TIGERS FALL SHORT LATE IN 38-34 LOSS AT TURPIN

Tigers determined to build off of close loss at Turpin

By Dick Maloney – Special For Loveland Beacon

CINCINNATI, OH – TURPIN HIGH SCHOOL (Septermber 4, 2021) – In a game that had more big plays than a Neil Simon retrospective, Loveland High School’s football team was about five yards from glory Friday night at Turpin, before falling to the Spartans 38-34.

UPDATED VERSION WITH GAME PHOTOS: Saturday, September 4, 2021 – 4:14 p.m. EDT

The loss dropped Loveland to 0-3, and 0-1 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, but provided hope for the final seven weeks of the season. The Tigers gained 449 total yards (290 passing, 159 rushing) and stood toe-to-toe with a team Loveland has not defeated since 2015.

Loveland caught Turpin off guard right away, recovering an onside kick on the opening play, but gave the ball back three plays later. Turpin also went three-and-out, with Loveland taking over at its 25-yard line. Senior quarterback Luca Aquilino did most of the work on a 75-yard scoring drive, running for 29 yards and passing for 50 (penalties and a fumble made the drive effectively longer than 75 yards). His four-yard touchdown pass to senior Bailey Jackson gave Loveland a 7-0 lead.

It lasted 56 seconds.

The Spartans returned the kickoff to their own 49, and scored on a 25-yard touchdown run by senior Keenan Alcalde, the ECC’s leading rusher who added 246 yard to the 296 he gained in the first two weeks. The conversion attempt sailed wide left, keeping Loveland in front, 7-6. Alcalde carried the ball 36 times – more than half of Turpin’s 65 offensive plays. The Spartans added three on their next possession, on a 27-yard field goal by junior Robert Carson. Loveland receivers dropped no fewer than four passes in the first quarter.

“You know, it happens on Friday nights some times. You don’t want it to happen, but again, the thing that I love, is we found a way to move past that and make plays, and they did. We made a lot of big plays,” Loveland coach Andy Cruse said of the drops.

Loveland’s second scoring drive was considerably shorter than its first – three plays, 40 yards. The first 26 yards were on a screen pass from Aquilino to Jackson; the final three on an Aquilino run. The Spartans again answered on an Alcalde 25-yard run. Loveland moved into Spartan territory late in the half, but senior Drew Covington stepped in front of an Aquilino pass with three seconds remaining to preserve Turpin’s lead.

Ninety-two seconds into the second quarter, Loveland went back in front. Senior DeMarqo Johnson ran straight up the middle for 65 yards to the Turpin 10 on the first play of the half, and on second-and-goal, Aquilino threw a four-yard touchdown pass to senior Ethan Lund. Two plays after forcing a Turpin punt, Aquilino found an opening, again right up the middle, and sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown. Loveland led 28-16, but again not for long.

Alcalde scored his third touchdown, culminating an eight-play, 59-yard drive on which he carried seven times. Turpin went up by one, 29-28, scoring on another Alcalde run, this one nine yards, with three seconds remaining in the third quarter. The conversion kick was no good.

On the first play of Loveland’s next possession, Aquilino threw down the left sideline to Jackson, who caught the ball near the Turpin bench and dodged through defenders for a 69-yard score. Turpin blocked the PAT, but Loveland led 34-29. Aquilino was flagged for intentional grounding from the end zone with 7:45 remaining, after Loveland had stopped Turpin on fourth down deep in Tiger territory, and Alcalde capped the next drive with his fifth touchdown, a nine-yard run. Turpin led 38-34, but Loveland made one final push.

An Aquilino to Jackson pass took the ball inside the Spartan five-yard line with about three minutes remaining, but Loveland was pushed back to the 25, and a fourth-down pass to Lund was just wide – he caught the ball, but his shoes were on the sideline.

“We had a couple of matchups that we liked. We tried to execute them, and we didn’t. It’s going to happen, unfortunately,” Cruse said of the final drive. “But overall, in the grand scheme of things, I’m so proud of our guys, like I said, guys busted their tails all night. Just came up a little bit short.”

Loveland’s coach is a Turpin graduate, Class of 2008, and member of that school’s Hall of Fame, but he said that was not a factor.

“It’s not about me, it’s about our guys and focusing on the opponent, and getting better and trying to find a way to win,” he said. “It’s not about me. I went to school here, had a great experience, at the same time, I love our guys, and that’s what we do, that’s why we do it.”

UP NEXT FOR TIGER FOOTBALL: 

Loveland is on the road again in week four, at West Clermont. The Wolves are 1-2, with losses to Hamilton, 43-28, and Lakota West, 45-7, and a 19-7 win over Lebanon. The performance against Turpin serves as extra motivation.

“We talked about showing grit for four quarters and our guys showed that tonight. I’m extremely proud of them, I really am,” Cruse said. “It hurts, right, because we’re close. We’re so close, but we’re tired of being so close. We know that Turpin’s a really good team, but I believe that we are a very good team. I believe people probably saw it tonight. Now, we’ve got to get over the hump. We’ve got to find a way to get it done as well.’

NOTE: Due to a technical glitch, game photos are not included in this story. Loveland Beacon hopes to be able to update with those photos soon. Keep watch.

Here are all the ECC Friday night football results for week three:

Anderson nips Little Miami 43-42 
Turpin defeated Loveland 38-34
Milford beat Walnut Hills 34-8
West Clermont over Lebanon 19-17
Kings downed Winton Woods 14-13

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