Hosting a playoff game for the first time ever, the eighth-seeded Delaware Hayes football team hung around early, but visiting and ninth-seeded Miamisburg used three second-half touchdowns to pull away en route to a 34-14 Division I, Region 2 win on Friday night.

The Pacers’ big-play offense got the crowd involved right away.

Unfortunately for Hayes, though, it couldn’t keep the momentum on its sideline for much of the night.

After quarterback Jake Lowman was sacked on the first play of the game, he found Austin Koslow streaking across the middle on the very next play. Koslow did the rest, racing 70 yards deep into Miamisburg territory before stumbling just short of the goal line.

With a first-and-goal at the two, the Pacers (8-3) couldn’t punch it in as the Vikings (8-3) stopped the next four plays, including a Josh Russell run up the middle on fourth-and-goal.

After coming up empty, the good news for the home team was it had Miamisburg pinned deep in its own territory. The bad news, though, was Conner Smith took his team’s first play from scrimmage and rumbled 86 yards all the way to the Hayes 12. On the next play, Baylor Stickel took a snap from the wildcat and outran the defense to the pylon for a touchdown. Tristan Linville added the point-after attempt to make it a 7-0 game with 8:58 left in the first quarter.

“I’ll take my hat off to them … that quarterback is very good,” Miamisburg coach Lance Schneider said of Lowman and company. “They did a nice job on offense all year, but our defense stepped up when that big play happened and that really turned the tide early. Our defense is really good … our kids and coaches do a good job on that side of the ball and it all starts up front.”

For the Pacers, the early hole they found themselves in came down to execution.

“We had some success, just made a few too many mistakes in the first half,” Hayes coach Ryan Montgomery said. “We can’t punch it in from the one-yard line and, if we do, it’s a completely different game coming out of the half.”

The Pacers moved the ball a bit on their second drive — Gavin Brinkmoeller picked up a big chunk for a first down and Lowman hit Koslow to move the chains again, but the drive stalled as a couple sacks forced a punt.

Another missed opportunity.

The teams traded possessions until Miamisburg doubled its advantage with a lengthy drive — a march which started with 11:04 left in the second and ended when QB Landen Roberts hit Jaden Burton for a 20-yard touchdown on a third-and-nine play with four minutes left in the half.

Hayes didn’t have a ton of time to work with after the score, but made the most of what it had as a handful of big plays set up the Pacers’ biggest of the half — a 35-yard touchdown reception by Brinkmoeller, who caught the ball out of the backfield, shed a defender and raced into the end zone to get his team right back into things.

Cooper Goble added the PAT to make it 14-7 with 1:56 left in the half.

Both teams had one more chance with the ball, but neither did much with it as Lowman was sacked to end the quarter.

It was then, in the second half, Miamisburg took over on the ground. After a big kickoff return by Tamir Thomas set the Vikings up around midfield, they quickly made it 20-7 when Keith Henry powered in for a one-yard touchdown with 9:20 left in the third.

On the ensuing drive, the Vikings ballooned their lead to 27-7 when Stickel capped a solid drive with a nine-yard touchdown run with 11:05 left.

The Lowman-to-Koslow connection finally got going again in the fourth — Lowman hit Koslow three times, twice to move the chains, but an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-16 play gave the ball back to Miamisburg, which promptly added to its lead when Stickel scampered in from 27 yards out with 5:50 left in the fourth.

Hayes got the score back when Russell powered into the end zone from five yards out with 3:18 left — a play set up by a 45-yard connection between Lowman and Koslow, but it was too late to mount any more resistance.

“They’re really good at what they do,” Montgomery said. “They have some good backs and they were physical up front.”

Also: Tri-Valley 49, Buckeye Valley 12; Big Walnut 43, Northland 14; Olentangy Berlin 20, Marysville 0; Centerville 23, Olentangy Orange 6; Olentangy Liberty 36, Findlay 35; Olentangy 44, Dublin Jerome 14.