OxfordPress.com

Imagine Nick Bauer on two healthy legs.

Despite dealing with a foot injury, the Kings High senior running back punched his club's ticket to the playoffs while dealing Little Miami's postseason chances a huge blow.

Bauer — suffering from a small broken bone and sprain of his right foot — rushed for his third straight 200-yard game in leading the Knights to a 35-27 victory over the Panthers Friday night, Oct. 17, at Kings Stadium.

"I wasn't getting hit until three or four yards down field," said Bauer, who had 207 yards on 37 carries and a touchdown. "Our offensive line was tremendous. They're the reason I'm getting my yards."

Kings led comfortably 25-6 late in the first half before Little Miami scored right before halftime. The Panthers weren't out of it until quarterback Kyle Cook was sacked by Mike Cantrell on fourth down with 2:04 to go.

"We showed a lot of heart, a lot of toughness," Kings coach Andy Olds said. "It seems like every mistake we made tonight they took advantage of it. Had we made another mistake, it may not have gone our way. That last defensive stand to put pressure on Cook is exactly what the doctor ordered."

The Knights (6-3, 4-0 FAVC Cardinal) — in the driver's seat for the league title — came out of intermission and put together a 12-play, 74-yard drive that Teron McCall capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run.

But the Panthers answered quickly on Cook's 25-yard pass to Andrew Mee to make it 32-20.

Zac Murphy booted a 20-yard field goal with 11:04 remaining to extend Kings' lead to 35-20. After a Little Miami three-and-out, the Knights turned it over, and Cook connected with Lance Fanthorp 15 yards out on the next play.

On Kings' next possession, Murphy's 47-yard field goal was blocked by Christian Albertson, but Cook was sacked three times on the Panthers' final drive of the game.

"It comes down to a couple plays here and there," Little Miami coach Mike Shafer said. "When you're playing good teams, you can't have any mistakes because they're going to take advantage of it."

Kings built a 25-13 halftime lead thanks to 23 second-quarter points — Murphy's 26-yard field goal; Bauer's 3-yard TD run; Derrick Harris' 48-yard INT return; and Harris' 48-yard TD pass to Nate Bauer on a gadget play.

"I was really happy with our team," Harris said. "We played real hard. We knew they were going to be a good team. We came in, did what we needed to do and got the win."

In the biggest game between the two schools in recent memory, Kings entered the contest fifth in the Division II, Region 8 ratings. Little Miami was eighth.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.