JOHNSTOWN ― Granville’s football team headed into the season with a slew of new starters and a lot of questions.
But in an early Licking County League crossover showdown at Johnstown on Sept. 5, the unbeaten Blue Aces had all the right answers. And retained “The Jug” for the eighth consecutive year in the 110th meeting between the neighboring rivals.
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“It’s just efficiency,” said Kyle Kirby, who ran for 165 yards on 21 carries and, for the third straight game, scored four touchdowns in Granville’s impressive 33-14 win at Frank Chambers Stadium. “We’re still learning, but we’re getting better. We’re eliminating mistakes as we go,” Kirby said.
The Blue Aces (3-0) used a two-touchdown swing to seize control, putting on a goal-line stand ending the first half and immediately scoring to start the second. Granville never punted and answered a game-opening, 12-play scoring drive by the Johnnies (2-1) with a 17-play touchdown march of its own and went on to score 33 unanswered points.
“It’s happened the last two weeks, and we have to do a better job of stopping that first drive,” coach Heath Hinton said. “But it’s never give up, and our offense always responds. We’ve done well during what many say are the most important parts of the game, at the end of the first half and starting the second half.”
Johnstown even mixed in four passes on its opening drive. Luke Carter connected with Cristian Campese for 17 yards and tight end Greyson Goodman for 14 before scoring on a 28-yard keeper midway through the first quarter. The kick failed and the Johnnies went up 6-0, but the visitors then ran nearly nine minutes off the clock in covering 89 yards.
Granville’s Kyle Kirby attempts to break the tackle of Johnstown’s Tyler Sheets during the visiting Blue Aces’ 33-14 victory at Frank H. Chambers Stadium on Sept. 5, 2025.
Kirby did most of the work, carrying nine times including a 5-yard TD run with 9:08 left in the half while also snagging two 9-yard passes. Jackson McMillan hit Jakob Culver and Luke Bosse for a pair of 14-yard gains as Granville tied it 6-6 with the PAT run stopped short.
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“That’s football,” Kirby said of the answering drive. “We heard all week that Granville wasn’t as physical as Johnstown. I just don’t like them. And they don’t like me.”
The Blue Aces quickly took the lead for good shortly later, Kirby ripping off a 23-yard run, then bursting 29 yards for a score on 4th-and-2 with 4:11 left in the half. Bode Shoaps’ kick made it 13-6. Then, the game swung after another lengthy Johnstown possession.
The Johnnies methodically ran 10 consecutive times to first-and-goal at the Granville 10, with Ryan Sager pickup up 9 yards on 4th-and-1. But with the clock running down, Bosse broke up two passes, Carter scrambled for 5 yards to the 5, and on fourth down, Luke Priano brought fullback Landon Myers down by his ankles for just a 1-yard gain.
Johnstown’s Preston Carey follows the block of Ryan Sager on a kickoff return during visiting Granville’s 33-14 victory at Frank H. Chambers Stadium on Sept. 5, 2025.
“That’s the second week in a row, right before halftime,” Kirby said. “We talk all the time at practice about that situation, and it’s worked for us so far.”
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Boosted by the stop, McMillan immediately hooked up with a wide open Garrett Hannahs for 44 yards starting the third quarter, setting up another 29-yard TD run by Kirby as he swept the right sideline and powered into the end zone. A bad snap foiled the PAT kick, but the Blue Aces had momentum and a 19-6 lead.
“It’s bodies on bodies,” coach Hinton explained. “If the first one or two just get a hand on Kirby, he doesn’t go down, and by the time he gets to the secondary, those guys are usually smaller than him.”
Another 4th-down stop, at its 28, had the winners in business again, and McMillan found Jakob Culver for 30 yards to the 32, with 15 yards tacked on for roughing the passer. Five plays later, Kirby sliced in from the 3 with 11:52 left and Shoaps added the kick to make it 26-6.
Landon Goss then made a leaping, tumbling interception at the Johnstown 46.
Johnstown’s Ryan Sager attempts to break through the Granville defense during the visiting Blue Aces’ 33-14 victory at Frank H. Chambers Stadium on Sept. 5, 2025.
“Our front line has really stepped up the last couple of weeks and has stopped the run,” Goss said. “We knew they would keep running the ball, but the coaches told us it (the pass) was coming, because they were behind, and to not fall asleep. I had been waiting for them to pass it all night. (Assistant) coach (Alan) Varrasso always says to be like a receiver, and I was all in once it was in the air.”
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Observed coach Hinton: “What a catch. End over end and rolling over. He even played a little jayvee his junior year, and now he’s a senior captain, and it’s great seeing him show everyone his leadership.”
In a big moment for the Granville offense, McMillan hit Culver down the left sideline and he refused to go down, working his way into the end zone for a noteworthy 35-yard touchdown.
“It was the first time someone else (other than Kirby) has gotten into the end zone,” coach Hinton said. “We’ve been working on it, and finally. Really, Kirby and Bosse are the only two going both ways, so we’re usually pretty fresh going to the fourth quarter.”
Added Culver: “It was also our first passing touchdown. I have gotten so close the last two games. I’ve been trying and trying, and I was going to do everything I could to get in there.”
Johnstown’s Landon Myers attempts to break the tackle of Granville’s Rory McShane during the visiting Blue Aces’ 33-14 victory at Frank H. Chambers Stadium on Sept. 5, 2025.
Granville got a third 4th-down stop later when Aryan Amirtabar hit Carter for a 3-yard loss, but Johnstown went 80 yards in 13 plays to score with 19 seconds left on Sager’s 18-yard run. Tyler Sheets ran for two points.
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“We were flat out the more physical team, and we showed it on defense,” Goss said. “The starters only allowed one touchdown.”
McMillan continues to progress and completed 9-of-15 passes for 162 yards and no interceptions, with Culver grabbing five for 94 yards.
Sager picked up 114 yards in 21 attempts, mostly in the second half, while Carter added 84 yards in 12 tries and hit on 8-of-16 passes for 80 yards. Campese caught three for 42 yards and Goodman three for 24.
Johnstown coach Mike Carter said Granville’s fourth-down stops were big momentum changers.
“First off, they’re a very good team, and hats off to them,” he said. “Number 1 (Culver) and 15 (Kirby) are a couple of standouts, but they also play well together as a team. Against great teams, you can not miss opportunities, and we’re going to work hard as a group and make sure we don’t miss those opportunites in the future. I’m proud of our effort. We’ll re-group, re-focus and work on the little things, learn them and get better every single day.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Efficient Granville seizes momentum and ‘The Jug’ again from Johnstown
