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(Maxwell Harden | Leader Publlications)

(Maxwell Harden | Leader Publlications)

(Maxwell Harden | Leader Publlications)

(Maxwell Harden | Leader Publlications)

(Maxwell Harden | Leader Publlications)

NILES — With its season on the line, the Niles football team delivered in big-time moments Friday night in a game those in attendance will not soon forget.

Talen Bennett’s scrambling, 14-yard touchdown pass to Sam Rucker with 1:10 remaining and Brenden Olsen’s interception in the closing seconds lifted Niles to a 37-34 victory over Portland in a Division 4 regional final. The win avenged last season’s loss to the Red Raiders in the regional final and secured the team’s first football regional title in school history.

“I give our kids credit, man,” said Niles Head Coach Scot Shaw. “We didn’t quit and neither did they. This was a heckuva football game, man. I don’t think they get much better than this.”

Bennett completed 5 of 12 passes for 74 yards, one touchdown and one interception and Peyton Gordon had six carries for 71 yards and a touchdown while Paul Hess had 14 carries for 70 yards, 10 tackles on defense and a fumble recovery.

Niles (11-1) outgained Portland 369-307, including a 295-173 edge in rushing yards. Portland’s Ethan Cassel was 10 of 17 passing for 134 yards and three touchdown passes and added a rushing touchdown. Chris Battley had three catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Gross had four catches for 53 yards and Nolan Zbytowski had two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown.

Sam Rucker had 16 carries for 143 yards and three touchdown runs, two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown catch and 11 tackles on defense.

“He’s pretty good, isn’t he,” Shaw said. “He’s a good football player. He’s a senior, he’s played in a lot of football games for us and I told him before the game that it’s up to him to lead us somewhere where we’ve never been and he took it to heart.”

Trailing 34-29 and facing a 4th-and-12 on the Portland 30-yard line with 2:50 remaining, Sam Rucker hauled in a 20-yard pass from Bennett to keep the Vikings’ season alive. 

“I knew that they thought we were gonna pass the ball, so I did my best to try to make myself as open as possible. I was ready for the contact when it came so when I caught it, I was able to shake it off and get the first down.”

A few plays later, Rucker scored the game-winning touchdown using the same play.

“I knew it was going to have contact right when I got it,” Rucker said. “As soon as I got through that contact, it felt great.”

Olsen had two catches for 32 yards, four tackles and the game-clinching interception. For Olsen, his interception in the closing seconds – his eighth interception of the season – served as a form of redemption after getting beat on a Portland touchdown pass from Ethan Cassel to Chris Battley to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime.

“I knew they were going to throw a fade there, they weren’t going to run anything up the middle with 20 seconds left and no timeouts,” Olsen said. “I tried to put myself in the best position possible to make it happen.”

With the regional championship trophy in hand, the Vikings will face Grand Rapids South Christian (8-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Three Rivers High School. The winner of that game will earn a trip to Ford Field for the Division 4 State Championship game.

A game for the ages

The Vikings led 7-0 after one quarter of play thanks to a 30-yard touchdown from Sam Rucker. After getting a fourth down stop, the Vikings marched down the field and capped a scoring drive with a 21-yard Sam Rucker touchdown to go up 14-0 in the second quarter. The Red Raiders responded with a 15-play, 72 yard scoring drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cassel to Zbytowski to trim the deficit to 14-7. 

Following a 35-yard Payton Gordon touchdown run, the Red Raiders’ Brady Rowe took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to trim the deficit to 21-14. A Bennett pass was intercepted by Portland, who found the end zone on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cassel to Chris Battley with 57 seconds left in the half to make it a 21-21 game at halftime.

Portland received the ball to begin the second half and once again found success through the air, with Cassel connecting with Battley on a 22-yard touchdown pass to take a 28-21 lead. The Vikings put together a drive into the Portland end zone before turning it over on downs when Rucker’s pass to Gordon fell incomplete. 

Just when it felt like Portland was on the verge of putting the game away, the Vikings forced a fumble that was recovered by Hess on the Portland 41-yard line.

The Vikings made the most of Hess’ fumble recovery as Sam Rucker found the end zone moments later on an 11-yard run. Niles went for two and Bennett completed the pass to Olsen to give Niles a 29-28 advantage with 1:22 left in the third.

In the fourth quarter, Portland moved the ball methodically down the field before punching in a 1-yard Cassel touchdown to score its final points of the game. The Red Raiders went for two and failed to convert, setting the stage for Niles’ game-winning drive.

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