“I told my linebacker I was going to grab the middle,” Dennis said, “because last year they beat us on a slant like that, and I was not going to make the same mistake.”
In the 2024 matchup at Springfield, the Wildcats won 15-14 thanks to a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 19 seconds to play.
Friday’s play also came in the final 30 seconds, and it allowed the Rams to secure their first 3-0 start since 2020.
“It’s amazing,” Dennis said. “We’ve got to keep working.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Trotwood beat Cleveland Heights 42-7 in Week 1 and beat Fairmont 22-21 in Week 2 on a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 3 seconds remaining.
“I hope these kids understand where they are as far as the work they’ve been doing,” Trotwood coach Jeff Graham said, “and hopefully they’re not complacent. That’s the biggest thing that I’m trying to focus on with them. Hey, we haven’t really established a complete overall game. It’s been defense, defense, defense. The offense made a good drive last week. Defense, of course, made a great stop here. We’ve just got to keep you know, plugging away and understand that you know, defense wins championships, and our offense has got to methodically move the ball and not make turnovers.”
Springfield fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2012. Wildcats coach Maurice Douglass, who led Trotwood to a state championship in 2012 and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2023, is 3-3 against his former team.
“We asked them to play for 48 minutes, and they did,” Douglass said. “We just happened to be on the wrong side of the stick. We both made plays when we needed to make them. They just made one play more.”
Springfield is one of four winless Greater Western Ohio Conference teams. Centerville, Fairmont and Northmont are also 0-3. Only Springboro (2-1) is over .500. All eight GWOC teams lost in Week 3.
In the last game against Springfield at Trotwood in 2023, Dennis also clinched a 21-20 victory on an interception with 1:15 to play.
This time, Springfield took possession at its own 36-yard line with 1:39 to play. Four straight completions by CJ Wallace gave Springfield a first down at the Trotwood 5-yard line with 29 seconds to play. That’s where the drive stalled with two straight incompletions and the interception.
Trotwood won despite “a lot of mistakes,” Graham said.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
“I think we played very sloppy,” he said. “I think that was the way that we practiced during the week, and now I’m hoping that these guys understand that the way you practice during the week will dictate how you play on Friday. It’s like a dress rehearsal.”
Trotwood led from start to finish. After a slow start by both offenses, Trotwood took an 8-0 lead on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Dallas Shehee to Tristen Bozeman and then a 2-point conversion with 2:01 left in the first half.
Springfield answered fast with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to Deontre Long with 1:23 to play in the half. The Wildcats trailed 8-7 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Trotwood lost two fumbles, but Springfield couldn’t capitalize.
Then Shehee threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bozeman early in the fourth. Shehee added a 2-point conversion run to give the Rams a 16-7 lead.
With 5:32 remaining, Wallace scored on a 1-yard run. The extra-point attempt was blocked, and the Wildcats trailed 16-13.
Trotwood scored on the two conversions because its kicker suffered an injury last week against Fairmont.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back this week,” Graham said. “We’ve been practicing a couple guys but didn’t want to put them in that kind of situation.”
Trotwood-Madison clinches 16-13 victory over Springfield with interception by Darius Dennis in end zone in final seconds. pic.twitter.com/Ep5wh0YXmB
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) September 6, 2025
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