Local Sports
Friday, November 13, 2009
Main Headline
SPORTS WRITER
BASCOM — Hopewell-Loudonl finds itself in a situation similar to last weekend: facing a higher-seeded, undefeated team in the Division V, Region 21 playoffs.
But there are two big differences between Saturday’s game against No. 4 Wynford and last weekend’s matchup with McDonald.
First, the No. 8 Chieftains will face the Royals at Tiffin’s Frost-Kalnow Stadium at 7 p.m., a field they’ve played on nearly every year in the recent past. Second, Hopewell-Loudon’s dramatic come-from-behind 28-24 win over No. 1 McDonald proved that the Chieftains have the mettle to beat a higher seed with a perfect record. The Chieftains hope to be able to use momentum from that victory when battling Wynford on a familiar field.
“I don’t know that it’s an advantage, but I think our team’s confidence is growing as we go,” Hopewell-Loudon coach Brian Colatruglio said. “In the middle of the year we struggled a little bit, lost a couple of games and maybe we were unsure of ourselves a little bit. But we’ve got a nice win streak going now, and beating the number-one seed, hopefully that can carry over.
“Our team’s starting to realize its potential. I still don’t think we’ve played our best game and I still think we have room for improvement. At some point, if we put it together for four quarters, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Tough to beat was exactly what the Chieftains were for McDonald, which entered last weekend’s game with a 10-0 record. The Blue Devils watched a 24-13 fourth-quarter lead dissipate as Hopewell-Loudon scored twice in the final 6 minutes.
Senior Aaron Kapelka’s 5-yard touchdown run that brought the Chieftains within three points of the Blue Devils was possible because Hopewell-Loudon was able to convert on fourth and 15 earlier in the drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, McDonald’s Devon Bansberg fumbled the ball while being brought down and Hopewell-Loudon recovered the ball on the Blue Devils’ 40. Six plays later, senior Matt Brickner rushed 13 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 2:59 remaining.
Wynford (11-0) provided no such drama in its 41-21 win over No. 5 Dalton. The Royals, who hail from Bucyrus, rushed for 423 yards, led by quarterback Tyler Brause’s 148 yards and three touchdowns.
“It starts with Brause, he’s the guy that makes it go for them,” Colatruglio said of Wynford’s offense. “He’s very dangerous running the football as well as throwing, so you have to contain his big plays. Their skill kids are all good (and) they play a lot of guys. They have several very good receivers. (Chris Brown) is a real nice player, dangerous catching the ball and running. (Zach Chatlain) is a real good back. (Zack Niedermier) runs hard and does a great job of blocking for Brause.
“Overall, it’s the best group of skill kids we’ve faced. They have speed on the perimeter and having running backs that run physical.”
Although this is the fifth straight playoff appearance for the Royals, they have never crossed paths with the Chieftains because Wynford competed in Division V until this season. Last year, Wynford was eliminated in the second round by Patrick Henry.
“It’s exciting,” Colatruglio said. “We’re not that far apart and we’ve both had really successful programs the last four, five, six years. They’ve made some good playoff runs in D-V and we have too (in Division VI), so, I mean, it’s kind of exciting. It’s two of the better programs in northwest Ohio that have never played before, so we get a chance to see where we stand against each other.
“Hopefully our front eight can contain them running the ball. That’s something that we really have to be able to do. We’ve been good up front with our front eight all year long, so we have to continue to play that way. Hopefully our secondary can limit the big plays. McDonald, they got about 80 percent of their yards on three plays for the whole game. We can’t continue to give up big plays and beat good teams; we have to limit those. And hopefully on offense we can be balanced and keep the ball out of their hands a little bit. That’s one way that you contain their offense: we convert some third downs and keep the chains moving and possess the ball.”
Probable starters for the Chieftains’ offense include senior Ethan Fuller at quarterback, Kapelka at running back and senior Jaren Wickham and Brickner at the slots. The split ends will be sophomore Austin Harrison and senior Miles Chapman. Senior Grant Hess will be at center, with seniors Luke Swartzmiller and Aric Hoover at the guards. The tackles will be senior Hudson Smith and sophomore Eric Depinet.
Defensive starters for Hopewell-Loudon will likely include Hess and Hoover at the tackles, with Kapelka and senior Cody Feathers playing the ends. The inside linebackers will be Depinet and Smith, while Chapman and Brickner will be the outside linebackers. Harrison and Wickham will be at the corners, with sophomore James Roush at safety.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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