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Sunday, November 14, 2010
Digesting another classic Wayne-Centerville game the day after
Close to 21 hours after it ended, I’m sitting here trying to think of the best way to express what happened at Welcome Stadium on Saturday night.
In it’s most simplistic, it was this: A 36-33 Wayne victory against Centerville in double overtime in a Division I, Region 4 semifinal game.
More simple? How about this: One of the better football games many in attendance had yet seen from two area prep teams.
Wayne quarterback Braxton Miller scored the final touchdown from 1 yard out in the second overtime. I updated this blog, threw on my coat in the press box, grabbed my notebook and weaved my way through the Wayne crowd in the home stands to get to the field.
On my way there, I dodged Wayne students, parents and fans somewhere between thrill and hysteria. When I got to the field, I could see the Wayne players scattering and coach Jay Minton doing a post-game interview on the middle of the field.
And there was Miller, with a camera from a local television station on him speaking as calmly as if it were a mid-August interview on Wayne’s practice field. After covering Miller for four years, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him more riled up than a calm confidence.
That’s one of his strengths, as he obviously kept calm following Centerville’s field goal on its possession in the second overtime. Miller ran for 12 yards on the first play from the 20-yard line and 3 yards on the second play. He handed off to running back Anthone Taylor for 4 yards, and he set up under center for the final play, a 1-yard sneak.
In those moments, reporters hope to gain some sense of the intensity, enthusiasm, toughness and excitement that goes with overtime playoff games between heated rivals. Miller was still talking calmly.
“This is what everybody was waiting for, playing Centerville,” Miller said, barely smiling. “It’s nice to pull out another ‘W.’ “
And that was it. There were a few more questions, but it was clear by Miller’s demeanor that he stays calm in those situations and isn’t prone to the heart-thumping exclamations we often see after such games. We got a few thoughts from him, and we moved on. He was satisfied, and so were we.
Minton finished his radio interview and headed for the press box to do another. On the way, while walking along the turf, I asked him to describe just how good of a game it was, with swings including an early 16-0 Centerville lead, 13 straight Wayne points, a 23-13 Elks lead in the third quarter, 10 straight Wayne points to tie by 5 minutes remaining and two overtime periods.
“Can you?” he said. “I don’t know if any of us ever really can.”
We tried to describe it, of course, with a live blog throughout the game, a game story and a column by Marc Pendleton.
As Wayne continued to celebrate, I headed toward the Cenetrville locker room, not knowing what to expect. Teams handle tough losses differently, some wanting to talk and some wanting to stay quiet.
I saw Centerville coach Ron Ullery standing by himself along a chain-link fence separating the field from the locker room area. He had his elbow on the fence and his head in his hand. I stood back for a moment, gauging his readiness to talk, and he waved me over.
“I just feel … I hurt a lot for our seniors,” Ullery said. “Just a tremendous class that kept the bar set really, really high for the guys returning. This was kind of a … it showed the character of those guys as they fought and fought and fought.”
The game was a repeat of a Week 8 matchup that saw Wayne beat Centerville 34-10 at Centerville Stadium.
“The other thing all of us wanted to do was prove was that football team that played them Oct. 14 wasn’t the true Centerville football team,” Ullery said. “I think everybody saw the real team tonight.”
Then he started looking up and went into a stream-of-consciousness commentary on the game and his team.
“Hell of a game, wasn’t it?” he said.
“Man … What do you say to them? I was at a loss in there. I wish there was something I could say.
“Hopefully they’ll wake up in the morning proud of the effort they put forth with their teammates and their buddies.
“Great game.”
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TweetWayne at Welcome, Trotwood at Princeton and Alter at Wapak
Wayne and Trotwood-Madison will return to familiar sites for their high school football regional final games this week, but Alter will hit the road again.
Wayne will play Cincinnati St. Xavier in a D-I, Region 4 final at Welcome Stadium on Saturday night. The Warriors advanced by beating Centerville 36-33 in double-OT this past Saturday also at Welcome.
Trotwood will play Kings in a D-II, Region 8 final at Princeton. That’s also where the Rams advanced by upsetting defending state champ Winton Woods 42-23.
Alter will play Kenton in a D-IV, Region 16 final at Wapakoneta’s Harmon Field on Friday. The Knights advanced by beating Jonathan Alder 28-14 at Troy. Kenton defeated Clinton-Massie 36-28 at Welcome Stadium.
Unbeaten Eaton will play Cincinnati McNicholas in a D-III, Region 12 final on Saturday at Mason’s Atrium Stadium.
Coldwater and West Jefferson will play in a D-V, Region 20 final on Saturday at Northmont’s Good Samaritan Stadium.
And finally, in the D-VI, Region 24 final, it’s Minster vs. Lehman Catholic at Piqua’s Alexander Stadium.
All the regional final winners advance to the following week’s state semifinals. The state championships are Dec. 3-4 at Canton and Massillon.
DIVISION I - All games at 7 p.m. Saturday unless otherwise noted:
Region 1
1 Solon (12-0) vs. 3 Lakewood St. Edward (12-0), Parma Byers Field
Region 2
4 Toledo St. John’s (11-1) vs. 3 Toledo Whitmer (11-1), Bowling Green State University Doyt Perry Stadium
Region 3
1 Pickerington Central (11-0) vs. 2 Hilliard Davidson (12-0), Upper Arlington Marv Moorehead Stadium
Region 4
8 Wayne (9-3) vs. 6 Cincinnati St. Xavier (7-4), Welcome Stadium
DIVISION II - All games at 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted:
Region 5
4 Ashland (10-2) vs. 2 Mentor Lake Catholic (11-1), Brunswick H.S. Judy Kirsch Field
Region 6
5 Maple Heights (12-0) vs. 3 Olmsted Falls (9-3), Baldwin-Wallace Tressel Field at George Finnie Stadium
Region 7
5 Sunbury Big Walnut (10-2) vs. 3 Uniontown Lake (9-3), Ashland University Jack Miller Stadium
Region 8
4 Trotwood-Madison (10-2) vs. 2 Kings (11-1), Princeton H.S. Mancuso Field
DIVISION III - All games at 7 p.m. Saturday unless otherwise noted:
Region 9
4 Akron Buchtel (9-3) vs. 6 Youngstown Mooney (7-4), Ravenna Stadium
Region 10
1 Columbus Watterson (10-1) vs. 3 Tiffin Columbian (11-1), Ohio Wesleyan University Selby Field
Region 11
1 Alliance Marlington (12-0) vs. 7 Dover (10-2), Canton Fawcett Stadium
Region 12
4 Eaton (12-0) vs. 2 Cincinnati McNicholas (10-2), Mason Dwire Field at Atrium Stadium
DIVISION IV - All games at 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted:
Region 13
1 Akron Manchester (12-0) vs. 2 Chagrin Falls (11-1), Nordonia Bill Boliantz Stadium
Region 14
4 Genoa Area (12-0) vs. 3 Orrville (9-3), Avon Lake Memorial Stadium
Region 15
1 Ironton (10-2) vs. 3 Columbus Hartley (10-2), Logan Chieftain Stadium
Region 16
5 Kenton (11-1) vs. 6 Alter (10-2), Wapakoneta Harmon Field
DIVISION V - All games at 7 p.m. Saturday unless otherwise noted:
Region 17
1 Youngstown Ursuline (12-0) vs. 2 Kirtland (12-0), Aurora Veterans Stadium
Region 18
4 Lima Central Catholic (11-1) vs. 7 Jeromesville Hillsdale (11-1), Findlay Donnell Stadium
Region 19
1 Oak Hill (11-1) vs. 2 Fredericktown (12-0), Columbus Hamilton Twp. Hamilton Field
Region 20
5 Coldwater (9-3) vs. 2 West Jefferson (12-0), Northmont Good Samaritan Stadium
DIVISION VI - All games at 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted:
Region 21
5 McDonald (10-2) vs. 2 Mogadore (12-0), Twinsburg Tiger Stadium
Region 22
1 Delphos St. John’s (12-0) vs. 2 McComb (12-0), Findlay Donnell Stadium
Region 23
1 Shadyside (11-1) vs. 2 Bridgeport (12-0), St. Clairsville Red Devil Stadium
Region 24
8 Minster (7-5) vs. 2 Lehman Catholic (11-1), Piqua Alexander Stadium
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