“It was just two incredible plays,” Fenwick Coach Fred Cranford said of the sequence. ”You expect great players to make great plays in those moments. He clearly showed up at that time."
He paused, looked around his office, then added: “He’s putting an exclamation point on his career here.”
That exclamation point nearly was a question mark.
With Fenwick facing a first-and-goal from the 5, Kauffman took the handoff, then a defender knocked the ball loose. Instead of a turnover, the ball hit the turf, bounced into Kauffman’s arms and he raced around the right end for the score.
“It was kind of a miracle how it worked out,” Kauffman said. “Just amazing.”
McNicholas, down two points, needed a field goal and was near midfield when a pass was tipped and fell into Kauffman’s out stretched arms.
Like he did after his rushing touchdown plays before, Kauffman didn’t celebrate his interception. Instead, he looked into the stands at the fans, what he called “the community you have.”
The win, the first over McNicholas in seven seasons, pushed the Falcons to 5-4 overall, 2-2 in the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed Division. The Falcons were 3-7 last season, the first under Cranford.
“It was a huge win,” said Kauffman, who added the seniors talked before the game about “leaving our legacy” at Fenwick.
Cranford, a 1992 Fenwick graduate, coached the Falcons from 1998 to 2012, including seven years (2006-2012) as head coach when he led them to a 37-34 record.
He also spent six years as the head coach at Loveland, where he guided the Tigers to a 15-0 record and a Division II state championship in 2013.
The victory over McNicholas was “a signature win to get us back to where we used to be,” Cranford said.
To be successful in athletics, Fenwick, like other smaller schools, depends heavily on multi-sport students. Cranford said 92% of Fenwick’s student body competes in athletics and 50% play multiple sports.
That includes Kauffman, a pitcher and shortstop on the baseball team. Cranford said Kauffman is “an incredible student-athlete; just one of those great kids.”
The coach repeated what he told parents and prospective students at a recent open house.
“We say it all the time here: ‘It’s a shared investment.’ That’s how we operate and win,” Cranford said. “That’s why you come to Fenwick. That’s how we survive from sport to sport. We share these athletes.”
Kauffman, whose family lives in Springboro, transferred to Fenwick before his freshman year. He called Fenwick “a better fit” because he watched as his older brother, Jared, mature during his four years at Fenwick.
“I knew I would grow here,” he said.
On the football field, Kauffman plays running back and defensive back. Through nine games, he has rushed for 531 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has two interceptions and returned one for a score.
GET INVOLVED
The Journal-News will profile a local high school athlete on Sundays. If you have a suggestion, please forward the athlete’s name and high school to Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
About the Author
