The second round of the OHSAA playoffs kicks off Friday. The top-four seeds re-enter the fray this week after getting first round byes. All four in Region 12 won’t have much time to shake off any rust due to the quality of the opposition remaining.
Two undefeated teams reside in the region, No. 1 London (10-0) and No. 2 Tippecanoe (10-0), and there are three one-loss teams, No. 3 Badin (9-1), No. 5 Miami Trace (9-1) and No. 7 Talawanda (10-1).
The combined loss total this season for the eight teams remaining is 12, the third lowest for any of the state’s 28 regions. The culminative record of the group of eight, 72-12, is the best of any region in Divisions I, II or III.
Region 12 is home to four of the top 10 teams in Division III while all other regions have two, respectively, according to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50 rankings website.
“This is one of the toughest regions in the state,” Alter head coach Ed Domsitz said. “In our division, everybody, from top to bottom, seems pretty capable and they’ve experienced a good bit of success. So I’m not sure who’s going to come out of this.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Friday’s second round games begin with London hosting No. 8 McNicholas (7-4). London shut out its final six opponents, and McNicholas ended its regular season in Week 10 by handing Badin its only loss of the season.
Tippecanoe hosts Talawanda in a rematch of a first round game from last year. The Red Devils won the Miami Valley League this season by only allowing double digit points against a single opponent. Talawanda features senior Lance Cantrell, who ranks 12th in the nation in rushing with 2,395 yards and 30 touchdowns scored.
Greater Catholic League Co-ed co-champions No. 6 Alter (8-3) and Badin have a redo of their Week 9 game in Hamilton. Badin won 28-14 in the first meeting thanks to senior Lem Grayson’s fourth quarter heroics.
Miami Trace gets a chance to avenge its only loss playing at Frontier Athletic Conference champion No. 4 Jackson (8-2).
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“A lot of familiar names there in our region right now,” Badin head coach Nick Yordy said. “Just for us to be in the conversations with Alter, McNicholas, London, Tippecanoe, it’s more of a pride thing for our program in general.”
The remaining programs have reached 14 regional finals in the last decade. Many of them know what it takes and that tougher competition still awaits for whoever emerges.
Yordy said the grind of the 10-game schedule is a separate deal from knowing the upcoming physical nature each game will bring. He said he expects more physical, hard-hitting “old school” football games to take place. Much of that he believes is due how many tenured coaches are around that he respects and have displayed success in big games.
“I’ve looked at some of the other regions, and they’ve got two or three teams that I think are just absolutely top of the line and would be very difficult to beat,” Domsitz said. “But I just don’t see that kind of strength down the line that this region seems to have this year.”
Burgbacher said he has spoken to his players this year about opponents building up their seasons toward ending their undefeated run.
There are numerous cases of those teams remaining in Region 12 everywhere you look.
“Everybody’s a contender,” he said, “and if you win Region 12, you went through the gauntlet and you earned a regional championship.”
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