KINGS MILLS, Ohio -- Turpin rallied to beat Kings at Kings Stadium on Friday night 20-16 with the game’s final two touchdowns in the last six minutes.
Turpin (4-0) trailed in the fourth quarter 16-7 and fumbled on the Kings (3-1) nine-yard line, and it looked like that might have been the end for the Spartans.
“Our defense came up big, and they got out there and stopped them, and I felt like we still had a chance,” said Turpin head coach Rob Stoll.
Junior running back Luke Bohenek started the rally by scoring a 16-yard touchdown run, and then capped off the scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left in the game.
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“We were always up on the sidelines encouraging everyone, and it worked out on the drive that got us back in it. We planned out everything in the locker room, and we executed,” Bohenek said.
Bohenek finished the game with 173 yards combined rushing and receiving.
“Luke gets stronger as the game goes on,” Stoll said. “He’s a fantastic tailback.”
The Knights almost pulled off their own comeback driving the ball into Spartan territory, and made one final heave to the end zone as time was expiring where 5-feet-3 sophomore defensive back Griffin Durso leapt high in the air to intercept the game’s final pass.
“I was told they’d throw at me, and I had to be ready for it,” Durso said. “That was a dream and now it happened.”
Turpin had given up just 30 points total in its first three games, and they figured to need a strong defensive effort to pull out this win.
“Kings is really really talented. They’ve got speed at the wide receivers and tailback, and their line is huge, and they’ve got a big ol' quarterback, but I feel like we have a marquee defense, and I think our defense showed that tonight,” Stoll said.
The Spartans defense really controlled the game in the first half, holding the Knights’ offense -- which had scored 143 points in their first three games -- to only three points while forcing four turnovers.
“The D-line was working and forcing double teams so that the linebackers could fill the hole. We were talking to each other and playing hard, and that’s all we had to do,” Durso said.
Kings senior running back and defensive back Avery Koller sparked his team in the second half with two rushing scores, one of which came shortly after he had a 48-yard interception return deep into Turpin’s side of the field.
Koller finished the game with 162 yards rushing and now has 656 yards on the ground through four games.
As the game was winding down, Stoll had the game in his son’s hands, the senior quarterback Ben Stoll, who led his team to two fourth quarter scoring drives and completed a huge third down pass on the final drive while passing for 249 yards on the night.
“He was poised and he was reading the field, and that last pass there at the end, he showed all the intangibles,” Rob Stoll said.
The final two unbeaten teams in the ECC will square off next Friday when Turpin hosts Glen Este (4-0). Kings will look to rebound at Loveland on Friday.
