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Shawnee quarterback Robie Glass rushed for 189 yards and three TDs as the Braves beat CHCA 34-18 in a Division V, Region 20 quarterfinal game on Saturday night.
Trailing 18-14 early in the third quarter, the Braves scored 20 unanswered points to win their first playoff game since 2013.
“We had a size mismatch,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks. “The plan was to sort of physically just beat on them. That’s what we preached all week — physical, physical, physical, just getting after them.”
The Braves rushed for 435 yards. Glass completed just one pass, a 15-yarder to junior Evan Thomas late in the fourth quarter. The Braves put together two long drives in the first half, but both ended on fumbles in the red zone.
“We knew their offense was good,” Meeks said. “The plan was just to control the ball, keep it out of their hands and get a few stops here and there. We absolutely knew they were going to make some plays. In the first half, the formula was there, except for the turnovers. … We’ve got plenty to harp on this week, plenty of things to fix.”
Quarterback Cole Fisher threw for 299 yards and two TDs and rushed for 144 yards for CHCA (8-3).
Shawnee’s Matt Guyer rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, providing a big spark in the second half.
“He’s a big back, big and physical,” Meeks said. “I wouldn’t want to get in his way. He played well.”
Shawnee’s Adam Moore returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to give the Braves a quick 7-0 lead.
“I’ll take that any time,” Meeks said. “We work a lot on that and we finally hit it.”
On their next possession, Glass scored on a 52-yard run to give the Braves a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Eagles pulled to within two at the half after a 1-yard run by Jack Wilkowski and a 40-yard pass from Fisher to Garrett Jostworth.
CHCA took an 18-14 lead early in the third quarter on a 8-yard pass from Fisher to Ben Southerland.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first half,” Guyer said. “We knew we had to pick it up and trust each other.”
From that point forward, it was all Braves. Glass scored on TD runs of 11 and 2 yards to give the Braves a 27-18 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The Shawnee defense got a big stop on CHCA’s next possession, stopping the Eagles on fourth-and-1 from the Braves’ 23-yard line.
“It was absolutely huge,” Meeks said. “With the offense struggling here and there and for us to get a stop in a short yardage situation, it was huge. We’re really pleased with the defense making big plays.”
Guyer capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run to seal the win for Shawnee.
“The O-line was outstanding,” Guyer said. “All week, that’s what we wanted, to play physical.”
The third-seeded Braves (9-2) advanced to play second-seeded West Jefferson (10-1) in the Region 20 semifinals at 7 p.m. Nov. 16. The Ohio Heritage Conference North Division champion Roughriders beat Cincinnati Summit Country Day 48-24 in a quarterfinal game.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce playoff locations on Sunday afternoon.
“If we play clean football, we’re going to be a tough out,” Meeks said. “I told the kids that each week it gets a little tougher, the competition steps up a little bit more. We have to fix the issues we had in the first half.”
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