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Big Walnut High School coach Scott Wetzel remembers scouting a game between Fenwick and Talawanda a few years back.

"I remember thinking 'Wow. That's a small school (Fenwick) playing a D-II school, and they're holding their own against them,' "

he said. Wetzel's Golden Eagles (12-1) can relate.

"We play in the Ohio Capital Conference, which has 30 schools in different divisions, and we're the smallest school in the conference," said Wetzel, who will lead his Eagles into the D-III state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday night against Monroe.

"Everybody else we play has enough players to platoon their offense and defense, but we have a lot of kids playing both ways."

But the Golden Eagles have been "the little engine that could" get the job done this season.

Wins over four Division I programs, including a nail-biting 14-12 win over neighboring rival Olentangy and a first-ever win over D-II Olentangy Liberty, were just part of a nine-game winning streak to start the season.

"With nine starters back on defense, that's been the cornerstone of this team. We came into the season with high expectations," Wetzel said. "We played tremendous defense last week against Clyde (a 21-14 win), a team that appears to be very similar to the way Monroe plays the game. So we know we'll have our work cut out for us this week as well."

Wetzel said a Week 10 loss to another rival, New Albany, may have done more to help his team than hurt it.

"I'm not one to say that you gain anything from a loss, but losing to those guys may have taken the pressure off our kids a bit as we headed into the postseason," he said. "There was no more pressure for us to go undefeated."

Big Walnut had previously gone undefeated in the regular season in 1975, 2001 and 2003. They lost the regional championship to Kettering Alter a year ago, and fell to Bellevue in the regional title game in 2001.

Wetzel describes his offense, led by his son Ethan at quarterback, as "very vanilla. We're not real fancy offensively."

The Eagles run a multiple-set offense and like to try and spread the field. Most of the team's defensive backs also double as wide receivers.

The Eagles' 3-4 defensive alignment limited opponents to 118 points in the regular season. Big Walnut has outscored its three playoff opponents — Rossford, Shelby and Clyde — 91-24.

"We knew our league schedule was going to be tough, and now to be regional champs? To be in the final four for the first time in school history, it's a great thrill," Wetzel said.

"We're really happy to be here."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com