CM YK

Will history repeat itself thispostseason? There’sagoodchance. Allthreedefendingstatecham-pions from Midwest AthleticConference — Minster (DivisionVII), Marion Local (Division VI)andColdwater(DivisionV)—aredancinginNovemberandlookinglike major title contenders onceagain. Ofcourse,qualifiersfromacrossthestatewillbeaimingtodethronethe MAC’s three defending statechamps. The Western Buckeye Leaguehas two teams who reached theplayoffsinDivisionIII,Region10,includingtop-seededWapakonetaandCelinamakingitsfirsttriptothe postseason since 1998. Alsoearning a postseason nod fromtheleaguewasOttawa-GlandorfinDivisionIV,Region12. Herearesomeitemsofinterest

asthepostseasongetsunderway:CHALLENGING THE CHAMPS Division VII, Region 26 InRegion26,thebiggestobstaclefor Minster will more-than-like-ly come from its own conference.Assumingeverythingfallsintoplace,FortRecoveryandMinsterwilllockhornsintheregionalfinal.TheWild-cats, ranked fifth in the final stateAssociatedPresspoll,escapedwitha 14-12win over the eighth-rankedIndiansinWeekSeven. PlayoffregularCovington,10thinthelatestAPpoll,mightprovideachallengetoeitherFortRecoveryorMinster,assumingthe8-2BuccsgetbyLehmaninthefirstround.TheMACaccountedforoneoftwolosses on the Buccs’ resume thisseason.TheylosttoSt.Henry27-3in Week One. Minster and FortRecoverybothdefeatedSt.Henryinclosegameslateintheseason. FortRecoverywouldmeetCov-

ington in the second round.Min-sterwouldlikelygetRiverside.Division VI, Region 22 RemembertheteamthatalmostpreventedMinster’s state-title runfrom happening during the firstroundlastyear?ItwastheMechan-icsburg Indians, and they’re backagain this season in Region 22.The Indians could pose the big-gest threatofany inRegion22 to

standinthewayofhaltingMarionLocal’s bid at a fifth consecutivestatetitle. The Indians are 0-6 againsttheMACin theplayoffsbuthaveplayed teams from the leaguecloselyinrecentyears,nonemoresothanlastyear’sgameatMemo-rial Field inMinster. The Indianswere inches — nay, centimeters—shortofdefeatingtheWildcats.KalebRomero’stwo-pointconver-sionrunwasdeniedjustshyoftheend zone in the second overtimeandMinster escaped as the 42-41winner. Romero,thefirstplayerinschoolhistory torushandpass for1,000yardsinasingleseason,isbackatquarterbackalongwithahandfulof returning starters on each sideof the ball. The unbeaten Indianshave obliterated every opponentthis season, includingOhioHeri-tageConference rival andRegion

22 qualifier West Liberty-Salem,44-0. Watchout for third-seeded Jef-ferson, too. JeffersonhasaNorth-westConferencetitlerematchwithSpencervilleinthefirstround.Jef-fersondefeated theBearcats 26-10in Week 10. Jefferson’s lone losscametoColdwaterinWeekTwobyascoreof35-6. MarionLocalplayseighth-seed-edMiamiEastatBoosterStadiuminthefirstroundonSaturdayandthen,iftheFlyerswouldwin,willface either Cincinnati CountryDayorWestLiberty-Salem in theregionalsemifinal.Division V, Region 18 Coldwater is seeded third butthatisn’tfoolinganyone.TheCava-liersaretheteamtobeat. Top-seeded and unbeatenBrookvilleandsecond-seededCin-cinnati Hills Christian Academyprobablyposethebiggestthreatof

anyatendingtheCavaliers’three-year state title run. Brookvilledefeated the MAC’s Anna, 21-0,duringWeekTwo.Bycomparison,the Cavaliers defeated the Rock-ets 40-7 in Week Five. Also onBrookville’sresumearewinsover7-3 Tri-County North (35-14) and7-3Milton-Union(34-13),aqualifierintheregionaswell. CHCA and Coldwater have ahistory in the playoffs. The pro-gramsmetinlastyear’sD-Vstatesemifinal in Piqua and the Cavsrolledtoawinbyascoreof34-3. Coldwater is vying for its sev-enth consecutive trip to the statetitle game and fourth straightchampionship. It opens at homewith 6-3 Bethel-Tate on Friday at7:30p.m.LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN The MAC has 113 champion-

8B THE DAILY STANDARD, Celina, OhioThursday evening, November 5, 2015

GOAL LINEThe Weekly Area High School Football Preview Section

Bulldogs not satisfied just making playoffs

By GARY R. RASBERRYgrasberry@dailystandard.com

Theafterglowofearningthepro-gram’s firstplayoffberth in the life-time of most of the current rosterlasted until late Saturday night forCelinafootballcoachTrentTemple. OnceDaytonBelmontlost,whichsetCelinaintothesixthspotinDivi-sion III Region 10, Temple and staffbegantolookatTrotwood-Madison,which will host Celina on FridaynightatGoodSamaritanSportsplex.Kickoffisat7:30p.m. “OncewefoundoutBelmontdidnotwin,weknewweweregoingtoplay Trotwood,” Temple said. “Westarted(prepping)around10(p.m.).” One thing Temple is stressing tohissquadthisweekistonotjustbehappywithmaking theplayoffs forthefirsttimesince1998butalsotoseehowfartheycango. “Ifwe’re just satisfied (making itto)Week11,wedon’thavetopractice.ThatwasthemessageIsent,”Templesaid. “Everybody was pretty muchonthesamepage.We’renothereforjustWeek11.Wewanttoseehowfarwecangoandgetbetter.That’sprettyexcitingthatourkidsarenotsatisfied.Theywanttogoonasfarastheycan.Theywanttowork.” The Rams (7-3) are making theseventh straight trip to the playoffs,which include the Division II statetitlein2011andrunner-upfinishesin2010,2012and2013.

ThefirstnameTemplementionedinbreakingdowntheRams’Power-IoffenseisRavelonHargrove.The5-7,165-poundsophomorehasrushedfor1,932yardsand25 touchdowns thisseason. The last two games of theseason,however,havebeenMadden-esque. Against Greenville in WeekNine, Hargrove carried the ball 17times for 385yardsand four touch-downs in a 46-7 win. Then in theregularseasonfinaleagainstVanda-lia-Butler,Hargroveappliedthecoup de grâce byrushingfor361yardsandsix touchdowns ina57-35winovertheAviators. “Looking at their offense, they’rebigupfrontand(Hargrove)isgood.He’sprobablythebestrunningbackI’veseeninalongtime,”Templesaid.“Very explosive. Gets to the holequickandstopsonadime.HedoeseverythingyouwantatailbacktodooutoftheIformation. “Theydon’trunalotoftoss-sweepplays.They’remoredownhill,makeacut-and-goandmoreoff-tackle.Wehave to do a good job in trying tokeep(Hargrove)bottledupasmuchaspossible.” Behind Hargrove is RondricBogan,whohasrushedfor885yardsand 10 scores this seasonwith two200-yardgames. Quarterback Markell Stephens-Peppers has the ability to throwthe ball when teams stack the boxagainsttherun.Stephens-Peppershasthrownfor1,083yards(48.3comple-

tionpercentage)with13touchdownsto eight interceptions. SophomoreCalebJohnsonhassnagged42recep-tions for 450 yards and five touch-downsthisseason. “He doesn’t throw a whole lot,buttheycatchyouoff-guardbecausethey’reable torun theball sowell,”Temple said.“(If adefense)puts toomanyguysintheboxtostoptherun,theygetyouoffguardwiththepass.” Defensively,theRamsworkoutofa4-3defenseandbringalotofpres-suretobearonopponents.Lineback-er RolandWalder, a 6-3, 230-poundsenior, has six sacks to go with 51tacklesontheseason.Defensivetack-leDariusStephens(5-9,220)adds21⁄2sacks. Junior cornerback Kobe Vin-egarleadstheteamwith68tackles. “They’re a little different from atypical 4-3 with their line. They’requickupfront,”Templesaid.“They’llplaymore zone thanman. ...We’regoing to have to take advantage ofthosemid(15-yard)routes.” RyanHarterreturnedtothelineupfull-timelastweekaftermissingsev-eralgameswithanklesprains.Harterrushedfor27yardsandsnaggedeightpassesfor46yards,mostcominginthefourthquarterwhentheBulldogsralliedtobeatKenton. QuarterbackCalebHoyng threwfor260yardsandrushedfor88yardsinleadingthefinaltwoscoringdrivesforCelina.

Celina’s Zack Marks, left, will look to help the Bulldogs contain a potent Trotwood-Madison offen-sive attack as the teams meet in the Division III regional quarterfinals Friday night in Trotwood. Celina is making its first trip to the playoffs since 1998. The Rams are making their seventh straight playoff appearance.

Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Celinafaceshard-runningTrotwood-Madison

Playoff Lookahead

By Colin

Foster

Each region poses tough challenges for area teams

See LOOKAHEAD, page 7B

THEDAILYSTANDARD,Celina,Ohio 7BThursday evening, November 5, 2015

ships in various team sports, per the OHSAA. It’s definitely probable that num-ber will increase this December. The last time a team from the conference didn’t win a state title was in 2009 (both St. John’s and Coldwater lost in the finals). The last time a team from the MAC didn’t compete in a state title game was 2002.

FORT HISTORY The 2014 season was special for the Fort Recovery Indians. The sequel has been even better. Last year, Fort Recovery established a new school record for wins and won its first playoff game in school history before losing to Marion Local in the regional semifinal. In 2015, the Indi-ans broke the school’s wins record and are primed for an even deeper run in the

postseason. FIRST-ROUND FEAST The MAC owns a 56-2 record against non-league teams in the first round since the playoffs expanded to eight qualifiers in 1999, according to the OSHAA records WHO’LL TAKE D-III, REGION 10? Last year, Wapakoneta fell short of earn-ing a state semifinal berth in a 34-28 four-overtime defeat at the hands of Trotwood-

Madison in the Division III, Region 10 final. The 7-3 Rams have been king of this region for the last few years but have shown some vulnerability in 2015, with losses in consec-utive weeks to Troy and Piqua and another to Centerville. Might this be the year for top-seeded Wapakoneta, second-seeded Tippecanoe or perhaps a wildcard like Celina or Piqua to come out of this region?

(Continued from page 8B)

Lookahead

FRIDAY (all 7:30 p.m. kickoffs)

Division VII, Region 268) FORT LORAMIE (6-4)

AT 1) MINSTER (8-2)

About the Redskins: This is the second time Minster and Fort Loramie will meet this season. The Wildcats won their Week One meeting 41-7. A week later, the Redskins were dealt another loss by an MAC team as Fort Recovery beat them 34-6. Former Minster coach Whit Parks, now in his first year at the helm of the Redskins, reached career win No. 200 last week in a 41-6 victory over Perry. The Redskins won their final six games after starting the sea-son 0-4. Loramie owns wins over two teams with winning records in 6-4 Lehman, 35-19 and 6-4 Upper Scioto Valley, 16-12. The Red-skins’ other two losses were to Bluffton and Riverside. All four losses have come to teams with winning records. Offensively, Fort Loramie keeps the ball on the ground, with 367 running plays compared with 75 passing. Senior quarter-back Drew Wehrman leads the team with 631 yards on the ground and eight touch-downs. Senior running back Wes Puthoff has added seven TDs and 600 yards, with 203 yards coming in a 17-0 victory over Har-din Northern. About the Wildcats: The Wildcats con-cluded the regular season with a 35-20 vic-tory over Parkway last Friday to finish tied for third in the MAC for the second straight year. Minster had its way with Fort Loramie in the first meeting of the sea-son. Minster scored all 41 points in the first half — 34 coming in the sec-ond quarter. Quarterback Josh Nixon went 15-of-19 passing for 291 yards and six touchdowns and the Wildcat defense lim-ited Fort Loramie to just 225 yards of total offense. The Wildcats enter on a six-game win-ning streak. Their lone two losses were at the hands of Marion Local and Coldwater.

6) MIAMI VALLEY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (8-1) AT 3) FORT RECOVERY (8-2)

About the Lions: The Lions have made the playoffs twice in school history. In 2014, MVCA earned a third seed in Region 26 and lost to Troy Christian in its playoff opener 51-14. MVCA enters with a record of 8-1, with its lone loss coming to 7-2 Fayetteville by a score of 46-14. The Lions did not defeat an oppo-nent with a winning record this season. The Lions had a season high in points in a 48-0 win over 2-8 Manchester on Oct. 24. Their defense enters this week fresh off back-to-back shutouts of Manchester and

Jefferson Township. About the Indians: Fort Recovery had its best regular season ever with eight wins and just two losses. This is the second time in school history Fort Recovery has made the playoffs, with 2014 being the first trip. The Indians are seeking playoff win No. 2. They won their opener 28-7 at Fort Loramie last season before losing to eventual state champion Marion Local in the regional semifinal. Fort Recovery is outscoring teams by an average margin of 24.5-10. The Indi-ans have a balanced offensive attack, with 1,875 yards on the ground and 1,403 yards in the air for the season. RB Kyle Schroer leads the team in rush-ing with 856 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is one of the area leaders in scoring with 16 total touchdowns. QB Caleb Martin has com-pleted 111-of-198 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. He has also added 398 yards rushing and four TDs. WR Wes Wenning has been his go-to target with 49 receptions. Defensively, Brandon Schoen is one of the area leaders in interceptions with five. The Indians ended the season strong with an 8-7 win over St. Henry and a 27-13 victory over Versailles to earn a third-place tie in the MAC with Minster.

Division VRegion 18

6) BETHEL-TATE (6-3)AT 3) COLDWATER (10-0)

About the Tigers: This is Bethel-Tate’s first year in the playoffs. They hail from the Cincinnati area and are a member school of the Southern Buckeye Conference. One of the Tigers’ six wins was against a team with a winning record in 7-3 Goshen and three of their opponents reached the playoffs. Jeffery Botts and Steven Cooper are the leaders on both sides of the ball. Botts, the QB, and Cooper, the RB, are the two-headed beast in the Tigers’ Wing-T offense. Cooper has amassed 963 yards on 112 carries and scored 12 TDs. Botts has totaled 396 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, Botts (64 tackles, three interceptions) and Cooper (61

tackles) lead a group that has given up an average of 17.4 points per game. About the Cavaliers: The Coldwater Cavaliers are the definition of postseason success: Twenty-one appearances, five state titles and a record of 60-15. The top-ranked Cavaliers are trying to reach the state title game for the seventh straight year and win the gold for the fourth time in a row. Last Friday’s victory over New Bremen secured the outright MAC champi-onship for the Cavaliers for the second time in the last six seasons. They became the 12th team in Coldwater history to finish a regular season unblemished. Coldwater coach Chip Otten won his 100th game last week. His group has earned a No. 1 ranking. They’re outscoring teams by an average margin of 38.1-4.8. QB Jack Hemmelgarn has thrown for more than 2,000 yards to a variety of weapons, includ-ing Aaron Harlamert, Kyle McKibben, Kraig Schoenherr and Chris (Petey) Post, who also leads the team in rushing with 95 carries for 640 yards and scoring with 96 points.

SATURDAYDivision VIRegion 22

(7 p.m. kickoff)8) MIAMI EAST (8-2)

AT 1) MARION LOCAL (9-1)

About the Vikings: Miami East hails from the Cross County Conference and is led by veteran coach Max Current, whose son Jake played at Troy High School before heading to play offensive line for the Wis-consin Badgers. The Vikings’ 41-6 win over Twin Valley South last week gave them a share of the league title with Covington. Covington and Milton-Union dealt them their two losses. This year’s senior class is tied for the most wins by a class in Miami East history with 34. This marks the third time in four years Miami East has faced an MAC team to open the playoffs, and they’ve lost each time. In 2012, the Vikings ran into Coldwater and were defeated 42-7. Last year, the Vikings lost a close one to Versailles 34-27. Miami East has made four consecutive trips to the playoffs and six times in school history. Its record is 1-5. The Vikings bring a lot to the table offen-sively. They have an experienced quarter-back in Braxton Donaldson (914 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 INT) along with two running backs who have gone over the 1,000-yard mark in Kurt Brower (1,294 yards, 13 touch-downs) and Logan May (1,026 yards, 16 touchdowns). About the Flyers: The Flyers were named the regular season poll champions with 24 of the possible 26 possible first-place votes in Division VI. The Flyers have a 58-9 record in 17 playoff

appearances. They are vying for their fifth consecutive state title. Last year, they joined Newark Catholic (1984-87) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (1991-95) as the only programs to win four consecutive state titles. Coldwater ended Marion’s 43-game win-ning streak this season with a 17-14 victory in Week 7, and as a result, the Cavs snapped the Flyers’ two-year reign on top of the MAC. Mar-ion has outscored teams 358-85 this season while going 9-1 overall and 7-1 in league play. Cole Griesdorn and Duane Leugers have alter-nated snaps at quarter-back and both have been equally effective. Gries-dorn has completed 36-of-63 passes for 578 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with 224 yards rushing and two scores. Leugers is 35-of-53 for 571 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 199 yards rushing and three scores. Marion also has proven pass-catching weapons on the out-side in Hunter Wilker (28 receptions, 466 yards, five touchdowns) and Matt Kahlig (18 receptions, 392 yards, six touchdowns). RB Aaron Nietfeld leads the team in scoring with 74 points.

PLAYERS TO WATCHCaleb Hoyng, QB, Celina Hoyng talked about reaching the play-offs in an interview with The Daily Standard before the season began. Sure enough, the Bulldogs have arrived. A three-year starter, Hoyng is the engine that makes the Celina offense tick, running and passing for a combined 2,015 yards (1,406 passing, 609 rushing) and totaling 24 touchdowns (10 passing, 14 rushing). He’ll need to use his legs and arm on Friday in order to keep a potent Trotwood-Madison offense sidelined. Jack Hemmelgarn, QB, Coldwater. In his first year as a full-time starter, Hemmelgarn had the best numbers of any quarterback in the MAC. He has completed 129-of-175 passes for 2,065 yards and 24 touchdowns. Wes Wenning, WR, Fort Recovery An All-Ohio selection in 2014, Wenning has caught 49 passes for 688 yards and four touchdowns this year. Wenning averages 14 yards per reception for the Indians, who score 24.5 points per game. Josh Nixon, QB, Minster. He was on fleek in the 2014 postsea-son, throwing for 1,456 yards and 15 touch-downs. He’s been really good in the 2015 regular season, too, and will be a key com-ponent of the Wildcats’ title defense. Aaron Nietfeld, RB, Marion Local. Nietfeld has been a key postseason con-tributor in recent years, and the senior will likely play a big part as the Flyers’ gun for their fifth straight state championship. This year, Nietfeld, injured early in the season, has carried the ball 144 times for 742 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Two

Minute

Drill

Players of The Week

Jason Roessner, LBFort Recovery

———17 tackles in Indians’ 27-13 win over Versailles/

Caleb Hoyng, QBCelina———

27-of-41 for 260 yards, 88 yards rush-ing and two TDs in Bulldogs’ 22-19 win over Kenton.

Defense

Offense

Updated football leaderboard can be found

on page 2B

Nixon

Schroer

HarlamertWilker

Other games of interest

FRIDAY(7:30p.m.starts)DivisionIIIRegion10 Belmont at Wapakoneta Piqua at TippecanoeDivisionVIIRegion26 Lehman at Covington Ada at RiversideDivisionVRegion18 North Union at CHCASATURDAY(7p.m.starts)DivisionIVRegion12 Ottawa-Glandorf at Indian LakeDivisionVIRegion22 Spencerville at Delphos Jefferson West Liberty-Salem at Cin. Country Day Williamsburg at Mechanicsburg