The Warriors have gone to the D-II, Region 5 finals three times in the last four seasons, falling to powerhouse Akron Hoban all three times. They’re led by coach Nick Alexander, who took over after an 0-10 season in 2018.
“They’ve got a good program,” said Springfield coach Maurice Douglass. “Coach Alexander has put together a good team. They’ve been continuously getting better each of the last three to four years and now he’s got it where he kind of wants it to be at, so we’re expecting a really, really tough battle.”
The Warriors opened on the road against a high-caliber program. They beat defending D-III champion Toledo Central Catholic 17-14 — snapping their 26-game home winning streak.
“(Alexander’s) got a really good team coming back and they’ve got a strong senior class,” Douglass said. “We’re going to have to be ready. It’s a tough matchup.”
The Warriors can run the ball successfully, Douglass said, but also have a strong passing attack that starts with 6-foot-5 senior wide receiver Milan Parris, an Iowa State commit. Quarterback David Ternosky is also a threat as a runner. Left tackle Colt Crosley has committed to play at Ohio University.
Defensively, they’re led by three D-I commits — James Brewer III (Ohio University), Caden Carter (Bowling Green) and Grant Blascak (Toledo).
The Wildcats nearly pulled off a second half comeback in Week 1. Springfield gave up a touchdown on Winton Woods’ first drive and later threw a pick-six to give them a 14-0 halftime advantage.
“We came out slow,” Douglass said, “and you can’t come out slow against a team like that.”
After halftime, the Wildcats went toe-to-toe with Winton Woods, he said.
“One thing I really was happy and pleased with our team is they showed their resilience,” Douglass said. “We put ourselves in a position to get ahead again.”
Wildcats junior quarterback CJ Wallace threw touchdown passes to senior Dequan Shaw and freshman Timothy Thompson to tie the score at 14 after three quarters.
The Wildcats had a shot to take the lead late in the fourth quarter with a field goal, but the attempt never got off the ground due to a bad snap. Winton Woods regained possession and freshman Bo Diop scored with 20 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“I’m happy with the way we fought back and got ourselves in a position to win,” Douglass said. “We had a chance to win, we just didn’t seize the moment. We’ll just have to continue to work to get better at seizing the moment when the opportunity is presented to us.
“I’m hoping the bright lights and big city wore off after the first half last week,” Douglass said. “Hopefully we’ll be a little more focused this week.”
About the Author
