CAMPBELL, OH – In what was a tale of two halves at John Knapick Field, the Newton Falls Tigers came back from a 19-7 halftime deficit by going on a 22-3 run en route to an exciting 29-22 victory over the Campbell Memorial Red Devils.

The Tigers got things rolling on the opening drive with a methodical running attack led by Carter Rapczak. The drive ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Alex Pennington to Nick Rapczak. The Devils, however, had a response on their senior night. Campbell used the skill of Kayvon Moore to move down the field, then sold the Tigers out on a play fake as David Moore launched a 35-yard touchdown bomb to Christian James. The failed extra point kept the score at 7-6 Newton Falls

The Tigers were marching down the field again, but as the second quarter got underway, they fumbled the ball, giving it back to Campbell. The Red Devils took advantage with a 57-yard scamper to paydirt from Kayvon Moore to make it 12-7, Campbell’s first lead since Week 3. They continued their hot momentum streak with another turnover on defense, this time an interception. They then continued to harass the Newton Falls defense as Moore picked up his second touchdown from 4 yards out. Nick Rapczak’s interception of Moore on the next Campbell drive ended the first half for the Tigers on a high note after what was a nightmarish first 24 minutes of play on both sides of the ball.

The Red Devils got the ball to start the second half and drove down the field once again as they looked to make it a three-score game. A nice run by Christian Milhouse was negated due to a penalty on the play that would take the Devils out of field goal range and force them to punt. Newton Falls used this as motivation to correct themselves from their mistakes of the first half. Carter Rapczak started the comeback with a 20-yard run, as he then brought the Tigers within one score at 19-14. The defense then stepped up for Falls as they held the Devils on fourth down in Tiger territory to end the quarter.

The Tigers would use the turnover on downs to their advantage as Rapczak scored his second touchdown from 31 yards out to put Newton Falls back on top. The successful 2-point conversion made it a 22-19 ball game. The Devils had a lot of fight in them, though, as Kayvon Moore burst open for a 23-yard run to the Tiger 49. They would drive to the 22, but were called back by another penalty. A 16-yard pickup to the 18 would set up the situation for kicker Anthony Kindinis. The junior stood up to the task and booted a 35-yard field goal to knot the scoring at 22-22. Newton Falls, however, would not take much time to get back in the end zone. Rapczak burst down the sideline for a 45-yard run down to the Devils 16, followed by his third touchdown from nine out to make it 29-22 Tigers. The Devils had one more drive in them as they needed to get down the length of the field to either tie it up or take the lead with a two-point conversion. On a 4th & 7 with the game on the line, Kayvon Moore kept the drive alive with his feet on his way to a 42-yard run down to the Tiger 30. A sack, however, sent the Devils back to the 37 for a 4th & 17. Campbell was not able to pick up this conversion, however, as Nick Rapczak picked off Moore for the second time of the night.

The comeback win for Newton Falls ends their six-game losing streak as they go to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the MVAC Grey Tier. This is also the first road game that the Tigers have won since 2018, when they ironically beat Campbell in a defensive slugfest 6-2. They have lost 15 straight games away from home coming into tonight. The victory also helps them in terms of playoff seeding as they were ranked #18 in the 16-seed Region 21 of Division 6 before kickoff. They will end the regular season next week with a Senior Night against a 4-4 Crestview team coming off a thrilling 44-38 overtime victory over Champion.

The heartbreaking loss makes it sixth straight for the Red Devils as they fall to 1-8 on the year and 0-6 in the MVAC Grey Tier. Campbell ends their home campaign with a 1-4 mark at John Knapick as they will hit the road for their final game of the season at LaBrae. They will look to end their season on a high note against a Vikings team coming off a close 41-34 victory at Liberty and currently standing at #3 in Region 21.

Carter Rapczak’s three rushing touchdowns was enough for him to be earned our YSN Player of the Game. YSN’s Noah Ricks talked with winning coach Greg Lazarri following tonight’s contest. Watch below for the post-game interview.

*Contributed By YSN’s Noah Ricks

Postgame Interview With Greg Lazarri: