Alter (12-0) was at its serious best in last week’s 28-0 shutout of playoff rival Clinton-Massie. That sends Alter into a Division IV, Region 16 final against Cincinnati Wyoming (12-0) at Monroe. The showdown is one of two Week 13 matchups that feature unbeaten teams throughout the state.
Joining Alter in regional finals are Wayne (D-I), Miamisburg (D-II) and Trotwood-Madison (D-III) of the Greater Western Ohio Conference, Coldwater (D-V), Marion Local (D-VI) and Fort Recovery and Minster (D-VII) of the Midwest Athletic Conference, St. Marys Memorial (D-III) and Mechanicsburg (D-VI).
All the winners advance to next week’s state semifinals. The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce some state semi bracket pairings and neutral sites this week, and the others on Sunday.
This is an unprecedented haul of athletic success at Alter. Its boys and girls won D-II state soccer championships this past weekend at Columbus and the football program is hoping to do the same.
There are two common opponents Alter and Wyoming have beat, McNicholas and Indian Hill. Alter blew out Indian Hill 54-28 in its playoff opener and Wyoming needed two overtimes for a Week 4 win. Wyoming advanced by eliminating Valley View 29-12 last week.
Domsitz may have reservations about the Knights’ easy-going persona, “but they come out and they play ball,” he said.
The Knights have almost exclusively leaned on the run with senior Holden Rushing (1,018 yards, 16 touchdowns), senior quarterback Ryan Markoff (895 and 13) and emerging sophomore John Bivens (800 and 11). The defense, anchored by senior linebacker David Rueth, was at its best in blanking Massie and allowing less than 100 yards offense. Rueth was the starting goaltender in Sunday’s state soccer championship.
“I was so proud of our defense, our offense, our kicking game,” Domsitz said. “It was one of those games where everything came together.”
• Fort Recovery put the D-VII field on notice that it isn’t ready to relinquish its defending state title after a 42-14 blowout of top-ranked Covington last week. That puts the Indians (8-4) into a Region 28 final rematch against Minster (8-4), the D-VI state champ in 2014, on Saturday at Wapakoneta.
Will Homan and Jason Roessner each tallied three touchdowns apiece for Recovery against the Buccaneers. Roessner also had an interception. Nothing unusual about Roessner’s production. He’s played quarterback, running back, receiver, linebacker, safety and most recently corner for Fort Recovery.
“He’s willing to do anything to help us win and shows a lot of leadership that way,” Indians coach Brent Niekamp said of Roessner. “Everything is starting to come together and it’s the right time.”
Minster lost 33-21 to Fort Recovery in Week 5 and has since mounted a six-game win streak.
A Week 10 loss to St. Henry cost Fort Recovery home-field advantage in its playoff opener. Niekamp credited that rugged MAC schedule for preparing the Redskins for a playoff run.
“We didn’t (beat St. Henry), but we showed some signs that we were becoming the team we want to be,” Neikamp said. “We’ve been able to build on that the last two weeks. I feel like we’ve turned the corner and we’re competing pretty well right now.”
• Among the games that Time Warner Cable will televise this weekend are Wayne vs. Pickerington Central at London at 11:30 p.m. Friday (delay) and Trotwood-Madison vs. St. Mary’s Memorial at 7 p.m. Saturday (live). Both games can be seen on channels 1311 (HD), 311 and 99.
• What is the advantage to being a No. 1 regional seed? Everything. There were 28 top seeds spread over the seven divisions entering the playoffs and 15 will play in regional finals. Also, 31 teams entered the postseason unbeaten and 15 remain.
• What do Upper Arlington, Akron Ellet, Wooster, Toledo Woodward, Norwood and Mariemont have in common? All were 8-2 and didn’t qualify for the playoffs. Dresden Tri-Valley (9-1) was the most successful regular-season team that didn’t advance.
• Tickets are available at all participating schools. A percentage of the presale proceeds are returned to each school.
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