COLUMBUS – Union Local struck lightning in a bottle for the second consecutive year as the Jets rallied from a 12-7 halftime deficit to defeat Columbus Africentric 28-12 in an Ohio Division V, Region 19 first-round playoff game Friday night at CAEC Stadium.

Brody Perzanowski rushed for three second-half touchdowns – two in the fourth quarter – as Union Local (8-3) duplicated last year’s opening round win at Nelsonville-York. The Jets, the No. 11 seed, will now travel back to Boston Field in Nelsonville to meet the No. 3 Buckeyes (10-0) on Friday in the second round.

Perzanowski, Union Local’s all-time leading rusher and career rushing TD leader, scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter and Gavin Fowkes’ PAT gave the Jets a 14-12 lead. The junior tailback added six-point runs of 3 and 16 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. He finished with 38 carries for 179 yards and the three scores.

Koleton Snyder got the Jets on the board first with a 1-yard plunge. Fowkes made the first of his four point-afters.

Colby Carpenter completed all but one of his six passes for 75 yards. Max Duncan caught two for 47 and Eli Rogers had a pair for 30.

Rogers and Blake Butkus had interceptions for Union Local, which held the Nubians (7-4) to 10 yards rushing on 19 attempts.

Indian Creek Falls To Johnstown

WINTERSVILLE – The Indian Creek football team took the words of Rocky Balboa to heart.

Johnstown landed some big blows as the Johnnies led by 23 points less than a minute into the second quarter, however, the Redskins kept moving forward and the Red and Gold countered with some big shots of their own.

Facing a big deficit, Indian Creek got up off the mat and responded with multiple big plays of their own as the Redskins rallied and led by seven points a little more than a minute into the fourth.

Unfortunately, the boys in red were unable to keep Johnstown at bay as the 11th-seeded Johnnies scored the final 21 points of the game to rally their way past the sixth-seeded Redskins en route to a 51-37 victory in an Ohio Division IV, Region 15 first round game Friday night out at Kettlewell Stadium.

With the win, Johnstown (8-3) will take on No. 3 seed Jonathan Alder (9-1) in a regional quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road.

Ian Starkey threw for 183 yards in the game, and the senior quarterback rushed for 64 more. Bruce Mazar ended the night with 38 yards on the ground and 42 receiving yards on three receptions. Ethan Starr snagged four receptions for 23 yards.

Gavin Pownall tallied 24 yards on the ground on 12 carries.