by Bainbridge, Ohio – In a game that featured twelve touchdowns combined, a field goal settled things at Kenston Stadium on Thursday night. Senior Ethan Dennis booted a 22-yard game winner, propelling Kenston to a 45-42 win over Copley.
Coming into Thursday night’s game Copley Indians were looking for their first 4-0 start since 2020. Their offense averaged about 43 points per game in their first three games.
Kenston found the end zone on the first drive of the game in seven plays.
Sophomore quarterback Michael Cieslak found Kahlil Hinton wide open in the left corner for a 21-yard touchdown reception. The point after was good, and the Bombers went ahead, 7-0, at the 9:09 mark of the first quarter.
Two plays into the second quarter, Copley evened things up as Dane Wininger found junior Noah Slattery for an 11-yard scoring strike.
Later in the stanza, after a Kenston punt, Jalen Owens broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run, putting Copley ahead, 14-7.
It didn’t take long for Kenston to even things up. Michael Cieslak aired it out to junior Kahlil Hinton, who made an impressive catch and took the ball the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown. After the ensuing point after, the score was tied at 14 with 1:40 left in the second quarter.
A few plays later, junior Jackson Ehrenbeit came up with a fumble recovery, giving the Bombers great field position and a chance to take the lead.
Two plays later, Copley would force a turnover of their own. Senior lineman Nikolas Enberg came up with the loose ball at the Copley five-yard line.
The second half featured a lot of scoring on both sides.
Facing third-and-20 in the shadow of their own end zone, Dane Wininger connected with Noah Slattery over the middle. Slattery did the rest, taking the ball 81 yards to pay dirt, giving Copley a 21-14 lead.
The Bombers responded quickly, as senior running back Will Hamm rushed for a nine-yard score. Kenston drew even, 21-21, at the 9:59 mark.
Copley decided to go for it on fourth-and-short on its own 32 yard line. The Kenston defense stood up and stopped them short of the line to gain. Taking advantage of the short field, they took the lead as junior Jackson Ehrenbeit ran it in from a yard out.
Kenston led, 28-21, at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter, but Copley had a quick response. Dane Wininger connected with Noah Slattery once again, this time for a 45-yard scoring strike. The score was even once again with 3:53 left in the third.
The Bombers would grab the lead back early in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-three at the Copley 36, Kenston elected to go for it. The gamble paid off as senior Will Hamm raced around the outside and scored from 36 yards out for his second touchdown of the game. This would give Kenston a 35-28 lead.
The Bombers would add to that after a defensive stop, thanks to the special teams play. Kahlil Hinton, who already had a pair of touchdown receptions in the first half, fielded the Copley punt. He found a hole in the middle and burst through, on the way to the end zone for another Kenston touchdown.
Kenston led 42-28 with 7:55 to play, but Thursday’s game was far from over.
Copley moved down the field in a matter of just over three minutes, capping their drive with another touchdown toss. This time, Dane Wininger found Mason Chapman from five yards out.
Kenston moved the ball down the field in an attempt to put the game away, getting as close as the Copley 30. The Bombers’ ground game forced Copley to call a couple of timeouts, but the Indians still had to make one more stop on fourth down.
Michael Cieslak rolled to his left and found Kahlil Hinton, but his catch was outside of the end zone. Copley would get the ball back on downs with 2:23 left.
With a new lease on life, Dane Wininger completed a long pass to Jacob Kuckowski, putting Copley in Kenston territory. Two plays later, Wininger connected with Noah Slattery once again, this time from 19 yards out. The ensuing point after was good, evening the score at 42 with 1:25 left.
On the Bombers’ ensuing drive, Michael Cieslak rushed for a pair of big gains, and had a pair of completions to Stanton Rosenthal and Jackson Reed. These plays would move Kenston into field goal territory, setting the stage for senior Ethan Dennis.
The senior delivered a game-winning 22-yard field goal, giving Kenston a 45-42 win, and concluding a Suburban League classic.
Kenston improves to 2-2 and travels to Brecksville to continue conference play on next Friday, September 18th. Copley drops to 3-1 and hosts rival Revere to continue conference play next Friday, September 18th.
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