“I got a coin in my pocket that I was rubbing the mess out of it. I think I rubbed all the insignias off of it. That’s what kind of game that is. It could come down on either side and fortunately for us, it came down on our side.”
Good fortune continues to shine on the Warriors. Wayne (9-3) will play Cincinnati St. Xavier (7-4) in a Division I, Region 4 high school football playoff regional final at 7 p.m. this Saturday also at Welcome Stadium. That’s not exactly a home game for the Warriors, but it’s the next best thing.
This is only the fourth time since 1999 that an area D-I team has advanced to a regional final. Wayne fell 42-7 to St. X in the 2005 regional final. However, in 1999, Wayne beat Elder 24-14 enroute to placing second in the state.
Springfield South dropped a 2002 regional final to Findlay, 31-28.
“We just don’t want the season to be over with,” said Wayne senior running back Anthone Taylor.
“It’s not about the game coming up. It’s day by day now, second by second. ... We want to go all the way.”
Alter (10-2) will go all the way to Wapakoneta’s Harmon Field for a highly anticipated matchup with Kenton (11-1) in a D-IV, Region 16 final on Friday. Kenton won D-IV state titles in 2001-02 and was the D-III state runner-up in 2003.
Like Wayne, Trotwood-Madison (10-2) will return to the site of its D-II, Region 8 semifinal win by playing Kings (11-1) at Princeton’s Mancuso Field also on Friday.
Unbeaten Eaton (12-0) is paired with Cincinnati McNicholas (10-2) in the D-III, Region 12 final at Mason’s Atrium Stadium on Saturday.
Coldwater (9-3) will meet unbeaten West Jefferson (12-0) in a D-V, Region 20 final at Northmont’s Good Samaritan Stadium on Saturday.
And finally, surprising Minster (7-5) will play Lehman Catholic (11-1) in a D-VI, Region 24 final at Piqua’s Alexander Stadium on Friday.
All of this weekend’s regional final winners advance to the following week’s state semifinals.
Tickets for all the games will be available at participating schools starting Tuesday.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2381 or mpendleton@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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