Said Ohio State-bound Wayne receiver L’Christian “Blue” Smith: “Fairmont is a (heck) of a team. They came to play.”
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McKee and Smith hooked up for the game-winning touchdown with 14.6 seconds left as the Warriors survived the Firebirds 35-28 at Roush Stadium in a Week 8 game. Smith’s catch – diving and off a deflection – silenced a hometown crowd that was on the verge of explosion.
It also ran Wayne’s win streak in the series to nine straight and preserved a playoff berth. According to Drew Pasteur’s fantastic50.net, Wayne is projected to earn the No. 2 seed (behind Centerville) in Division I, Region 3 and host a first-round game. Fairmont could be the opponent.
A year after going 1-9, the Firebirds are 6-2 and currently sixth in Region 3 computer points. Fairmont closes at Centerville (7-1) this week then hosts Springfield (6-2). A victory in either contest would solidify a postseason berth – the program’s first since 2008.
• McKee and Smith share a special connection. In addition to hooking up for the game-winning score, the combo connected three other times on the game-winning drive and nine times in all. The duo’s last pass-and-catch was a far cry from their first – a first-quarter drop by Smith that drew chants of “over-rated” from Fairmont’s student section.
“(McKee) has a little signal that he gives me and that means it’s time to go,” Smith said. “It’s time to beat them. It’s time to make plays.”
“Having a safety valve like (Smith) is great,” McKee said. “He has a lot of range. You throw it to him and you know you have a high percentage of completing a pass.”
McKee and Smith have hooked up for 16 touchdowns in two years, including seven in the last six games.
“Rashad gave him a chance and Blue did what he was supposed to do,” Wayne head coach Jay Minton said following the heroics. “When you’re going to Ohio State, you do that.”
• The hottest junior prospect tandem in Ohio occupies the Alter backfield. That’s where quarterback Connor Bazelak and running back John Bivens continue to earn weekly scholarship offers. Bivens owns offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa State, Cincinnati and Toledo. Bazelak owns offers from Kentucky, Western Michigan and Toledo.
Since losing 13-12 to Fairmont in the opener, Alter is riding a seven-game win streak. The Knights have allowed 60 points in eight games and have four shutouts.
• Undefeated Trotwood-Madison (8-0) is averaging 54.8 points per game. If the Rams keep that up over the course of 15 games, they will become the third school in state history to score more than 800 points in a season. Currently, Athens (861 points in 2014) and Clinton-Massie (822 in 2012) are the only teams to do that.
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