Team

Columbiana

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. VI	Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference

Team

Western Reserve

Record	Div.	Conf.
8/3	Div. VII	Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

COLUMBIANA

Columbiana wide receiver Tanner Smith hasn’t played very much for Clippers coach Bob Spaite during his first three varsity seasons.

A special teams player who has worked his heart out during the preseason according to Spaite, he won’t forget the first two receptions of his senior season anytime soon.

Trailing 37-36, Smith’s 25-yard touchdown reception from Mitch Davidson with 22 seconds left helped lift Columbiana to a 44-37, come-from-behind victory over Western Reserve in an ITCL, intra-division contest Thursday at Firestone Park.

“Coach [Spaite] gave me the chance and I was able to seize the opportunity,” Smith said. “We’ve been taught to never give up because anything can happen in a minute and we proved that tonight. Western Reserve is an excellent program, so we knew we would have to play our heart out just to have a chance. A win like this is really incredible.”

Davidson, who threw for a game-high 302 yards and five touchdowns, said staying focused was the key.

“We took advantage of our scoring opportunities and that was big. When last season ended, we knew what we had returning and expect to compete with everyone on our schedule,” Davidson added. “After they scored to take a 37-36 lead, I was just focused on moving the ball on our final drive. It was fourth-and-one and while we only needed a yard for the drive to continue, Tanner was wide open and we picked up 28 yards to get to their 25-yard line. On the very next play, he was open again and we were fortunate that he was able to get into the endzone.”

Davidson’s 52-yard pass to Dalton Miller at 3:49 of the opening frame staked the Clippers to the early 6-0 advantage.

A little over three minutes into the second stanza his 54-yard strike to Jacob Ward increased their lead to 14-0.

Jack Cappabianca’s 1-yard run at 4:18 of the frame cut the Columbiana lead to 14-7 at intermission.

A 14-yard hook-up from Davidson to Cooper Smith increased the lead to 20-7 in the third quarter. Wyatt Larimer scored on a 41-yard run with 2:15 remaining in the period to cut the margin to 20-13.

Cooper Smith then returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards to increase their the to 28-13.

Two scores and a pair of two-point conversions by Cappabianca gave Western Reserve its first lead, 29-28 with 7:51 remaining.

Davidson then found Ward from 27 yards away and Columbiana retook the lead at 36-29.

Larimer’s 11-yard run and yet another Cappabianca conversion run helped the Blue Devils reclaim the lead at 37-36, which then set up Tanner Smith and Davidson’s game-ending heroics.

“All these guys are pretty darn special, but Mitch Davidson is as special as they come,” Spaite added. “It’s clich , but you can’t control certain events. It’s how you respond to those events that determines what happens. I’ve been here for 22 years and this is one of the top two or three gut-checks that I have ever been a part of.”

Blue Devils coach Andy Hake said it was a great game played by two great programs.

“Our kids played better in the second half,” Hake said. “Unfortunately it just wasn’t enough.”