Prep Football Notes; Physical Indians upset Trojans

Mechanicsburg shares first place in OHC after two games.

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By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer 10:56 PM Monday, September 26, 2011

MECHANICSBURG — The Mechanicsburg High School football team used physicality to upset Division VI 14th-ranked Southeastern last Friday, 14-6, in Ohio Heritage Conference play.

“At the end of the day, it came down to them making tackles and playing physical,” coach Kurt Forrest said. “They understood exactly what we were asking from a game plan point of view and went out and executed.”

Defensively, the Indians (3-2, 2-0 Ohio Heritage Conference) mixed fronts and coverages to confuse Southeastern’s explosive offense. The Trojans entered the game averaging 29 points and 362 yards of total offense. The Indians held the Trojans to 185 yards, including 19 rushing yards.

“We thought it was a must that you give them some different looks,” Forrest said. “They’re very well-coached, and if you give them one look over and over again, they’re going to have some success.”

Offensively, the Indians played smashmouth football. They ran 66 plays in the game, and all but one was a pass play. They rushed 65 times for 267 yards, including 112 by Austin Black. Mechanicsburg possessed the ball for over 31 minutes.

“We felt if we could run the football, we could limit their opportunities,” Forrest said.

The biggest factor in his team’s success, Forrest said, was playing physical. They were able to block and tackle effectively in the trenches, where they were outweighed by nearly 100 pounds across the board.

“Our kids took the challenge and answered the bell,” Forrest said. “I was extremely proud of their toughness.”

Points battle: Catholic Central (3-2, 1-1 OHC) will travel to Southeastern (3-2, 0-2 OHC) on Friday in a big points game in D-6, Region 24.

The Irish fell to unbeaten West Liberty-Salem 34-21 last week. Their other loss came to unbeaten Shawnee in Week 1.

Southeastern has dropped back-to-back games after starting 3-0.

Both teams likely will drop in the computer points this week, making Friday’s game even more important. The Irish were third in last week’s ratings, while Southeastern was seventh.

State poll: Kenton Ridge (5-0) is ranked for the first time this season. It is 15th in D-III. Shawnee (5-0) was 18th last week, but isn’t ranked this week.

West Liberty-Salem (5-0) is 13th in D-V.

Southeastern and Catholic Central, who were both ranked last week, are not ranked this week.

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