Douglass: Playoffs a step in the right direction for Wildcats

Springfield’s first trip to the playoffs in six years was short, but coach Maurice Douglass hopes its effect is long lasting.

The Wildcats, seeded sixth in Division I, Region 3, lost 35-14 to No. 3 Pickerington Central on Friday night.

Springfield had a hard time establishing much on offense, and the defense was plagued by mistakes.

A missed defensive audible led to one Tigers touchdown. A blown coverage resulted in another.

In the playoffs for the 11th straight season, Pickerington Central also capitalized on a short field after a long punt return and was generally just too much for Douglass’ playoff newcomers to handle.

This was no moral victory, but it could turn out to be another building block for a coach who won a state championship at Trotwood-Madison in 2011.

“We finally made it to Week 11. We wanted to go further, but look at what we came from?” Douglass said, referring to his first two Springfield teams that went 2-8 and 3-7. “We won more games in one season than we did in the two prior together. That’s a step. We’ve got so many kids that want to come out and play football that are in our building and with those extra bodies and maybe a kid that’s maybe more gifted than what he thought. Maybe we’ll have a few more linemen. I’m excited about some of the young guys that are coming back.”

The Tigers struck first on a 6-yard run by Morgan Ellison, who followed a pair of lead blockers through a big hole on the left side with 2:04 left in the first quarter.

Springfield tied it on a 28-yard pass from Leonard Taylor to Danny Davis, who took the ball away from two defenders and trotted into the end zone with 11:20 left in the second quarter.

But the Tigers went back on top midway through the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Ellison with 5:40 on the clock.

He set up the score with a 15-yard punt return and a 17-yard run.

The prime Pickerington Central field position came thanks to downing a punt at the Springfield 3-yard line, and the Wildcats being unable to get a first down afterward.

The Tigers led 21-7 at the half and tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter.

After the Wildcats failed to get a first down on the first possession of the third quarter, the Tigers made it 28-7 with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Darius Coker to Alex Morgan with 7:38 left in the third quarter.

Springfield mounted a drive on its next possession, but Taylor was intercepted by Xavier Henderson after the Wildcats had moved the ball to the Pickerington Central 27.

Three plays later, the Tigers took advantage of a blown coverage to blow the game open. Coker found Henderson running free down the home sideline for a 73-yard touchdown to give the hosts a 35-7 lead with 2:53 to go in the third.

With 2:48 left in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats found the end zone again on a 7-yard touchdown run by Brymar Payne. It was set up by a 58-yard pass from Taylor to Davis, but that was far too little and too late.

Aside from the two big pass plays, Springfield had a hard time getting anything going on offense.

Senior running back/outside linebacker Shane Ramey rarely found room on his off-tackle runs, and stretching the field wide with Davis did not work consistently, either.

“Some of that fell on the fact we had an inexperienced group for the playoffs,” Douglass said. “You have to learn how to win in the playoffs. You have to learn what it takes, and they knew a little bit more because they’ve been there 11 straight years. They’ve done a good job with the program and his junior class is a great class. A lot of those guys started last year as sophomores.”

The Wildcats’ last playoff appearance was in 2010, when they beat Hilliard Darby in the first round and lost to Hilliard Davidson in the second round.

Douglass tried to warn his squad about how pressure revs up in the postseason but seemed to know there was only so much he could do on that front.

“They don’t hear you until they’re out here,” he said. “You can tell them all day, but they’ve got to be here. We just didn’t execute the way we’re capable of. That’s the only thing that’s bad about what we did here. I really wanted to see our seniors go out with a better effort than they did, but the one thing they didn’t do was quit. They kept fighting and battling.”

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