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Friday, November 11, 2011
Braves were getting ready for two-point conversion
KETTERING — The Shawnee High School football team used a goal-line stand to beat Thurgood Marshall 20-13 in a Division III, Region 12 semifinal game at Kettering Fairmont’s Roush Stadium on Friday.
With 4.2 seconds remaining, Marshall had the ball on the 2-yard line. On the final play, the Braves’ Nick Costa and Nick Talley stopped Marshall running back Tavonn Crisp on a 6-foot line. The ball came loose as Crisp stretched for the goal-line, and Jordan Huggins recovered in the end zone to seal the win.
“What can you say about the character of our kids make a goal-line play like that at the end of a game,” Meeks said.
The coaching staff was hoping to stop the Cougars, but was also planning in case they had to stop them one more time. The Cougars took a big risk in its victory over Alter in the first round, going for two to seal the win last week.
“We were getting ready for them going for two,” Meeks said. “I told (Defensive coordinator Devin Spitzer), ‘You know they’re going to go for two if they score.’ He says ‘Coach, I already got it.’ He told them what play they were running if they scored during the timeout (before the final play).”
Shawnee improved to 12-0 and will play Jonathan Alder in the D-III, Region 12 finals next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at a site to be determined.
But it certainly wasn’t easy. They trailed 13-0 at halftime, the first time that had happened all season. They allowed 358 yards rushing to the Cougars, including 222 to Crisp, the most they’d allowed all season. Marshall runs the double-wing, an unorthodox offense with double handoffs and multiple pulling guards/tackles. They even lead block with their QB on certain plays.
“It’s a different offense,” Meeks said. “You know where he’s at, but he gets right behind them and he’s hard to find. They did a great job blocking. You have to give Coach Spitzer and the defensive staff credit for playing a great game”
At halftime, Meeks told his players the Cougars were doing everything they’d planned all week. Essentially, it came down to blocking and tackling better.
It was the closest game Shawnee had played since an OT win over Urbana in Week 3. It was the first time in weeks the Braves had faced true adversity.
“I told them ‘Are we going to go home, or are we going to fight and make something happen?’ Someone’s going to have to make a play,” Meeks said.
The Braves scored 20 unanswered points, and made three stops in their own territory to win the game.
“They’ve got heart and they’ve got fight and they’re not going quit,” Meeks said. “I’m real proud of the way they responded.”
The Braves’ final offensive possession was capped by a 66-yard run by Jarzab, who rushed for 145 yards and two TDs.
“He was so close a couple times,” Meeks said. “His knee had been bothering him a little bit this week, and we weren’t running him as much in the first half and he came to me and asked if weren’t running him because of his knee. He said, ‘Coach I’m fine. I’m ready to go.’ I said, ‘All right, we’re going to wear you out in the second half.’”
The defense made three huge plays in the second half. In the third quarter, Marshall’s Breland Cospy broke free and was on his way to the end zone when Andrew Young stripped him at the five-yard line and James Williams recovered on the 1-yard line. On the ensuing possession, Shawnee was pinned deep and was forced to punt, giving Marshall a short field.
However, the Braves were able to stop them on 4th-and-5 from the 10, a stop which led to Shawnee’s game-winning score.
Then, on the second-to-last play of the game, Jordan Huggins one-hand deflection knocked the ball away from the Marshall receiver. It likely would’ve been a touchdown.
Shawnee has advanced to the regional finals three times in nine years.
“I’m real proud of that,” Meeks said.
They fell to Clyde in 2005 and lost to Cin. Wyoming in 2009.
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