NOAH BURROUGHS, Special to The Denisonian—

On a rain-soaked Friday night at the end of October, the Granville Blue Aces football team faced off against the Bishop Watterson Eagles in a first-round playoff game. Despite the downpour, the band played on and locals cheered. 

The Blue Aces have had some success in previous years–but this year they are undefeated. This success has not just come from nowhere. The history of this football team has had tremendous amounts of success in years leading up to this undefeated season. The team made the playoffs multiple times in the last fifteen years but haven’t made it past the second round. And the Blue Aces have also had many seasons with only one loss in the regular season, but without being able to make it deep into the playoffs. 

But this could be the year. After closing out the season with a hard-fought win over Watkins Memorial, Granville was undefeated entering round one of the playoffs. 

Granville first met Bishop Watterson on October 1 and beat them convincingly, 32-10.  But this matchup was different for both teams because one had everything to lose and the other had nothing to lose. 

Granville was the number one seed of their playoff bracket with Watterson on the opposite end as a 16 seed. Playing a “bad” team in the playoffs can be dangerous because they will give it their all without worrying about the consequences. But Granville could not afford to lose. 

In the first quarter, the game felt like a shoutout with both teams driving down the field and quickly scoring. Senior quarterback Carsyn Crouch showed off his prowess and connected with wide receiver Christian Hilton on a touchdown pass giving them an early lead over the Eagles. The first quarter ended with the Blue Aces leading 15-7. 

In the second quarter, the Blue Aces kicked things into second gear scoring 14 points giving them a 22 point lead going into halftime with a score of 29-7. During that half, senior quarterback Carsyn Crouch left with a leg injury ending the first half. Junior quarterback Tyler Ernsberger came in off the bench and the Blue Aces  leaned on senior running back Devon Haley in the second half, who carried the ball thirty times for 294 yards and  3 touchdowns. 

With Carsyn Crouch on the bench at the beginning of the second half and Watterson down by 22, scoring was a necessity if they were to mount a comeback. Marching down the field and eventually scoring, Bishop Watterson was down 15 and feeling some momentum. They attempted and recovered an onside kick.

But Granville stopped their drive and Devon Haley scored his third touchdown of the night bringing the score to 36-14. That touchdown put the nail in the coffin- no one would score the rest of the game. The Blue Aces moved onto round two.

After such a strong performance the Blue Aces keep the perfect season alive. Unfortunately, even after winning the game Granville still has so many fears to overcome from this game.  

The team would be faced with a round two challenge against the 2020 State Championship runner-up, the DeSales Stallions. This time looking to win their first second-round playoff game in school history. Last year the Blue Aces and Stallions faced off in a round two matchup, where the Blue Aces lost. This time they were looking for revenge. 

They were worried but they beat the Stallions despite not having their star QB. The Blue Aces moved onto round 3.

In round 3 Granville faced the London Red Raiders, defeating them 15-14 in a nailbiter.

The Blue Aces moved onto the Regional Final where they will face the Western Brown Broncos on Friday, November 19 at Teays Valley High School.