Ross football continues deepest-ever playoff run in state quarterfinal tonight: What to know

Ross hosts Alter in Division III, Region 12 final Friday night

Credit: NICK FALZERANO

Credit: NICK FALZERANO

The Ross High School football team is starting to “see the prize” dangling in front of it, coach Kenyon Commins said as the Rams head into the regional finals Friday.

Ross is one win away from its first state berth and three wins from a title, but Commins is trying to keep eyes on this week. The Rams (8-1) host Greater Catholic League power Alter (7-2) on Friday in a Division III, Region 12 final.

“At this point, you see the prize in front of you but they also understand that none of that is going to happen unless you take care of the task at hand,” Commins said. “We’ve been pretty fortunate in that the things we preach and things we instilled in the program four years ago have come to fruition, so it’s fairly easy to stay on task and not look too far ahead.”

This is uncharted territory for Ross, which had never experienced a playoff win before this season, but the Rams have made it look easy so far. They’ve outscored their three playoff opponents 104-45 and haven’t scored fewer than 35 points since an opening loss to Badin.

Commins said inexperience at this stage hasn’t been a thought, and the Rams just keep rolling with it.

“Emotions are pretty cool, and we’re glad to experience it, but I don’t know if we’ve had time to step back and think about what we’ve done,” Commins said. “Our motto is to keep moving forward the best we can and attack each day. So, I don’t know if we’ve really appreciated what we’ve done. If you do that, you listen to compliments and accolades and none of those things are going to help us beat a really good Alter team Friday.”

Alter opened the season with a pair of losses but has won seven straight since then, including a 20-3 win over Badin last week.

The Knights have made 20 straight playoff appearances and seek a 10th Final Four appearance since 2000 and 12th overall. They are 48-23 in 26 postseason trips overall with two titles in 2008 and 2009, and they were runners-up in 2018.

“Coach Domsitz has more playoff wins than I think I have wins overall,” Commins said laughing. “You look at them, they started off 0-2 and here they are in the regional finals. You have to tip your hat off to them and the resiliency of their players to stay locked in. They’re athletic and big up front offensively, an they have D-I kids sprinkled in all over.”

GCL-Co-Ed leading rusher Branden McDonald powers the Alter offense, as he enters with 1,548 yards and 20 touchdowns. Quarterback Brian Shane has 529 yards rushing and 561 yards passing.

The defense is led by linebacker CJ Hicks Jr., who is an Ohio State commit.

Ross will bring no surprises to the field Friday. Quarterback CJ Boze has thrown 11 passes all season, while he and running back Jackson Gifford have moved the offense on the ground. Gifford accounts for 1,476 yards and 23 touchdowns, while Boze adds 1,066 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns and Brayden Fraasman has 738 yards rushing and nine scores.

The Rams – whose offensive line features Kaden Rogers, Griffin Peacock, Will Mischke, Landon Herrmann and Johnny O’Connell – are just going to have to be really good at what they do well Friday.

“We’re playing better teams now, so it gets more difficult,” Commins said. “We do what we do, we’re true to who we are. I read a lot and I’m a big ‘Art of War’ (by) Sun Tzu guy, so I tell the kids all the time, ‘We don’t fear the warrior with 1,000 styles who’s done it well once. We fear the Warrior with one style he’s perfected 1,000 times.’ So, we’re going to be true to who we are. In regional championship games there’s going to be big plays. We have to stay calm, cool and collected, and do what got us here.”

Commins has been pleased with the defense the second part of the season, especially holding undefeated Bellbrook to 19 points last week, and feels like the Rams are playing well in all phases. Hopefully that continues Friday night.

“I think we’re playing complimentary football,” he said. “The defense has done a good job the last few weeks creating turnovers and then the offense is moving the ball and scoring points. Both sides are clicking. We’re at our peak so to speak, but it will be two locomotives running at each other Friday so it will be interesting to see what’s the difference maker.”

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