Leonardo
BY Jeremy Schneider
- THE LIMA NEWS
DAYTON — Clinton-Massie might have been bigger, stronger and more physical. That’s O.K. with Kenton because the Wildcats proved they were better.
Kenton overcame some early mistakes in its 36-28 win Friday in a Division IV regional semifinal game at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. The Wildcats next face Kettering Archbishop Alter on Friday at a site to be named Sunday. Kettering Alter beat Jonathan Alder 28-14.
On their first possession of the game, the Wildcats (11-1) marched down the field with frightening precision, eventually setting up shop at the Massie 11-yard line. Quarterback Maty Mauk completed a pass to Andrew Tillman, but the defense stripped the ball and the Falcons recovered at the 6.
And speaking of frightening precision, the Falcons (11-1) then used eight minutes, 11 seconds of game clock to power the ball 94 yards for their opening touchdown. All 16 plays on the drive were runs, including quarterback Jake Richardson’s option keeper for the 24-yard score.
“We expected them to have a strong defense. Of course you saw all year they barely let anyone score,” Mauk said.
The Wildcats picked up where they left off prior to the turnover, though, and soon led 8-7 on Mauk’s 8-yard pass to Brice Fackler.
A Massie turnover on downs inside Kenton’s 30 turned into another Kenton score, this one a 13-yard pass from Mauk to Max Morrison. The Wildcats went into the break up 16-7.
After that monster scoring drive from Massie, the Wildcats rebounded in the first half and kept much of the running under wraps.
“We kind of timed some things up,” Kenton coach Mike Mauk said. “Our coaches made some adjustments. We knew what they were going to do, but you just can’t simulate the size, strength and power of those guys.”
Massie didn’t fold in the second half, though, using its punishing rushing game to pull within 16-14 early in the third quarter and 24-20 late in the third. They scored late, along with a 2-point conversion, to give the game its final margin.
“We knew it was going to be a game where we had to play the entire game,” Mauk said. “The biggest thing was just staying in the ball game. We had some turnovers … but our guys didn’t dwell on the negative and accentuated the positive and do the things they needed to do.”
The Falcons had three running backs between 210 pounds and 215 pounds, and linemen weighing 275 pounds, 300 and 325. One of those big backs, Jordy Scanlon, rushed 33 times for 168 yards and a score; he rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 30 TDs this season.
According to coach Mauk, that size was the biggest difference between Massie and other running teams the Wildcats had faced in the regular season.
“No disrespect to those other teams, but these guys were really good,” Mauk said.
The Falcons rushed for 332 yards, averaging over 7 yards per rush. Despite that size advantage, Tillman had an interesting, and simple way to look at it.
“Overall, they’re probably 6-foot-2, 200 pounds every player on average, so you can’t really look at size. The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Tillman said.
Tillman overcame his rocky start to catch five passes for 113 yards and two scores; he caught four balls for 109 yards and both scores after halftime. Morrison led the way with 13 catches for 131 yards.
“We had our receivers clicking from the beginning,” Maty Mauk said. “They all did their part.”
Mauk was his typical, completing 25-of-38 passes for 358 yards and five scores. He added 96 yards on 17 rushes as gaping holes opening in lanes before him.
“Everything they do, we have a play for,” Mauk said. “We just came out and executed.”