Leonardo
By Jeremy Schneider
- THE LIMA NEWS
WAPAKONETA — Kettering Archbishop Alter football coach Ed Domsitz had a simple message for his players Thursday night. If you play your best, you will win another Division IV regional title, but if you give Kenton an inch, the Wildcats will turn it into a win. While Domsitz was among the 6,000-plus at Wapakoneta Harmon Field to walk away impressed with the Wildcats, it was the Knights who played just a little bit better in a come-from-behind 35-32 win.
“The kids just played their hearts out. Both sides left everything on the field,” Domsitz said. “They are an exceptional football team. I know that because we’re pretty darn good. They are everything we thought they would be, and probably a little bit more.”
The last time these two powers squared off was 2002, with Kenton winning in a state semifinal behind Ben Mauk. The Wildcats went on to win the second of their two state titles that year.
“We lost to a very good football team,” Kenton coach Mike Mauk said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t get a few plays in there that we need to, and that’s a credit to them. They were every bit as good as we thought they were, and I thought our guys played exceptionally hard.”
The Wildcats (11-2) held a 20-7 lead after one quarter on three touchdowns from Maty Mauk to Max Morrison. However, Alter (11-2) never let Kenton get comfortable or add to that lead. The Knights cut into the lead less than two minutes into the second quarter, 20-14, and that’s where it stood at halftime.
Kenton scored first in the second half, a 13-yard pass from Mauk to Dustin Howell, but again the Knights stayed close with a TD with :04 seconds left in the third. The turning point arguably came four plays in the fourth, when Mauk was intercepted by T.J. Dorow on a tipped pass.
“There were a few turning points, but that was a big play,” Domsitz said. “We needed something like that at that time. We needed a big play at that time.”
Two plays later, Alter quarterback Zane Pitzer kept an option going left, came back right and scored on a 70-yard burst to cut it to a 27-26 Kenton lead.
“Zane’s one of those kids who has just played way beyond his height, weight, bodily dimensions,” Domsitz said. “You can tell when he runs the ball he’s got great instincts, great heart.”
Pitzer finished with 190 yards on 22 rushes and four touchdowns. He scored the final points on a 26-yard option keeper with 1 minute, 33 seconds showing on the clock.
“Their quarterback was very quick and athletic,” coach Mauk said. “And they’ve got big, strong guys up front, so it was very hard to find him a lot of times.”
The Knights rushed for 381 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, and 21 first downs. Running back Justin Winters, a 6-foot-2, 222-pound senior, added 93 yards on 22 carries. The Knights attempted just one passes, a 35-yard completion that helped them score their third TD.
“They presented a unique set of challenges. With everything they do offensively, our offense was going to have to move the football to take time off the clock and keep their offense off the field,” Domsitz said.
Maty Mauk finished with 390 yards and four scores on 27-of-43 passing; eight of his completions covered at least 20 yards. He found Morrison 14 times for 179 and three TDs.
“I don’t think you ever fully contain him (Mauk),” Domsitz said. “You try to limit the damage they do. You don’t stop him. He’s as good as I’ve seen. It’s just like facing his brother again.”
Except as Domsitz pointed out, the result was wholly different this time.
KENTON 8