Aurora’s Luke McGovern turns the corner on a first-half carry on Friday.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Twinsburg held just one lead on Friday night, and it came on the final play of the game, but it was all the Tigers needed.

Mason Stoerner’s extra-point kick in overtime completed a double-digit comeback victory over host Aurora and capped a thrilling game between two longtime rivals.

It was a finish few could have imagined after a rather uneventful first half that was dominated by the defenses and untimely penalties. The half ended with aurora scoring just before the break on a 2-yard run by Xavier Board that put the Greenmen up 6-0.

Aurora quarterback Ryan Ziegler cuts through a hole during a first-half run.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

The second half more than made up for the lack of drama in the first half.

And it started with the opening kickoff.

Quincy John raced through a seam and up the left sideline for 59 yards to give Aurora great field position on a possession that soon ended on a 4-yard run by Board.

Eric Waid booted the point-after to give the Greenmen a 13-0 lead.

The Tigers’ offense finally found their rhythm, especially through the air with quarterback Dylan Fantone regularly finding RJ Ruffin and JD Okuma on big plays that eventually set up the Tigers’ first touchdown.

The combination of Fantone to Okuma resulted in a 9-yard scoring connection to cut the deficit to 13-6 at the 6:06 mark of the third quarter.

Just seconds before the end of the third, Twinsburg (3-0) scored once more and it again came through the air.

Fantone snapped a pass to Rob Herndon on a backside post from 17 yards out and Stoerner’s kick tied the score at 13-all.

A scoreless fourth quarter was not void of excitement, with both teams seemingly in position to find the go-ahead score, but falling short, including Aurora turning the ball over on downs at the Twinsburg 29 with 2:19 to play.

To open overtime, Aurora had the first possession and scored on a 2-yard Jet Sweep by Luke McGovern, who took the handoff going left and raced toward the corner of the end zone. As he realized he was running out of space, he put the brakes on a step from the sideline, turned vertical and then leapt into over the scrum to get into the end zone.

The extra point was blocked.

Running back Xavier Board (left) follows his lead block on his way around the edge on a run that set up his 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Twinsburg’s overtime possession resulted in a 4-yard touchdown by Lucas Kienzlen on a third-and-goal play. Kienzlen took the handoff and bolted across the line of scrimmage untouched into end zone to set up the winning kick by Stoerner. 

Aurora has a losing record after the first three weeks of the season for the first time since 2017, when the Greenmen started 0-3 before winning six of their final seven games.

Board and quarterback Ryan Ziegler led the offense.

Board finished with 77 yards on 20 carries and Ziegler had 71 yards on the ground on 22 carries. Ziegler also completed 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards, with Josh Harrell as his top target with three receptions for 27 yards.

Twinsburg failed to get anything going on the ground throughout the game, with no one back totaling more than 25 yards, but it was Fantone’s work through the air that proved to be the most dangerous. Fantone was 17-of-29 for 186 yards.