Elyria Catholic 42, Anna 35: Panthers call on ‘Juggernaut’ to take down MAC power in D-V, Region 18

ELYRIA, Ohio — Elyria Catholic calls its full-house, jumbo offense “The Juggernaut.”

Trailing by 13 points early Saturday night at Knights of Columbus Field, the Panthers shifted running back Leighton Banjoff to Cameron Engrish’s quarterback spot.

In one play, “The Juggernaut” awoke Elyria Catholic.

But fourth-seeded EC still needed Engrish and a quick-pace offense to shock Midwest Athletic Conference power Anna, 42-35, in the Division V, Region 18 football playoffs.

That’s because the Rockets took a one-point lead in the final 45 seconds on a trick play and two-point conversion. Needing quick points, Engrish led a three-play drive — including two quick strikes to receiver Jaret Frantz — ending with a handoff to Banjoff for the winning score with 19 seconds left.

A 25-yard strike from Engrish to Frantz, ruled out of bounds at the 2-yard line, set up the winning score.

“We look over to coach, and he yells ‘Juggernaut,” Banjoff said. “What are you going to do? We’re going to push on through.”

The Panthers (9-2) advances to face top-seeded Genoa Area (11-0), which beat Millbury Lake, 47-21. They will meet Saturday next week at a site to be determined.

To get there, EC rode its 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back with a University of Nebraska baseball scholarship. Banjoff ran the football 37 times through the mud and the heart of Anna’s defense. He rushed for 263 yards and scored four touchdowns.

From the preseason throughout this year, coach Brian Fox said he did not want to overuse Banjoff because of that baseball scholarship.

“I told him before this game, after I walked on the field, I think I’m going to break that promise to you,” Fox said. “I tried subbing him a few times, in my defense. He wasn't having any.”

Anna (8-3) took a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter. To that point, EC could only muster six plays on two quick drives. The Panthers had minus-6 yards to show for in the first quarter. That was when Fox made the switch.

Engrish watched from the sideline, and Banjoff took his place taking shotgun snaps behind center with a big line in front of him and one or two running backs to his side.

“The passing game wasn’t working well in those first two drives,” Banjoff said, “then Coach decided to bring out ‘The Juggernaut.’ We were just going to push it down their throats. They’re a running team, so we’ll show them we’re a running team, too.”

Anna ran for 143 yards, using only quarterback Bart Bixler and running back Riley Huelskamp on a combined 45 rushing attempts.

EC rallied with 20 straight points behind Banjoff on the muddy grass track. He broke free on his first carry in “The Juggernaut” with a 63-yard TD jaunt. He threw a 70-yard TD pass to Nathan Damron, then scored again on a 2-yard run up the middle.

Anna answered in the third quarter, but Banjoff broke free on another long run, kicking up dirt and mud on a 62-yard tying run late in the third quarter.

“I think being able to practice in the conditions conditioned me to then go and be able to run out there,” he said.

Elyria Catholic began the week practicing behind its stadium, but two days in, the field became unusable. Fox said assistant coach Cody Reaser devised a plan to utilize film sessions and work in off-the-field exercises to prepare until Elyria High School let the Panthers use its new turf field for two practices.

In a sense, all of Elyria pitched it to help the Panthers in their first playoff appearance since 2010.

On this night, the current quarterback made a late comeback possible as he whipped a go-ahead TD pass to Frantz before they connected twice in the final minute.

“Cam is about as high of a character kid as you can expect. I don’t know many people that can go from a starting quarterback, 2,000-yard passer, and me telling him you’re not going to play three quarters of the game,” Fox said. “He was ready to roll mentally.”

Anna took its final lead on a 30-yard half-back pass from Huelskamp to Jeffrey Richards, who then scored a go-ahead two-point conversion on a shovel pass.

Needing a spark, EC got one from Christopher Jackson Jr., whose long return set up the Panthers at the Anna 40. Showing little rust after watching most of the night on the sideline, Engrish stepped in.

“I knew that when I got my opportunity to play, I was going to make the most of it,” he said.

Engrish threw for 84 yards, all in the fourth quarter, and well below his 2,000-yard pace this season. Unlike Banjoff and most of his teammates, Engrish also had one of the cleanest jerseys.

Neither of that mattered to them.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.