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Ryan Podracky/The Rams Casey Vatter tackles Edgewood fullback Dean Estes in the first half.

Rams not feeling pressure to beat heavy favorite Winton Woods and its UC-bound quarterback.

By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 8:25 AM Friday, November 6, 2009

ROSS TWP. — They don’t set point spreads for high school football games for obvious reasons, but if they did, the line for the Winton Woods-Ross game likely would be one of the biggest this weekend.

The Warriors are huge favorites to beat the visiting Rams tonight in a Division II, Region 8 first-round playoff game at Winton Woods.

Ross coach Brian Butts knows it. And he accepts it.

“A lot of people are predicting them to win state,” Butts said of Winton Woods. “So we’re going into this game loose because there’s no pressure on us.

“When we showed up for two-a-days back in August, we were picked last by all the papers and all the coaches and any other discussion site out there,” Butts continued. “But the people in this locker room believed in themselves and won a league title. And those same people are going into the playoffs believing in themselves when no one else does.”

Winton Woods will have a distinct size and speed advantage against the Rams, but Warriors coach Troy Everhart said neither he nor his players are looking past Ross.

“They have this ability to win close ballgames, and that’s always a sign of a good program,” Everhart said. “They remind me a lot of Edgewood a couple of years ago when they beat us. That’s something that has really helped our kids focus. They beat Edgewood, and even our kids haven’t done that.”

Even without a victory against the Cougars, the Warriors’ credentials still are impressive. They’re making their fifth consecutive playoff appearance and sixth overall. They scored 395 points this year (more than twice the Rams’ total of 179). And they have a Division I recruit in senior quarterback Dominique Brown.

The University of Cincinnati-bound Brown has rushed for 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns while directing Winton Woods’ explosive triple option, which also includes senior fullback Jeremiah Goins (1,432 yards and 14 TDs).

“The thing that’s scary about Winton Woods is that physically, they’ve got a few kids that are more talented than our kids,” Butts said. “And our kids know that. They have D-I kids who are really good, so we can’t get in position where trying to tackle them one-on-one. We have to get three or four guys to the ball.

“We’ve talked to the kids all week about confidence,” Butts continued. “They’re not scared to play this game, and they’re not worried about the outcome. We’re just gonna go out there and play.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

Today’s game

Who: Ross Rams (6-4) vs. Winton Woods Warriors (8-2)
What: Division II, Region 8 football quarterfinal
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Charlie Fredrick Stadium, Forest Park
Playoff history: Ross is 0-4 in four previous playoff trips. Winton Woods is 2-5 in its five trips to the postseason.

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