ATTICA — Conner McMichael expected a physical game, and he got one.

The junior running back and his Colonel Crawford teammates escaped with a hard fought 21-20 win over Seneca East in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference battle here Friday night.

McMichael once again was the workhorse for the Eagles, toting the ball 25 times for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“The last drive was physical. They knew we were going to run the ball, so it was hard to run up the middle. But my O-line just loved blocking for me I’m guessing, so it worked out,” he said. “I could tell we wore them down a little bit, but I just didn’t stop running hard … I was expecting one to break.”

And break one he did, going for 87 yards in the third quarter that tied the game 14-14.

Colonel Crawford (6-1, 3-1) got on the scoreboard first when John DeGray caught a wide-open slant over the middle and went 50 yards for the touchdown.

Seneca East (4-3, 3-1) answered with a pair of touchdowns — an Ayden Zack 10-yard scoring toss from quarterback Nicholas Parks and an Ethan Shultz one-yard run to lead 14-7 at halftime.

“Tonight, Conner was hurting and tired in the first quarter, so Dom (Dean) came in and just pounded the rock,” Eagles head coach Jake Bruner said.

“Their offense is so potent, and I thought our defense did a really good job. The first score was a late hit on the quarterback that set up that that drive … and then the pass interference (for the second), our defense did a really good job.”

Seneca East has plenty of weapons and used them to control much of the game.

“They are so fast and dynamic offensively, even if we were up two scores, we were going to be very nervous about it.”

Sophomore Parker Weithman sealed the game with a late interception of a Parks pass in the middle of the field.

“It’s funny because I ran down to the defensive coordinator and said — please put Parker in at safety. And oh boy, he just seems to come down with the ball so much,” Bruner said.

On the previous series Weithman just missed a reception in the endzone on a fourth down and seven at the Tigers 21-yard line.

“(Brayden) Holt did a great job on that play. He was really disappointed, and I don’t know why. We called for a delay to our tight end and then ran verticals behind it. He made the right read. Parker has some of the best hands out there.”

Holt was 5-of-9 for 87 yards passing for Crawford.

Seneca East head coach Ed Phillips said his team played a solid game. But missed opportunities in the red zone — getting just two scores after being in the red zone five times in the first half — hurt the Tigers.

Brady Hill’s interception ended one Tiger drive in the first quarter, aided by a Logan Goddard tip of the pass.

“We never had enough momentum to finish it off,” he said. “We played well and defensively we did a lot of things well. We slowed their running game better than we had all year.”

Parks, a 140-pound junior, hurt his shin but returned to action. He threw for 145 yards and ran for 48 yards.

“He’s just a really tough kid. He’s got a lot of heart and he’s the trigger man and does a really good job for us and the guys on the perimeter,” Phillips said.

Bryler Beamer had five catches for 74 yards and Taylor Young added 40 yards on nine receptions.

“We’ve been banged up this year,” Bruner said. “We’ve got eight seniors. We lost Aden Spence in game one who, to me, was going to have an All-Ohio year at tackle for us. And we’re a young team playing some guys that played as freshmen and sophomores.

Seniors Kaden Bruner, Jack Agee, and Brennen Reber, along with junior Payne DeGray, anchored the Eagles defense.

“But tonight, we played the football that I remember at Colonel Crawford the last couple years — we were physical,” Bruner added

Colonel Crawford remains in the N10 title hunt with one loss in league play now tied with Seneca East and Carey.

The Eagles host the reigning champion Blue Devils next week.

“It boosts confidence up again, we’re back up there,” McMichael said. “And it helped us to get ready for Carey because we know how physical they play the run and everything.”

Jackson Gayheart rushed for 58 yards on eight carries and led the Seneca East defense, along with fellow linebacker Derek Cornwell and linemen Brett Martin and Hunter Rathburn.

“We’re going to enjoy tonight because we put a lot of energy and effort into this one. But we know the Carey Blue Devils will come in and play good against us,” Bruner said.

“To play two quarterbacks and to play as many kids as we do, it says a lot about our team and how unselfish they are. Dom came in and pounded the rock and the (one-handed) catch Dom made from Peyton Baker, wow. That was a big play on a key down.”

Seneca East visits Buckeye Central Friday night.

“They made some plays, and we didn’t,” Phillips said.

“We’re still in the mix. At some point, I’ll get excited again. But it’s just disheartening because it was right there for us on the table and we kind of let it slip away.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Colonel Crawford      0             7           7         7   — 21

Seneca East                 0          14           0         6  — 20

Scoring summary

Second quarter

CC — John DeGray 50 pass from Brayden Holt (Joseph Zizzo kick), 8:35.

SE — Ayden Zack 10 pass from Nicholas Parks (Aiden Bame kick), 4:05.

SE — Ethan Shultz1 run (Bame kick), :59.

Third quarter

CC — Conner McMichael 87 run (Zizzo kick), 6:33.

Fourth quarter

SE — Taylor Young 4 pass from Parks (kick failed).

CC — McMichael 6 run (Zizzo kick), 3:00.

Individual statistics

Passing

Colonel Crawford: Brayden Holt 5-9-1 87; Peyton Baker 3-5-0 35; Seneca East Nicholas Parks 20-31-2 145.

Rushing

Colonel Crawford: Conner McMichael 25-198, Dom Dean 5-24, Lucas Foy 1-7, Roen Thew 1-2, Peyton Baker 1-(-2); Seneca East: Nicholas Parks 10-48, Jackson Gayheart 8-38, Ethan Shultz 3-34, Taylor Young 3-18, Bryler Beamer 1-2.

Receiving

Colonel Crawford: John DeGray 1-50, Dom Dean 1-23, Lucas Foy 2-20, Kaden Bruner 1-20, Conner McMichael 1-13, Parker Weithman 2-9; Seneca East: Bryler Beamer 5-74, Taylor Young 9-40, Ayden Zack 3-22, Ethan Shultz 2-7.

Team statistics

CC              SE

First downs                  14                16

Rushing                    32-228         25-140

Passes                       8-14-1         20-28-2

Yards passing             132               145

Total yards                  360              285

Fumbles-lost              1-0                1-0

Penalties                     4-35              1-5