That’s when the Falcons seized control of the game, going on a massive 40-14 run to earn a trip to the state final four — ending Trotwood’s season.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“That was a great heartbreak for us last season,” said Rams coach Carl Blanton, Sr. “We definitely took that hard.”
The feeling of that loss never quite went away, motivating them to work hard in the offseason so that they couldn’t be denied this winter.
“That was our fuel to motivate us to get back there,” Blanton said. “We wanted to really try to bring back the winning culture and tradition that we’ve always had at Trotwood. So to come up that short, one game short; We say 11 minutes. We lost (the) lead 11 minutes towards the final of that game.”
That goal became a reality on Saturday as Trotwood beat Hamilton Badin 54-48 at the Cintas Center to earn the program’s first berth to the state tournament since 2019 — the same year the Rams won a state championship season.
They’ll play Toledo Central Catholic at 6 p.m. Thursday at UD Arena.
The 21-4 Rams enter the state semifinal on a six-game winning streak that includes nail-biting victories over Goshen and Tippecanoe. Their last loss came against Reynoldsburg on Feb. 16.
“I think this year we were learning to bond,” Blanton said. “My goal for this year was for us to play above the rim, and what that means is that we have the discipline and the structure to do the right things, work hard and be challenged. And so we thrived on improving, of course, from last season to get to this point, but our goal has always been to get to the state championship and win a state championship for Trotwood.”
In order to achieve that goal, the Rams — without a conference affiliation — put together one of the toughest schedules in the state. Two of Trotwood’s four losses came against D-I state qualifier Cin. Princeton and D-II state qualifier Lima Senior. They beat two other state qualifiers in Akron Hoban (D-II) and Cincinnati Summit Country Day (D-V).
“We had to put ourselves in difficult situations to see how we would face up against different teams, different styles, tougher teams, to help us to be ready for this type of challenge,” Blanton said. “When it comes to the state tournament, we know that either you survive or advance or you go home. So we wanted to make sure that we were in the best position that we could set ourselves up for to be able to be playing at this point in time.”
Blanton, Sr. knows a thing or two about playing this deep into the season. The 1993 Trotwood alum was a coach on Rocky Rockhold’s staff when the Rams won their lone state title in 2019. He was able to share that experience with his sons, Carl Blanton, Jr. and Tymier Blanton, who were both members of the Rams title-winning squad.
This year, the Rams will play at UD Arena, an easy 20-minute drive from their high school.
“I think it definitely helps us to be able to play closer to home, having our family, our friends and community coming out to support that helps us to, kind of get a better feel and play at a higher level when you have that much support in your in your backyard, with the game being at the University of Dayton,” Blanton said. “So we’re excited about that. We don’t have to do a major bus trip to travel to Columbus so that helps us out.”
Toledo Central Catholic (23-3) is led by senior guard Manny Johnson (13.9 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game) and junior guard Caden Kynard (16.3 ppg). They also have a strong inside presence with 6-8 senior Kaedan Carruthers (9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg). They advanced to the state tournament for the sixth time in program history and for the first time since 2011.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“They have a lot of pieces that we have to try to piece together with our group to make sure that we play good defense and get stops and try to go down and put the ball in the basket as quick as possible as we can,” Blanton said.
The Rams don’t want to feel the same heartbreak they did this time last year.
“That’s just been the fuel to help them to persevere and push right now, even through the close games that we’ve had and that feel of tournament time,” Blanton said. “We want these guys to experience what it feels like to cut down nets , win trophies and move on to the next phase and the next level. They are taking it all in. And what I tell them, ‘Hey, we celebrate after the victories, and then we put it behind us because the job is not finished’.”
BOYS DIVISION III STATE SEMIFINALS
Who: Trotwood-Madison (21-4) vs. Toledo Central Catholic (23-3)
When: 6 p.m., Thursday
Where: UD Arena
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
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