Trotwood appears playoff strong after impressive win


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All it took for Trotwood-Madison to hike up its game was the Division III, Region 12 spotlight.

That came this past Saturday night when Time Warner Cable thought it fitting to showcase a rematch between Trotwood and perennial Western Buckeye League power and host Wapakoneta in a first-round game. What the viewing state saw were all the reasons the Rams have been a mid-sized state power the last decade, wrapped in a 41-7 running-clock blowout.

• Raveion Hargrove pin-balled 67 yards for a touchdown on the Rams’ first play from scrimmage. He rumbled for 212 yards rushing and also scored on runs of 12 and 4 yards. Those were big reasons why Trotwood put 452 yards on the WBL’s No. 1 defense.

• Rams quarterback Markell Stephens-Peppers was at his best, completing 11 of 15 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns to Caleb Johnson.

• Led by linebackers Kobe Vinegar and freshman Taron Britt, who each had 11 tackles, Trotwood’s defense unplugged Wapak’s offense and forced five turnovers, a total Wapak had in the entire 10-game regular season.

It was an awesome display of brute force by the Rams (9-2) that was reminiscent of other great Trotwood teams, despite a low regional seed (seventh).

“It was a great effort for our defense to come up with those big plays and turnovers,” Trotwood coach Jeff Graham said afterward. “We talk about it all the time: Wrap and make initial contact, and go for the ball. Our guys played physical ball and that’s what we expect from our defense.”

Trotwood advances to play New Richmond (10-1) in the Region 12 semifinals at Mason on Saturday. New Richmond edged Mount Healthy 35-33 in its playoff opener. Top-seeded Franklin (11-0) will play St. Marys Memorial (10-1) in the other Region 12 semi at Wayne on Saturday. Franklin dodged Tippecanoe 41-40 in the first round, and St. Marys crushed Belmont, 42-8.

Neutral-site locations were announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Sunday. Trotwood is one of four Greater Western Ohio Conference teams that passed first-round tests, joining Wayne (D-I), Troy (D-II) and Miamisburg (D-II).

• Top-seeded Troy (10-1) and Miamisburg (9-2) will have a D-II, Region 8 rematch at Northmont on Friday. Miamisburg defeated Troy 21-17 in the closing seconds of their Week 5 regular-season game.

Troy and Anderson combined for more than 1,000 yards of offense, but it was the Trojans’ goal-line stand in the final minute that preserved a 41-35 win.

“It certainly wasn’t our best game but we’ll take it,” Troy coach Matt Burgbacher said. “We’re playing Week 12. I’m proud of the guys. We bent a lot, but we didn’t break.”

• Alter (11-0) was christened the Associated Press D-IV state poll title last week, but could do no better than a No. 3 seed in Region 16. Alter bounced Indian Hill 54-28 and will renew a great postseason series against Clinton-Massie (10-1) in a regional semi at Centerville on Friday.

Alter and Massie last played in 2014, with Alter winning 35-7 in a D-IV regional semi at Monroe. Massie beat Alter 21-14 in a 2013 D-IV regional final at Welcome Stadium. Massie also defeated Kenton 21-20 that season in a regional final and beat Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 27-21 to win its second straight D-IV state title.

Massie’s only loss this season was 28-21 to unbeaten Turpin in Week 2.

• Top-seeded Wayne (10-0-1) will hike to London to play Dublin Coffman (9-2) in a D-I, Region 3 semi on Friday. Wayne crushed Lancaster 52-7 in its playoff opener while Coffman earned a season split with Hilliard Davidson when it mattered most, 24-3.

The teams have one common opponent. Springfield beat Coffman 22-20 in the season opener and Wayne defeated Springfield 38-14 in Week 9.

• Greeneview stunned No. 3 seed Carlisle 21-20 when Indians running back Ridge Reed slipped on an extra-point run in the final minute of their D-V, Region 20 game Saturday night. Reed had 19 carries for 83 yards and two TDs for the Indians (8-3), who saw their eight-game winning streak end.

Griffin Mangan gained 123 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns for Greeneview (9-2). Quarterback Collin Matt scored what stood as the winning touchdown with 2:12 left. Matt converted 8 of 13 passes for 82 yards.

Greeneview, out of the Ohio Heritage Conference, lost only in the regular season to Region 20 No. 1 seed Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and rival Mechanicsburg, both of which are unbeaten. Greeneview (9-2) will play four-time D-V defending state champion Coldwater (10-1) in a regional semifinal at Sidney on Saturday. Coldwater advanced by beating Brookville 47-13.

• All of Friday’s games start at 7:30 p.m., and all Saturday games begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at all participating schools. A portion of the presale proceeds are returned to the schools.

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