The Sidney (5-5) and Fort Loramie (4-6) football teams do not have to look in the rearview mirror very far to see players and opponents which remind them of this weekend’s foes.
Piqua and Tippecanoe featured ball carriers against the Yellow Jackets who have combined for nearly 3,000 yards rushing this season. On Friday night, Sidney gets a big dose of more of the same. The Edgewood (7-2) ground-crunching, wing-T rushing attack!
For Fort Loramie, the speed and explosiveness offered by Springfield Catholic Central (7-3) this Saturday are quick reminders of the big-play Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds, the Redskins upset victim a week ago.
ScoresBroadcast.com and WMVR, 105.5 TAM FM, cover Friday night’s Division II playoff tilt at Edgewood’s artificial-turf Kumler Stadium in Trenton located between Middletown and Oxford. ScoresBroadcast.com also calls the Division VII action on Saturday night between the Redskins and the Irish. Air time is 6:25 p.m. on both evenings. Kick-off is at 7.
Saturday’s ScoresBroadcast game coverage can also be heard during online video offered through the website NFHSnetwork.com.
Eleven-year head coach Adam Doenges and ten-year head man Scott Clemmons of Edgewood are interviewed in the Friday pregame segment. Four-year mentor Spencer Wells of Fort Loramie and SCC’s second-year coach Ty Myers can be heard on Saturday.
Quarterback Eli Jones, tailback Jayquan Dailey, and fullback Tavionne Crosby are strong, hard-nosed runners for Edgewood, which has averaged 6 1/2 touchdowns per game since week three of the season. The Cougars are riding a seven-game victory streak and took the Southwest Ohio Conference title for the fourth time in six years.
In winning four straight in the Miami Valley League to capture the Valley Division crown, the Yellow Jackets have excelled on offense, defense and special teams and are playing their best football of the year right now.
The defense is responsible for allowing only three touchdowns during this surge spanning October. Myles Vordermark, Jaden Swiger, Chris Hudgins and Devin Taborn pace the club in tackles. The play of E.J. Davis has been exceptional. He continues to make brilliant catches and has boosted his yards per rush to nearly six.
The execution of the offensive line led by Evan Kennedy, Jayden Bishop, Brennan Barnes, Hayden Cotrell, and Thomas Sibert was outstanding in victories over West Carrollton, Stebbins and Xenia.
Fort Loramie must slow down the eye-popping speed and chunk play capability of Catholic Central, which features two receivers averaging over 25 yards per reception. Ashton Young and DeShawn Martin can flat-out fly. Sophomore quarterback Ty Myers, son of the head coach, fashions an off-the-charts QB rating.
Catholic Central scored 30 points per game in the Ohio Heritage Conference this year, which marked the program’s 13th playoff appearance.
Meanwhile, the Redskins are coming off a terrific performance at LCC which vaulted them to eighth in the region computer rankings. Losers of three heartbreaking battles by five points, Fort Loramie stopped LCC with three defensive stands inside the 10-yard line in the first half and then racked up 28 points in the second half.
Calvin Hoying chased down LCC ball carriers all night long and was a part of 21 tackles. Owen Pleiman was superb on both sides of the ball. Sophomore Will Holland exploded for two long touchdown runs. Quarterback Caleb Maurer was on target and extremely elusive extending plays. Receivers Gabe Meyer and Logan Eilerman were glue-fingered and reeled in Maurer sling-shots from start to finish.
Having played seven of 10 season games away from home, including five that averaged round trips of nearly five hours, the Redskins deserved a contest at their own stadium. They earned it, in rewarding fashioning, storming past the state’s number-two-ranked Thunderbirds, 36-31, last Friday.
Since high school basketball action is just around the corner and starts on November 19, ScoresBroadcast gives listeners a taste of the roundball sport at halftime tonight. The free online service airs Botkins boys state championship highlights from March 21. The Trojans exploded in the first period and then whipped Columbus Grove for the school’s first-ever state crown in basketball.
Members of the Fort Loramie volleyball team and head coach John Rodgers are included in Saturday’s halftime.
