High School Football Playoffs
Division VI, Region 24
- Who: No. 1 Catholic Central (9-1) vs. No. 8. Minster (5-5)
- When: 7:30 p.m., Friday
- Where: Hallinean Field, Springfield
- Radio: 101.7 FM
- About Catholic Central: The Fighting Irish are the Ohio Heritage Conference champs and have won eight in a row. ... Brian Kelly (1,214) and Corey Timmons (1,073) both surpassed 1,000 rushing yards. ... The Irish scored 367 points and allowed 95, best in the area.
- About Minster: The Wildcats started the season with four losses, then won five in a row. They ended the regular season with a 40-20 loss to Coldwater. ... Minster hasn't been to the playoffs since 2001. It won a state title in 1989.
- FYI: Catholic Central has made 11 playoff appearances in school history, and seven in eight years. ... Minster won regular-season games against the Fighting Irish in 2008 and 2009.
- The winner plays: Fort Loramie or Marion Local at a neutral site.
SPRINGFIELD — The Catholic Central High School football team has put up some eye-popping numbers in 2010.
In winning the Ohio Heritage Conference, the Fighting Irish (9-1) never allowed more than 13 points in one game.
Over 10 games, they’ve scored 367 points. They’ve won eight in a row, ascended to No. 6 in the state poll, and earned the No. 1 seed in the Division VI, Region 24 playoffs.
They’ll host No. 8 Minster (5-5) at 7:30 p.m. today in the first round of the playoffs at Hallinean Field.
The Wildcats won five in a row after an 0-4 start, then lost in the regular-season finale to Coldwater. Competing in the mighty Midwest Athletic Conference, the Wildcats are making their first playoff appearance since 2001.
Don’t be fooled by Minster’s record: The Wildcats are good.
“It’s going to demand a great amount of intensity out of us to play the best ballgame that we’ve got,” Catholic Central head coach Steve DeWitt said.
DeWitt said this Catholic Central team is different from the one that lost to Minster in the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons.
“How much we’ve grown up since last season and through the course of this season has really paid off,” he said.
Quarterback Brian Kelly leads the offense with 1,747 yards passing and 19 touchdowns, plus 1,214 yards rushing and 12 more TDs.
“He’s lived up to every demand and every expectation that we’ve had from him,” DeWitt said. “Because of Brian, we’ve got a good balance in our offensive scheme with run and pass.”
As good as the Irish are on offense, the defense has been every bit as good, allowing 56 points in the first two games (Shawnee and Marion Local), then recording four shutouts.
“We’ve made some adjustments to allow the kids to play more aggressively,” DeWitt said. “Part of our success is trying to be versatile and line up right to the offensive formation to give us a maximum efficiency to what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Catholic Central last hosted a playoff game in 2007.
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