BINGHAMTON _ Justin Pepper could only watch.
Pepper spent the final 9 minutes, 42 seconds of Saturday's Section Four Football Conference Class D semifinal on the sideline with an injured left ankle as Bainbridge-Guilford fell, 28-14, to Groton at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
"We came out and were ready to battle," said Pepper, who was hurt while playing defense. "Groton is a heck of a team and it was a war out there. We can't hang our heads. No one expected B-G to go anywhere this season and we got to the playoffs. We just played a heck of a game."
Pepper, B-G's senior quarterback, got injured as Groton extended its lead to two scores.
Quarterback Josh Senter was under pressure and passed short to Ethan Tilebein on the left side. Pepper came up to make the stop but rolled his ankle. Tilebein then got past a small group of B-G defenders and raced up the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown.
"I felt something pop," Pepper said. "It's a heartbreaker not being out there."
Groton's conversion pass fell short, but the Indians extended their lead to 22-8.
"They were bringing 9-10 guys into the box, trying to stop our run, which we kind of figured they probably would do," Groton coach Jeff Lewis said. "Of course, that was leaving the passing game there and they were kind of daring us to do that, so we did. We went after it and hit a couple of things there and kind of broke them loose a little bit."
Groton (8-1) advanced to its second straight Section Four Class D final. This time, the Indians will face Delhi (9-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Binghamton Alumni Stadium. Last season, the Indians fell, 32-7, to Walton in the sectional final.
The Bobcats (6-3) started fast Saturday.
B-G took over on downs at its 14-yard line after Pepper slapped away a fourth-and-12 pass to stall Groton's 15-play drive. The Bobcats answered with a 12-play scoring drive that bridged the first and second quarters.
Daren Terpstra, who finished with 45 yards on 12 carries, scored on a 1-yard run and Pepper's conversion run made it 8-0 with 11:20 remaining in the opening half.
That marked the first time Groton trailed an opponent since a 21-0 season-opening loss to visiting Chenango Forks.
"It was a tight game in the beginning and B-G got on the board first," said Senter, who completed 7 of 14 passes for 152 yards. "Right off the bat we had some adversity to face. You don't win games without coming back from adversity. We stuck together as a team and we made it happen."
The Indians and Bobcats then traded possessions, but Groton made the most of the final 7:32 of the first half.
On the fifth play of a drive that started at their 28, the Indians scored when Senter hit an open Isiah Young down the right side for a 42-yard TD. The two connected again for the conversion and an 8-8 tie with 5:48 to go before halftime.
B-G punted on its next possession and Groton took over on the Bobcats' 43 with 1:44 left in the half.
Four plays later, Senter passed to Nick Conway for a 20-yard TD on the left side. Senter's pass to Sam Wright for the conversion made it 16-8 with 45 seconds remaining in the half.
The Bobcats made a push to tie it early in the third quarter, when they forced Groton to punt from its 41.
Ryan Porter dived in to block Kyle Reed's punt and Billy Holden recovered the ball at Groton's 30.
B-G made it to Groton's 14, but on fourth-and-4, Terpstra fell 2 yards short.
"I really thought the turning point was when we blocked their punt and we couldn't take advantage of it and we couldn't go in and score," B-G coach Tim Mattingly said. "If we did and tied it up, maybe it's a different ballgame.
"Defensively, they were tough to run against," he continued. "They really did a good job shutting down our offense and we just had trouble moving the ball in the second half. We started off well and then we struggled from there."
After Tilebein's TD catch made it 22-8, the Indians made it 28-8 on a 20-yard run by Reed with 5:44 to play. Reed finished with 80 yards on 11 carries.
B-G closed the scoring on Holden's 12-yard run with 1:16 to go. Holden carried six times for 75 yards on the 10-play scoring drive.
"We kind of, at the beginning of the season, flew under the radar and I don't think teams really thought we were going to be as tough as maybe we were," Mattingly said. "I think we surprised some teams. We played some good football all year."
Groton 28, B-G 14
SECTION FOUR CLASS D
Semifinal at Binghamton Alumni Stadium
Bainbridge-Guilford0 8 0 6 _ 14
Groton0 16 0 12 _ 28
SECOND QUARTER
B _ Daren Terpstra 1 run (Justin Pepper run) 11:20
G _ Isiah Young 42 pass from Josh Senter (Isiah Young pass from Josh Senter) 5:48
G _ Nick Conway 20 pass from Josh Senter (Sam Wright pass from Josh Senter) :45
FOURTH QUARTER
G _ Ethan Tilebein 28 pass from Josh Senter (pass failed) 9:42
G _ Kyle Reed 20 run (kick failed) 5:44
B _ Billy Holden 12 run (pass failed) 1:16
B-G rushing: Dakota Vandermark 17-43, Daren Terpstra 12-45, Justin Pepper 11-16, Billy Holden 6-75, Corey Burnett 1-5, Dustin Steigerwald 1-2.
Groton rushing: Ethan Tilebein 19-68, Sam Wright 8-26, Kyle Reed 11-80, Josh Senter 1-6.
B-G passing: Justin Pepper 2-for-5, 23 yards; Dustin Steigerwald 0-for-1.
Groton passing: Josh Senter 7-for-14, 152 yards.
B-G receiving: Ryan Porter 1-17, James Banta 1-6.
Groton receiving: Kyle Reed 2-30, Allen Gallow 1-7, Isiah Young 1-42, Nick Conway 2-45, Ethan Tilebein 1-28.
___
P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
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