Photo courtesy of Mahoning Valley Sports Niles running back Antuan Gardner (4) breaks away from a group of Ashtabula Edgewood defenders. Gardner ran for a school-record 471 yards to go with six touchdowns as the Red Dragons won 65-28.

NILES — On paper, Friday’s Division IV, Region 13 playoff game between Niles McKinley and visiting Ashtabula Edgewood had the makings of a classic showdown between an aerial assault and a ground attack.

Edgewood’s offense had been paced all year by senior quarterback Tony Hall, who entered the game as Ashtabula County’s all-time leading passer (4,031 yards, 61 touchdowns). Hall set county records this year for single-season passing yards (2,489) and touchdowns (31).

Meanwhile, Niles’ offense has been spearheaded by senior running back Antuan Gardner, who last week surpassed the 4,000-yard career rushing mark with a 325-yard performance against Girard. Gardner entered Friday’s game with a season total of 1,764 yards and 25 touchdowns.

The air versus ground battle never lived up to its full hype, as Gardner was a one-man army.

Gardner rushed for a school-record 471 yards and six touchdowns on 29 carries as the Red Dragons blasted Edgewood 65-28 at Bo Rein Stadium.

Gardner set a new single-game school record. His 471 rushing yards is the 11th best all-time in the state of Ohio. He is tied on the list with Travis Baldwin of Utica, who matched the feat in 2013.

“I said it last week and I’ll say it again, the line did their thing,” Gardner said. “The holes were just so wide. I just had to do my job and go get the yards.

“This is an awesome feeling. Not just what I did but what we did. Coach (Jim) Parry just told us that we were the first team in school history to earn its way into the playoffs and win a home playoff game. Right now that’s all that matters.”

Edgewood took advantage of a fumble at the Niles two yard line to score the first points of the game. Jacob Ernst pulled in a two-yard pass from Hall to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Gardner then scored three consecutive touchdowns to give Niles a 21-7 lead. Gardner scored on runs of 7, 6 and 54 yards, the third coming just seconds into the second quarter.

Edgewood cut its deficit to 21-14 on another Hall-to-Ernst two-yard connection. Niles quickly answered on an Anthony Budak-to-Joe Smith 60-yard touchdown pass.

Hall threw another touchdown pass, this one to Anthony Hunt, to put the score at 28-21 in favor of Niles with two minutes left before halftime.

It appeared as though Niles would take a seven-point lead to the break, but then Gardner took a Budak handoff and ran up the middle for 81 yards, giving Niles a first-and-goal at the four with under thirty seconds left in the half.

From there, Budak connected to Nate Coots to put Niles ahead 35-21 as the two teams went to the locker room.

“That was a huge momentum swing, and it kind of helped set the tone going into the locker room,” Parry said. “I think the hidden gem in this game was our passing game. We didn’t throw it a lot, but we were very efficient when we did.”

Budak completed 4-of-5 passes for 108 yards including a pair of touchdowns.

Gardner finished the first half with 254 yards and three touchdowns. He then started the second half by delivering a couple of knockout punches. On the first play from scrimmage out of the break, Gardner scored on a 53-yard run. Edgewood answered with a touchdown, but then Gardner started Niles’ next possession with a 61-yard burst, setting up an Anthony Georgalas 36-yard field goal.

From that point on, it was all Niles.

Gardner scored two more touchdowns on runs of 1 and 82 yards. D’onte Williams touched the ball one time and scored on a 69-yard run.

“We never imagined we’d see a performance that would top a week ago, but we certainly did,” Parry said of Gardner’s heroics. “Our guys did a tremendous job up front. The two back-to-back performances we’ve seen out of Antuan, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Parry said he was proud of the way his players continued to respond in the first half after Edgewood scoring drives.

“They have a tremendous offense, and we knew that going in,” Parry said. “The fact that we were able to hold onto the football and answer their calls was big. We kept the pressure on all night long.”

Niles (7-4) will now travel to Mentor next Friday to take on Lake Catholic in a Region 13 quarterfinal game.

Edgewood ends its season at 6-5.