Badin-Fenwick set for playoff opener


Playoff schedule

Here’s the first-round football playoff schedule for the three divisions that include local teams (seeds in parentheses, locals in bold):

Division I, Region 2 (all games Saturday at 7 p.m.) — Dublin Coffman (16) at Colerain (1), Grove City Central Crossing (15) at Hilliard Davidson (2), Reynoldsburg (14) at Wayne (3), Hilliard Darby (13) at Lancaster (4), Fairfield (12) at Elder (5), Springboro (11) at Mason (6), Upper Arlington (10) at Pickerington Central (7), St. Xavier (9) at Gahanna Lincoln (8)

Division IV, Region 14 (all games Saturday at 7 p.m.)Badin (8) at Fenwick (1), Wyoming (7) at Indian Hill (2), Taft (6) at Clinton-Massie (3), Reading (5) at Alter (4)

Division V, Region 18 (all games Friday at 7:30 p.m.)Carlisle (8) at Brookville (1), Richwood North Union (7) at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (2), Bethel-Tate (6) at Coldwater (3), Jamestown Greeneview (5) at Milton-Union (4)

The local football playoff scene will include a Greater Catholic League Coed Division rematch right out of the gate.

Fenwick High School has earned the No. 1 seed in Division IV, Region 14, after the first 10-0 regular season in school history, and the Falcons will host eighth-seeded Badin (7-3) on Saturday night at Krusling Field.

“It’s good for the GCL with Badin, Alter and us basically in the same bracket,” Fenwick coach Joe Snively said. “Everybody wants to beat the No. 1 seed. I’m sure we’re the target, but we’d be the target for Badin whether we were No. 1 or No. 8.

“I keep hearing a lot of talk about Badin looking forward to playing Fenwick. Well, Fenwick’s looking forward to playing Badin too. We’re back to the grind. We’re going to do what got us here.”

Three other local teams were included in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s official pairings that were released Sunday:

• In Division I, Region 2, No. 12 Fairfield (8-2) will visit No. 5 Elder (7-3) and No. 11 Springboro (8-2) will travel to No. 6 Mason (8-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

• In Division V, Region 18, No. 8 Carlisle (6-4) is headed to No. 1 Brookville (10-0) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Fenwick-Badin is the marquee matchup, with the Falcons beating the Rams 38-31 on Sept. 25 at Virgil Schwarm Stadium.

This will be the 16th playoff appearance for Fenwick, but its first since 2012. And the Falcons haven’t won a postseason game since knocking off Marion Pleasant 21-13 in 1991.

Snively isn’t worried about the history. Fenwick is a senior-dominated squad that’s been a force all season.

“I hear all these armchair quarterbacks talking about playoff experience,” Snively said. “I can honestly say in the GCL, you’re playing playoff-type games all the time. Our kids have got a lot of big-game experience, and I know our coaching staff does. It’s going to be a gauntlet for whoever gets out of this region. I like to think we’re part of that gauntlet.”

Snively said there is no change in the status of senior quarterback Jimmy Gephart for now.

Gephart suffered a broken collarbone in the first Badin game and hasn’t received medical clearance for contact, though he did enter Friday’s Senior Night win over Carroll to take a snap and kneel down in the victory formation.

Badin is making its 22nd trip to the playoffs, but the Rams are coming off a poor performance in a 29-7 loss at McNicholas on Saturday.

BHS coach Bill Tenore conceded that his team has lost some of its swagger since squandering a 19-0 lead and losing 27-22 to Alter in Week 7.

“It can affect the team’s mentality,” Tenore said. “We’ve just got to find a way to overcome that mentality and get ready for Fenwick. I think we have some resilient kids, and we’re not going to dwell on the past. I don’t know how our juices couldn’t be flowing for a playoff game against Fenwick.”

In D-I, Fairfield is a playoff qualifier for the seventh time and will meet an Elder squad that shared the Greater Catholic League South Division title with St. Xavier.

“We’re excited to work another week,” Indians coach Jason Krause said. “We didn’t have to turn our stuff in on Friday night or Saturday morning, and there’s a lot of schools in Ohio that had to do that.

“I’m excited to play in ‘The Pit.’ I’ve coached scrimmages there, but never a game. From all the things you hear, it’s the kind of atmosphere you want to play a playoff game in.”

The Panthers are averaging 32.3 points per game behind senior quarterback Peyton Ramsey, who’s thrown for 2,139 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Fairfield senior quarterback Hunter Krause was back in action for the first time since Week 5 in Friday’s 20-14 victory over Hamilton. Wearing a bulky knee brace in his return from a torn MCL, Krause was 6 of 16 for 80 yards.

“It was good to get Hunter some live game reps and knock some of the rust off of him,” Jason Krause said. “I worry about his mobility a little bit. I don’t think he’s 100 percent at all, but I think the brace is more of a restriction than the injury.”

In D-V, Carlisle is eager to make its seventh playoff appearance.

The postseason is not a new realm for first-year Indians coach Mike Brown, who took Summit Country Day to the playoffs the last four seasons.

“It’s a heck of a thing to get into the playoffs, and to be able to do it with this 2015 team is really special,” Brown said. “I just want our kids to play football like we’ve been playing and not feel like we have to do anything different. We need to tackle and block and execute. That’s what got us here.”

Junior fullback Ridge Reed returned from an ankle injury and churned his way to 223 yards and two touchdowns in the Indians’ 34-7 win over Dixie on Friday.

Asked if Reed is 100 percent or simply gutting it out at this point, Brown replied, “There’s a lot of guts involved.”

Carlisle and Brookville are ground-oriented teams that like to play old-school, power football. The Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 334-87.

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