Jets senior Jackson Jones returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for Northeastern’s lone score. The Jets, who shared the Ohio Heritage Conference North Division title with West Jefferson and Mechanicsburg, finished its season 10-2.
Ziegenbusch hit senior Zeb Pleiman on a 22-yard TD pass on their opening drive to give the Rockets an early 7-0 lead. He rushed for two more scores and pulled down an interception in the first half to give the Rockets a 21-0 halftime lead.
”These guys have fought and grinded all year, and they fought and grinded this one,” said Rockets coach Nick Marino, an Urbana High School grad who also played at Wittenberg University.
Northeastern drove into Rockets territory on nearly every possession, but weren’t able to find the end zone until Jones’ return midway through the fourth quarter.
“(Anna) is a great program,” said Jets coach Jake Buchholtz. “We knew what we were up against. We just didn’t quite play good enough to get it done."
The Rockets had two interceptions in the game and were able to keep the Jets offense at bay for most of the game.
“It was one of those things where, when you’re playing high stakes football, you’ve got to do all those little things,” Buchholtz said. “Life’s gonna be tough sometimes, and you’re not gonna get those breaks. And I just felt like tonight we were so close in so many things, but we were so far away in others. And it just didn’t happen for us.”
The Rockets (10-3) advanced to play Midwest Athletic Conference rival and defending state champion Coldwater (9-4) in the D-VI, Region 24 final at a site to be determined. Anna beat Coldwater 14-7 in Week 4, but the Cavaliers eliminated the Rockets last season in a regional final game.
“Those guys are good and we know they’ve gotten better and we think we’ve gotten better, so it’s going to be a heck of a football game,” Marino said. “We’re excited for it. Those guys do a great job. They’re a great team. They’ve been playing their best football it looks like, and we’ve been starting to play our best football. It should be a fun football game.”
The Jets senior class made four playoff appearances and won two Ohio Heritage Conference North Division titles in their careers. They were able to change the perception of Northeastern football across the state, Buchholtz said.
“It’s something that they can hang their hat on as really changing the culture and the image of what we’re doing around here,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of the seniors. They were the main reason why I came back this last year. I’m glad that they played hard, but obviously came up short, and it’s gonna be tough for a little bit.”
With 38 seconds remaining, Buchholtz called a timeout to allow his seniors to walk off the field together one last time.
“They’ve earned it,” Buchholtz said. “They’re so daggone competitive that a few of them were (mad). ... They love this game. 90% of them, like any small school, they’re never gonna play football again. I know that feeling, and that’s the main reason why I got into coaching, so I can live through these guys just a little bit each Friday night. They’ve had a heck of a career, and they did a lot of good around here. I’m extremely proud.“
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