“My phone’s been going crazy the past 15, 16 hours, people saying it was one of the best games they’ve seen in years,” Franklin coach Brad Childers said Sunday afternoon. “We beat a really good football team. Tipp comes off the ball as hard as any team we’ve seen all year long.
“We had some tough calls that we had to overcome, but our kids kept battling back. They never — not one time — thought they weren’t going to win the game. That’s the part I’m probably most proud of.”
The Wildcats (11-0) rallied from a 21-point deficit and won the game when Ryan Montgomery scored with 18 seconds remaining.
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Braden White has become entrenched as Franklin’s No. 1 quarterback, but Montgomery provided a spark in relief at QB.
“We felt like we needed to try to spread them out a little bit more, create a little bit better running and throwing lanes,” Childers said. “I’ve said from the beginning they’re really good teammates. I’m really proud of both of them for how they played and picked each other up.
“Our coaches made the correct adjustments at halftime and got us in better position to get three big stops on defense, and that was able to slow them down a little bit and get the time of possession in our favor at that time. We had them on their heels late in the game.
“We’re fortunate to be in this position. We earned it. At the same time, there’s another team that we’re going to face that’s pretty daggone good.”
St. Marys (10-1) shared the Western Buckeye League championship with Wapakoneta and Ottawa-Glandorf this season.
The Roughriders are a Wing-T offensive team, and the program has some tradition. St. Marys is 21-12 in 16 years of playoff competition and won state titles in 1990, 1992 and 1993, though this year marks its first postseason appearance since 2008.
Franklin has played St. Marys just once before, losing 21-7 in the 1989 Division II playoffs. The Wildcats have been to the playoffs 10 times and are 5-9 — they’ve never won a second-round game.
Trotwood-Madison (9-2) will meet New Richmond (10-1) in the other regional semifinal Saturday night at Mason.
Saturday’s game
What: Division III, Region 12 semifinal, St. Marys Memorial (10-1) vs. Franklin (11-0) at Wayne, 7 p.m.
Where: Good Samaritan Field at Heidkamp Stadium, 5400 Chambersburg Road, Huber Heights
Last meeting: St. Marys Memorial won 21-7 in 1989
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