Sycamore back burns winless Wildcats

Springfield has lost to three teams that are each 3-0 this season.

Cincinnati Sycamore's Greg Simpson (right) is tackled by Davonte James (2) of Springfield during Friday's nonconference contest at Evans Stadium in Springfield. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic

Barbara J. Perenic Cincinnati Sycamore's Greg Simpson (right) is tackled by Davonte James (2) of Springfield during Friday's nonconference contest at Evans Stadium in Springfield. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic

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By Brian Plasters, Staff Writer 11:59 PM Friday, September 9, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — On Cincinnati Sycamore’s first play from scrimmage Friday night, quarterback Kyle Sess pitched the ball to Markus James, who sprinted for a 68-yard touchdown run.

Sess didn’t share the ball much after that, and the Springfield High School football team couldn’t stop him. Sess rushed 32 times for 276 yards and three touchdowns, leading Sycamore to a 33-20 victory over Springfield at Evans Stadium.

It wasn’t flashy, but it was effective as Sess continually battered his way up through the center of the Wildcats’ defense. He scored on a 61-yard run in the second quarter, then twice more in the second half to stretch Sycamore’s 19-12 lead to 33-12.

“It was essentially one play that they were highly effective with,” Springfield head coach Adam Taylor said. “They had that power play, and they created a lot of problems with that.”

Sess’ big night overshadowed another strong performance by Springfield quarterback Chris Wallace, who passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Braylin Collins had five receptions for 143 yards and a 64-yard TD catch, and Thaddeus Snodgrass had three catches for 95 yards and an 81-yard TD catch.

But the Wildcats (0-3) couldn’t keep up with the Aviators (3-0) and their 434 total yards of offense, including 53 yards passing from Sess.

“We feel like offensively we can score a lot of points, but the defense was on the field for a long, long time tonight,” Taylor said.

Springfield also made some mistakes that led to easy points for the Aviators. Down 14-6 with the ball at the end of the first half, Springfield gave up a safety after intentional grounding was called in the end zone. Sycamore got the ball back and kicked a field goal with 1 second left for a 19-6 lead.

And every time the Wildcats rallied, the Aviators answered.

Wallace connected with Snodgrass to cut the gap to 19-12 to start the second half, but the Aviators needed only eight plays to extend the lead to 26-12.

Springfield played its second game in less than a week after Sunday’s loss to Upper Arlington. All three of the Wildcats’ opponents are 3-0.

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