Leonardo
By DAVE HANNEMAN
- THE COURIER
FOSTORIA — McComb wasn’t ranked No. 1 in the state in the final Division VI football poll but the Panthers are going to get the chance test their talents against the team that is.
“I think this is what our kids have wanted since day one,” McComb coach said Friday after his Panthers mauled Mohawk, 39-7, in the Region 22 semifinals at Fostoria Memorial Stadium. “Now we get a chance at the No. 1 team in the state. This is what you play for. This is why you play the game.”
Friday’s win sets up a battle of unbeatens for the Region 22 championship between McComb, 12-0 and ranked No. 4 in the final poll, and top-ranked Delphos St. John’s which topped Ada 42-14 in another Region 22 semifinal Friday.
The game will likely be played at Findlay’s Donnell Stadium, a turf-field layout that has hosted four regional finals in the past three years.
McComb rolled to a 20-0 halftime lead over Mohawk. But the Panthers had squandered an opportunity or two, had given up valuable momentum with costly penalties and had failed to convert two of three PAT plays.
“The players were a little disappointed at the half,” said receiver/defensive back Mason Roth. “It was only 20-0 and we thought we should have played better. Coach told us we were still winning, we were still ahead in the game. So we kept our heads up and played a better game in the second half.”
Roth played a huge role in McComb’s victory on both sides of the ball. With Mohawk doubling its coverage on Taylor Hanes, who entered the game with almost 1,600 receiving yards and a state-record 28 touchdowns, Roth got open deep for 33- and 65-yard touchdown catches in the second quarter.
The senior end added a 1-yard TD catch in the third quarter, and intercepted two passes.
“(Mohawk) was playing three deep safeties and we were able to find the holes,” Roth said. “The line played great. And when Andrew (Dee) has time like that, I can get open on post routes.”
Dee, given tons of time thanks to excellent blocking up front, completed 23 of 33 passes for 353 yards and four scores. His last one was an inside screen pass to Hanes who used his blockers and his speed to turn it into a 54-yard catch-and-run TD, his 29th of the season.
While McComb’s potent offense finally got untracked, the Panthers often overlooked defense, which shut out a 9-1 Fremont St. Joseph team in the Region 22 opener, came through with another outstanding effort.
Mohawk drove to the McComb 23 on its first possession, reached the 19 on its third, and was at the 28 on its fifth. But the Panthers kept the Warriors out of the end zone each time thanks to some excellent play from T.J. Griffith (two sacks, one pass batted down), Jerry Brown (three tackles for losses, one pass batted down), Hanes (two tackles for losses) and Roth’s two interceptions.
“Our defense really came up strong in the first half,” Alge said. “(Mohawk) was knocking on the door but we kept them pout of the end zone. That was big.”
So was a pivotal touchdown in the final seconds of the half.
Leading 12-0, McComb got solid defense and used its time outs wisely to get the ball back with 1:08 on the clock. After two pass plays, Dee saw Roth streaking down the field and rifled an in-stride strike that Roth took 65 yards to the house.
“Early on, they saw we were trying to double Taylor (Hanes) up, and they did a good job of finding single coverage,” said Mohawk coach Erik Baker. “McComb does a tremendous job of pushing the ball up the field. Most of the spread teams we see dink and dunk every once in a while, but these guys just flat out blow past you. We have three kids on our team who went to state in track but we couldn’t hang with them.”
Cody Wilson scored McComb’s first TD, capping a 77-yard drive highlighted by back-to-back passes of 36 yards to Matt Newcomer and 25 yards to Roth.
McComb added another 6-yard TD run from Brown in the fourth quarter. Mohawk’s lone TD was a 9-yard pass from Kyle Parker to his twin brother Craig. The short drive was set up by a fumbled punt.