Comets keep destiny in their hands with Week 9 win

While a win in Week 9 may not have clinched a playoff spot for the Mason Comets, it did put them in the best position they could be heading into the final week of the football regular season.

The Comets’ 15-0 win over Fairfield on Friday, Oct. 20 put them in charge of their own destiny in the quest to make the Division I playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Mason entered Week 10 fifth in Region 4. The top eight advance to the playoffs.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Comets scored when Tanner Knue hauled in an 18-yard pass from Will Adams with 1:31 remaining in the half for a 7-0 lead.

Matt Sora added a 4-yard run in the third quarter for the only other score.

Sora finished with 98 yards on 23 carries as Mason had 232 yards in total offense to 193 for Fairfield.

Mason held Fairfield to 75 yards in total offense as it improved to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Greater Miami Conference.

Lebanon 41, Stebbins 0: Lebanon dominated Stebbins to snap a six game losing streak.

Lebanon led 35-0 at halftime behind four scoring passes by Kyle Short, two to Jake Tewart and an 85-yard scoring hookup with Derrick Allen.

Tyler Inloes added a 75-yard scoring run as the Warriors out-gained Stebbins 395-57.

Stebbins had three first downs while Lebanon ran up 16 and went for 204 on the ground and 191 through the air.

“I’m happy for our seniors,” Lebanon coach Shawn Lamb said. “It was a good win and a great way to end their career at home.”

Short finished 9 of 11 for 189 yards and four scores while Inloes added 98 yards on five carries and Ethan Marsh had 62 yards on six carries.

The Warriors defense got tackles from 17 players.

Edgewood 34, Little Miami 12: The Panthers' chase for the playoffs officially came to an end.

After Edgewood jumed out to a 14-0 lead, Little Miami got on the board with a 70-yard scoring strike from Brody Reder to Ryan Sellars.

Logan Riddle made it a one-possession game at the half when he picked up a fumble and went 40 yards to cut it to 17-12.

“We played tough against a very good Edgewood team,” Little Miami coach Nate Mahan said. “It was 17-12 at half time but we couldn’t move the ball well and didn’t get off the field on third-down defense well in the second half.”

Edgewood finished the night with 14 first downs to seven for Little Miami and piled up a 460-171 advantage in total offense with 442 on the ground.

Reder finished 6 of 15 for 109 yards as the Panthers fell to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Southwestern Ohio Conference.

Kings 27, Loveland 7: It was another strange night in a season of strange nights for the Knights.

Coach Andy Olds called it “easily our best win of the year.”

“As we boarded the buses for Loveland, we found ourselves going without five starters and sixth one not likely to play,” Olds reported. “This included our starting quarterback, running back, outside linebacker, defensive lineman, wide receiver, and defensive back, so young players were called on and older guys were asked to play new positions.”

Junior Jake Stylski was called on to handle the quarterback duties and finished 15 of 23 for 170 yards.

With Kings (4-5, 3-3 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference) trailing 7-0, Sylski hit Hunter Jesse for a 20-yard scoring strike to tie the game.

Kings never trailed again after Thomas Mitchell provided a 10-7 lead with an 18-yard field goal.

The defense got in on the scoring when Max McKelvey returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.

Kings finished with a 305-218 advantage in total offense.

“A special shout out to all of my coaches for coaching on the fly,” Olds said. “It was a program win and somewhat of a litmus test for our program. We now sit at 4-5 with a chance to salvage one of the most difficult seasons in my 20-year span as head coach at Kings.”

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