SIDNEY — Xenia proved to be as tough as their state ranking suggested in a regular-season finale on Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium. But Sidney will get a chance to have a better performance against a state-ranked squad next week.
The Yellow Jackets lost 34-0 to the undefeated Buccaneers in a Miami Valley League game. Xenia, which was ranked No. 4 in Division II in last week’s Associated Press state poll, completed its first 10-0 campaign in 120 years.
Sidney managed 66 yards of offense, which was a season low. The squad’s previous low was 182 in a season-opening loss to Bellefontaine
“They’ve got some very special players on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense,” Doenges said. “They’ve given people problems all year with their defense. They’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs. It’s going to be interesting to see what they can do.
“We tried some different things tonight, but we couldn’t account for what they were doing. (Linebacker Zach Salyers and defensive lineman Jamell Smith) are pretty special players, and the other nine do a nice job of fitting in the right spot, creating pressure and causing some confusion for you.”
The Yellow Jackets (4-6, 4-5 MVL Valley Division) were hoping for a better performance on senior night, but they’ll get a chance to play better against state-ranked opponent next week.
Sidney earned a playoff berth as the No. 13 seed in Division II, Region 8. The squad will travel to Kings Mills and face Kings High School in a postseason opener next week. The Knights (9-1) were ranked No. 10 in last week’s D-II AP state poll.
“I’ve said since they’ve expanded to 16 teams (per region) that I see nothing wrong with it,” Doenges said. “That’s one more week I get to work with my kids, one more week that the kids show up to school on time and ready for practice. …It’s exciting. We’re looking forward to it.”
Xenia took control early.
The Buccaneers started with a long drive — both in distance and in time — that ended when Jace Jones scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
“We didn’t want to give up an easy one, a big play, there and we wanted to make them work for it,” Doenges said. “I don’t know how many plays that was — 17 or 18 plays — but they worked for it.”
Sidney deflected the extra point to keep the gap at 6-0, but Xenia added to its lead soon.
After the Yellow Jackets went three-and-out, the Buccs quickly drove and scored on a 5-yard run by Trei’Shaun Sanders on the last play of the quarter to take a 13-0 lead into the second.
After another quick Sidney punt, Xenia quickly drove and scored when Gavin McManus threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Tate on a fourth-and-goal with 6:52 left to boost the lead to 20-0.
Sidney’s next punt attempt went awry and resulted in Xenia getting the ball at the 10-yard line. Jones ran in from 5 yards out two plays later to boost the lead to 27-0.
“They’re big. That kind of took a toll on us,” Doenges said. “They wore on us. We were down a couple of lineman tonight, and that didn’t help. But the kids continued to play hard.”
Xenia’s Juan Underwood intercepted a pass on the second play of the third quarter, and the squad quickly drove and scored on a 2-yard run by Saunders with 9:29 left to take a 34-0 lead and start a running clock.
Saunders finished with 237 rushing yards on 33 carries and scored two TDs. Elijah Johnson ran for 93 yards on seven carries and Jones ran for 96 yards on three carries and scored two TDs.
Martez Harris led Sidney with 39 rushing yards on four carries. Myles Vordemark led Sidney with 13.5 tackles.
Sidney alumni Mike Flanagan and Kris Haines were honored before Friday’s game; their numbers have been retired, and signs with their numbers were added to the fence near the flagpoles on the northwest side of 30 and 0 Field.