CM YK

By GARY R. RASBERRYgrasberry@dailystandard.com

The matchup on paperbetween Coldwater and Liberty-BentonlookstobeamismatchintheCavaliers’favor. TheundefeatedEagles,though,bring an experienced lineup toSaturday’s Division V regionalchampionship game at SpartanStadium in Lima. L-B is in theplayoffs for the fourth straightseason and has made nine post-season appearances since 2003,includingaDivisionVstaterun-ner-up appearance in 2008. TheEagleswontheBlanchardValleyConference’s Blanchard Divisionwith a 5-0 record, earned winsoversixteamsthatmadetheplay-offsintheregularseasonandout-scoredtheiropeningtwoplayoffopponents69-20 Unlike the previous two play-off opponents Chippewa andHuron, Coldwater will face ateamthatrunsarun-skewedbal-ancedoffensethatworksoutofaspreadWing-Tformation. LeadingtherunattackfortheEagles is senior Austin Combs.The6-1,230-poundseniorrushedfor 1,336 yards during the regu-larseasonandscored126points,each third-best in the BVCbehind Pandora-Gilboa’s JacobBasinger and BVC OffensivePlayeroftheYearAustinRettigofArlington.

The front line for the Eagleswill be one of the bigger linesin terms of average size theCavaliers have seen this season.Led by All-BVC lineman JustinIott (6-0, 220 pounds), L-B’s lineaverages 232 pounds with tack-les Grant Kisinger (6-0, 270) andJakeRozelle(6-1,230)andguardsAllanHartley(6-0,240)andJacobSchimoeller(6-2,200). “The key (to L-B’s offense)is Combs and their O-line.Theyjust try to pound you,” Coldwa-tercoachChipOttensaid.“Thenthe quarterback (Nathan Craft)does a good job of hiding theballalittlebitandputtinginthefakes.” Craftrunstheoffenseatquar-terback.Craft,norelationtofor-mer Liberty-Benton and OhioState basketball standout AaronCraft, threw for 1,136 yards and12touchdownsduringtheseasonandrushedfor579yardsandfivetouchdowns.Craftis19-0inregu-lar season games and 2-1 in thepostseason. B.J.Lawsonwasvotedthetopwide receiver in the BVC thisseason, leading the team with648yardson30catchesandfivetouchdowns. “Those three guys (Combs,Craft and Lawson) are kind ofa three-headed monster, so tospeak,” Otten said. “They giveyou some different formationsandcomerightatyou.We’renot

a big stout defense, so that’s aconcern.” Defensively, the Eagles, run-ningthe4-3defense,allowedjust84pointsin10gamesduringtheregularseason.Leadingthewayis BVC Defensive Player of theYear Alec Rhodes at lineback-er. Rhodes recorded 105 tacklesand11tacklesforlossduringtheseason. Kissinger was the BVC’sDefensive Lineman of the Yearafter recording 44 tackles andfivesacks. Combsispotentondefenseaswell, leading the team with fourinterceptions. One advantage the Cavalierscould have is that Liberty-Ben-ton has nine payers that playbothsidesoftheball,mostnota-bly Iott, who also plays middlelinebacker. “It’sall thesameguys,”Ottensaid. “They’re a physical team.Onethingwecan(takeadvantage

of)isourspeedversustheirstout-ness and hopefully wear thoseguys out. We’ll really try to mixit up with the spread (offense),spreadthemoutandmakethemchaseourfastguysaround.Hope-fully, we can spread the wealthlikewe’vebeendoing.” The Cavaliers are coming offtheir most competitive gamesince the Marion contest. Cold-water led 21-7 at the half anddid not put the game away untiltwofourth-quarterscoresmadeit40-14atthefinalwhistle. The hard-hitting may havetakenatoll,though,asdefensivetackle Mitch Fullenkamp andoutside linebacker Collin Seitzwerebothbangedup in thewinand their status for Saturday isunknown. “The concern is with MitchandCollin.Hopefully (they’ll)beall right, but you never know,”Ottensaid.

10A THE DAILY STANDARD, Celina, OhioThursday evening, November 20, 2014

Wishing all our local athletes and teamssuccess on the tournament trail!

GOAL LINEThe Weekly Area High School Football Preview Section

Spartan Stadium, Lima Saturday, 7 p.m.

Vs.Coldwater

(11-1)

Liberty-Benton (12-0)

Division V Regional Finals

Coldwater’s Malave Bettinger, 71, takes down Huron’s Kyle Kovach during last Saturday’s game in Tiffin. The Cavaliers take on unbeaten Liberty-Benton Saturday night in Lima for a berth in the Division V state final four.

Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Cavaliers square off against undefeated Eagles

Coldwater quarterback Brody Hoying is nearing a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season after a 215-yard performance against Huron.

Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

By COLIN FOSTERcfoster@dailystandard.com

It’llbeNo.1versusNo.2whenthe Marion Local Flyers andLehmanCavaliersstepontotheturf Saturday night at Wapako-neta’sHarmonFieldintheDivi-sionVII,Region26final. Bothclubsenterthegameonbig-timewinningstreaks.Lehm-an reeled off 10 straight winsafter starting the season 0-2.The Flyers extended theirs to34gamesdatingbacktoOctober2012witha35-0victoryoverFortRecoveryintheregionalsemi. “Talent,” said Marion LocalcoachTimGoodwinonwhatit’staken to sustain that success.“We’vegotsomereallygoodplay-ersnowandthey’rehumble.Youknow, it’s easy for outsiders totalkaboutawinstreakorwhat-ever,butthoseofusinsideknowthere are certain things you’vegot todoeachweektoprepare,andourkidsarehumbleenoughtodothat.” MariondefeatedtheCavs24-3thelasttimethetwometinthe2009 playoffs. The Flyers holdthe all-time edge 26-11. Againstcommonopponents(MinsterandAnna),Marionis2-0andLehm-anis0-2. TheCavaliersstartedtheyearwith losses to Anna (41-7) andMinster (49-28). They followedbygoingunbeateninNorthwestCentral Conference play andoutscoredleagueopposition281-93 in the process. For the year,Lehman has outscored teams472-221. Lehman defeated Covington42-7inthefirstroundoftheplay-offs and Troy Christian 31-0 intheregionalsemitolandinthefinal.

Quarterback Nick Rourke(139-of-240 passing for 2,358yards)hasbeendangerouswithhis arm all season. The seniorhas30touchdownsandjustthreeinterceptions. His highest pass-ingoutputwas467yardsagainstMinster. Rourke’s most efficienteffort came in a 48-6 win overUpper Scioto Valley, when hecompleted8-of-10passesfor293yardsandsixtouchdowns. Goodwin added that Minsterquarterback Josh Nixon is adecent comparison to Rourke.The Flyers faced the Wildcatsduring the regular season andwon 56-28. Rourke’s also hassomegoodweaponstodistributethe ball to in Greg SpearmanandMitchellSlater. Spearman, a senior, hascaught 43 passes for 831 yardsand 11 touchdowns. Slater, wholikewise has 43 catches for 831yardsamatching11TDs, is theother go-to receiver. Spear-man (939 yards, 11 touchdowns)spearheadstheCavalierrushingattack.OnlyAnnaheldtheCava-liersunder10pointsintheir41-7season-openingloss. “They’re very, very diverseoffensively,” Goodwin said.“They’vegotsomeskillkidsthatare playmakers and a quarter-backwhodoesanicejob.” The Flyers (12-0) have won17 straight playoff games sincelosingtoMinsterintheregionalsemiin2010.MACPlayeroftheYear Jacy Goettemoeller hasscored seven postseason touch-downs, including four in a 35-0win over Fort Recovery lastweek. TheMariondefensehasshutout each of its first two playoffopponentsandnowhasfourcon-

secutivewinsdatingbacktothepostseason. “We’re excited about wherewe’re headed as a team morethan anything,” Goodwin said.“We’vebeenplayingreallygoodfootball over the last couple ofweeks, but I think there’s stillsomethingswecandobetter.”

THEDAILYSTANDARD,Celina,Ohio 9AThursday evening, November 20, 2014

By COLIN FOSTERcfoster@dailystandard.com

The Ohio Heritage ConferenceagainsttheMidwestAthleticCon-ferenceintheplayoffs. Soundfamiliar? TheWestLiberty-SalemTigers,seeded fourth in Region 22, willbethesecondteamfromtheOHCto play third-seeded Minster thispostseason when the teams hookhorns on Friday night at Piqua’sAlexander Stadium/Purk FieldwithaDivisionVIstatesemifinalberthontheline. TheOHCis0-19all-timeagainstMAC schools. West Liberty’s con-ferencemateMechanicsburgtookacrackattheWildcatsinthefirstround, but Kaleb Romero’s two-pointconversionrushattemptwasstoppedaninchshyofthegoallineandMinstersurvivedwitha42-41doubleOTwin. This team from the OHC, how-ever, is a completely differentbeast on offense. Mechanicsburgwasprimarilyarunningteamwithtwolethalthreatsinthebackfield.The Tigers, though, can run andpass very well, with a 1,000-yardrunningbackinTrevorAndersonand a 2,000-yard passer in Bran-donUpton. Upton (138-of-234 passing for2,300 yards and 28 touchdowns/nine interceptions)andAnderson(189carriesfor1,583yardsand21touchdowns) headline an offensethat has put up 39.3 points pergameontheyear. Uptonalsohasabevyofreceiv-ingtalenttowhomtodistributetheballinLandonWilliams(39catch-es,622yards,nineTDs),KameronEvans (27 catches, 663 yards, fiveTDs)andTrentThomas(35catch-es,510yards,eighttouchdowns). “They’re incredibly balanced,”Minster coach Geron Stokes said.“Theycandoitalloffensively.They

havesomuchskillthatallowsthemto do so many different things.Theiroffensivelineisprettygood.They’rebigandphysical.It’soneofthebestoffenseswe’veseen. “We’ve got to be really gooddefensively.We’vegot tokeep theball in front. We’ve got to tacklereallywellandwe’vegottocreatesometurnovers.” The Tigers have surrendered14.3 point per game defensively.BenBrurdenistheleaderwith148tackles,31⁄2sacksandtwofumblerecoveries.DylanLeopardistopsontheteaminsackswith41⁄2. It’sthesecondconsecutivesea-son the Tigers have reached thispoint. Last year, Mechanicsburgdefeated WL-S 34-28 in doubleovertimetoearnatriptostate. The Tigers are tied withMechanicsburg for the most all-timeOHC football titleswithfive.This season, the Tigers, IndiansandGreeneviewRamssharedtheconference crown with matching6-1records.WestLibertydefeatedMechanicsburg42-38onOct.10butlosttoGreeneview21-14. To reach the regional final,West Liberty defeated CincinnatiCountry Day 29-7 and then oust-ed top-seeded Tri-County Northlast week, 21-14. Tiger coach DanMcGillis21-4sincetakingthehelmoftheprogramtwoyearsago. LikeMcGill, it’sStokes’secondyear at Minster. Stokes has gone15-7withtheWildcats. Quarterback Josh Nixon threwfor three touchdownsandran fortwo more in the Wildcats’ 45-19drubbing of Versailles in lastweek’s regional semifinal. TheMinster defense intercepted Ver-sailles four times — includingthreestraighttimescomingoutofthelockerroomandcapitalizedonthemistakeseachtime. Nixon has thrown nine touch-downs and run for two more in

Minster’s playoff wins. ReceiverEliWolfhasgoneoverthe100-yardmarkineachofthosegames.Min-sterhasscoredmorethan40pointsinthewinstolandintheregionalfinalforthefirsttimesince2010. Stokessaidthekeywillbestop-ping the Tigers’ high-poweredoffensethisweek. “We got just a big-time chal-lenge being able to defend theseguys,”hesaid.“OurfocusisstrictlyonhowcanwestopWestLiberty.”

Marion Local’s Hunter Wilker has 21 touchdowns this season and is closing in on 1,000 receiving yards. The Flyers face Lehman in the regional final on Saturday at Wapakoneta.

Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Sam Dues has been solid out of the backfield for Minster this season. The Wildcats will look to advance to their first state final four since 1989 when they face West Liberty-Salem in the regional final on Friday in Piqua.

Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

AlexanderStadiumPiqua

Friday7:30p.m.

Vs.Minster(9-3)

WestLiberty-Salem(11-1)

DivisionVIRegionalFinal

HarmonField,Wapakoneta

Saturday7p.m.

Vs.MarionLocal(12-0)

LehmanCatholic(10-2)

DivisionVIIRegionalFinal

Flyers renew ties with Cavs

Wildcats ready for Tigers

Players of the Week

Brody Hoying, QBColdwater

———24carriesfor215yardsandfourtouchdowns, 150 yards passingand a touchdown in the Cava-liers’40-14winoverHuron.

OFFENSE DEFENSE

Jared Thobe DB Minster

———Two interceptions in the Wild-cats’45-19winoverVersailles.

Division I–Gamesat7p.m.Saturday,Nov.22Region1 1 Hudson (12-0) vs. 4 Mentor (11-1) at University of Akron InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field 2 Lakewood St. Edward (10-2) vs. 3 Westerville Central (11-1) at Mansfield Arlin FieldRegion2 16 West Chester Lakota West (7-5) vs. 5 Huber Heights Wayne (11-1) at Dayton Welcome Stadium 2 Cincinnati St. Xavier (10-2) vs. 6 Cin-cinnati Archbishop Moeller (9-3) at Mason Dwire Field at Atrium Stadium DivisionII–Gamesat7:30p.m.Friday,Nov.21HomeTeamListedFirstRegion3 1 Bedford (12-0) vs. 2 Mayfield (11-1) at Solon Stewart FieldRegion4 1 Grafton Midview (12-0) vs. 2 Mace-donia Nordonia (12-0) at Brunswick Judy Kirsch Field at AutoMart StadiumRegion5 1 Lewis Center Olentangy (12-0) vs. 7 Dublin Scioto (8-4) at Westerville Central Warhawk FieldRegion6

1 Cincinnati LaSalle (11-1) vs. 2 Cincin-nati Mt. Healthy (12-0) at Mason Dwire Field at Atrium Stadium DivisionIII–Gamesat7:30p.m.Friday,Nov.21HomeTeamListedFirstRegion7 1 Hubbard (12-0) vs. 2 Akron St. Vin-cent-St. Mary (10-2) at Ravenna Gilcrest Field at Portage Community Bank StadiumRegion8 1 Toledo Central Catholic (10-2) vs. 2 Clyde (10-2) at Millbury Lake Community StadiumRegion9 4 The Plains Athens (12-0) vs. 7 Colum-bus St. Francis DeSales (10-2) at Logan Chieftain StadiumRegion10 1Wapakoneta(12-0)vs.3Trotwood-Madison (11-1) at Sidney MemorialStadium DivisionIV–Gamesat7:30p.m.Friday,Nov.21HomeTeamListedFirstRegion11 1 Cleveland Benedictine (11-1) vs. 7 Bay Village Bay (8-4) at Parma Byers FieldRegion12 4Kenton(10-2)vs.3Wauseon(12-0)

atFindlayDonnellStadiumRegion13 1 Columbus Beechcroft (11-1) vs. 3 Steubenville (9-3) at Zanesville Sulsberger StadiumRegion14 1 Kettering Alter (12-0) vs. 2 Clinton-Massie (12-0) at Monroe Fighting Hornet Stadium DivisionV–Gamesat7p.m.Saturday,Nov.22HometeamlistedfirstRegion15 1 Canton Central Catholic (12-0) vs. 3 Youngstown Ursuline (8-4) at Uniontown Lake Alumni FieldREGION16 4 COLDWATER (11-1) vs. 2 Liberty-Benton(12-0)atLimaSpartanStadiumRegion 17 1 Bishop Hartley (10-2) vs. 2 Wheelers-burg (11-1) at Chillicothe Herrnstein FieldRegion 18 1 Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (12-0) vs. 6 West Jefferson (8-4) at West Carrollton Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium

DivisionVI–Gamesat7:30p.m.Friday,Nov.21HomeTeamlistedfirst

Region19 1 Loudonville (12-0) vs. 3 Kirtland (12-0) at Medina Ken Dukes StadiumRegion20 1 Tinora (12-0) vs. 3 Wynford (11-1) at Dial-Roberson Stadium at Ohio Northern University, AdaRegion21 4 Centerburg (10-2) vs. 2 Lucasville Val-ley (10-2) at Gahanna Lincoln StadiumREGION22 4 West Liberty-Salem (11-1) vs. 3MINSTER(9-3)atPiquaAlexanderSta-dium,PurkField

DivisionVII–Gamesat7p.m.Saturday,Nov.22HometeamlistedfirstRegion23 1 Norwalk St. Paul (11-1) vs. 2 Berlin Center Western Reserve (11-1) at InfoCision Field at Copley StadiumRegion24 1 Arlington (11-1) vs. 3 Columbus Grove (8-4) at Findlay Donnell StadiumRegion25 1 Shadyside (11-0) vs. 2 Glouster Trimble (12-0) at Byesville Meadowbrook Eugene Capers FieldREGION26 1MARIONLOCAL(12-0)vs.2Lehm-an(10-2)atWapakonetaHarmonField

ThisWeekend’sStateRegionalPlayoffGames