wanted to be. It’ll sting for a while.”
Greeneview (9-2), making its third postseason appearance, won its first-round playoff game for the third straight year. Now the Rams would like to get past the second round for the first time in school history.
Four-time defending state champion Coldwater (11-1) is next for Greeneview. The neutral site will be announced Sunday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
“Our goal was to win the (Ohio Heritage Conference), which didn’t happen, and play 13 games,” Rams coach Neal Kasner said. “We’ll see if we can get one out of two.”
Griffin Mangan led the way against Carlisle, rushing 27 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Collin Matt added a TD on a quarterback sneak with 2:12 left, and Bryce Wilson booted the extra point to make it 21-14.
The Indians responded with an 80-yard drive to the end zone, culminating in Reed’s 4-yard touchdown. Quarterback Jake Moore was 4 of 5 for 51 yards on the possession.
“What we were doing was very uncharacteristic of what we wanted to do,” Brown said of the aerial emphasis. “There was just a point in time in the game where Greeneview kind of stepped up and just completely took control of the line of scrimmage. So to be able to sustain a drive and get in was a great thing for us.”
Kasner praised Carlisle for fighting back after falling behind.
“You’ve got to give them a ton of credit,” he said. “We kind of pushed them around a little bit in the second half, and we thought they were a little demoralized. But they didn’t show any quit at all. They took it right down the field.”
Both coaches were thinking about how the Rams controlled the second half. That fact made Kasner feel good about the possibility of going to overtime, and it made Brown believe that trying to end the game in regulation was the best way to go.
“I thought they were kicking at first,” Kasner said. “I was a little worried that they were going to fake it. We’d go all out for the block, and they might have some opportunities to lob the ball over us. Then they called a timeout, and I figured they would go for it. I didn’t know what play they were going to run, but I had a feeling it was going to be No. 22 (Reed) with the ball. They had all the momentum in the world and arguably the best player on the field, so give him a chance to win it. I can respect that decision.”
Reed took a pitch from Moore and went to his left. When Reed slipped, Tyler Robinette was right there to make sure he was down.
Carlisle tried an onside kick, but it was recovered by Tommy Smith.
“It was fun. It was a team victory,” said Mangan, a 5-foot-9, 183-pound junior. “Everybody just came together. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we knew we could handle them.”
Greeneview’s ability to grind was impressive. The Rams had a 22-play, 83-yard scoring drive in the second half that covered 10 minutes and 33 seconds.
“Thanks to the line,” Mangan said. “It was all line and all team.”
Said Kasner, “Twenty-play drives and getting in a full-house backfield and you punch it in the end zone … that’s what football’s all about.”
Matt completed 8 of 13 passes for 85 yards for Greeneview. Nose guard Isaiah Harding totaled nine tackles.
For Carlisle, Zayne Hart rushed eight times for 43 yards, while Moore was 7 of 12 for 87 yards. Dane Flatter notched a team-high 10 tackles and Caleb Boy had nine, including three for loss. Adam Goodpaster also recovered a fumble.
The game was stopped for about 20 minutes with 4:59 remaining when the Indians’ Chandler Workman, a two-way lineman, went down on the field. He left the complex in an ambulance, and Brown said it was believed to be a leg injury.
Greeneview 7-0-0-14—21
Carlisle 7-7-0-6—20
C: Ridge Reed 7 run (Brad Harrison kick)
G: Griffin Mangan 4 run (Bryce Wilson kick)
C: Spencer Mays 4 run (Harrison kick)
G: Mangan 4 run (Wilson kick)
G: Collin Matt 1 run (Wilson kick)
C: Reed 4 run (Run failed)
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