Article published November 12, 2009
Sidelines: Genoa, Eastwood carry SLL banner forward
Eastwood junior Pernell Conner looks for running room against Patrick Henry. Conner has rushed for 1,100 yards this season to lead the 9-2 Eagles.
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THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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By MARK MONROE
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Although reluctant to look ahead to a potential all-Suburban Lakes League regional playoff final, the coaches at Eastwood and Genoa are hoping the league fares well on Saturday.
The unbeaten Comets (11-0) take on third-seeded Orrville (8-3) at Ashland Community Stadium in a Division IV Region 14 semifinal. Eastwood (9-2), the eighth seed, squares off against fifth-seeded Ottawa-Glandorf (9-2) at Findlay's Donnell Stadium in another semifinal. Both kickoffs are at 7 p.m.
“A lot of people say we come from a weak conference,” Eastwood coach Jerry Rutherford said. “But there are only 16 teams left in Division IV out of [119] and two are from the SLL. Our league gets no credit at all. We always want to see our teams do well. So we're definitely rooting for Genoa. But we have to take care of this week first.”
Last Saturday, Genoa trailed for the first time all season when Edison took a 7-0 lead early in a regional quarterfinal. But the Comets reeled off 42 points unanswered points before the end of the first half to cruise to a 62-7 rout.
Genoa coach Mike Vicars said he hopes Eastwood also wins.
“That would be really cool because it would be really good for our league,” Vicars said. “It would be neat to see both teams get a win. Our coaching staffs are good friends. We'll be rooting hard for each other.”
In 2007, the Eagles beat the Comets 14-7 in a regional semifinal. But Genoa is 3-1 against Eastwood in the last four matchups.
Despite yielding just 24 points and scoring 537 in the regular season, the Comets were the second seed in Region 14.
Genoa senior Greg Hillabrand has rushed for a team-leading 1,354 yards and is tied with Connor Wendt for touchdowns (25). The Comets have outscored opponents 599-31.
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THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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“The first tournament game is always the most nerve-wracking,” Vicars said. “Getting passed that initial surge is important. Now we can focus on the task at hand.”
Vicars said his team responded very well to the early adversity.
“We had only four turnovers all year. Then we had two early in the game and then blew a coverage which we had not done in a while,” Vicars said. “We did an excellent job handling it. We got the emotions back on track. We played hard and got physical.”
Senior Connor Wendt has scored 25 touchdowns and amassed 1,340 yards of total offense, including a team-high 677 receiving yards.
Senior quarterback Matt Bassitt has completed 84 of 127 attempts (66 percent) for 1,404 yards and 24 TDs. Senior Greg Hillabrand leads the Comets with 1,354 rushing yards and has 25 touchdowns.
Junior linebacker Seth Dufendock leads the defense with 40 tackles and sophomore Brandon Roberts has a team-high six interceptions.
“We feel we have some kids that can make some plays and we hope we can keep doing it,” Vicars said.
Genoa has reached the playoffs three straight years, the only appearances in school history.
Orrville is a playoff veteran having made 20 appearances with a 24-18 all-time record. The Red Riders won the state title in 1998 and finished runner-up three times (1994, 1985, 1983). Orrville last qualified for the postseason in 2006 when it reached the regional final.
The Red Riders knocked off Clear Fork last week for the second time in three weeks with a 28-7. Quarterback Joe Besancon rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He also threw for 124 yards. Besancon threw for 1,271 yards and 10 TDs in the regular season.
“They've got a balanced offense. They run a bit of everything,” Vicars said. “They throw a lot of things at you. They have a great tailback, but he's been hurt. I like their quarterback a lot. He is not big but quick and throws a good ball.”
Tre Simpson leads Orville in scoring (19 TDs) and rushing (956) for an average of 9.0 yards per carry. But Simpson injured his ankle last week. The Red Riders top receivers are seniors Sam Miller, Chase Hoobler and Jordan Thomas
On defense, Hoobler led Orville with 112 tackles and five sacks, and has committed to play at the University of Akron.
“They also have some defensive backs that can run,” he said. “I think it will be a huge test for us as well as our offensive line.”
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Eastwood qualified for the eighth and final spot in Region 14. But the Eagles drilled top-seeded Galion 35-6.
“We finished eighth in the region and we just got in at the end. To play like we did against the No. 1 seed showed the guys what we are capable of,” Rutherford said.
In the convincing win over previously unbeaten Galion, two Eastwood running backs surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. Pernell Conner ran for 158 yards to increase his total to 1,100 yards. Cody Seifert boosted his yardage to 1,045 yards after rushing for 104 yards. Conner also scored a touchdown and Seifert, who leads the team with 19 TDs, had two more last week.
Tony Tijerina nearly made it three Eagles who rushed for more than 100 yards. He had 94 yards to increase his season total to 405.
QB Clayton Ruch keeps defenses honest and threw for 424 yards and four scores during the regular season. Seifert (240 yards) and big tight end Clay Rolf (211, three TDs) are the top receivers.
“The guys are playing well. We're blocking and everyone is working together,” Rutherford said.
Seth Hoffmann had a team-high 93 tackles and had 7.5 sacks. Bob Hardison and Jeff Rutherford lead the team with seven tackles for losses. Rolf had the most sacks (8.5).
Ottawa-Glandorf averaged 206 yards on the ground and 107 through the air for a regular season average of 313.2 per game. The Titans scored 27.9 points and gave up just 12.5 per contest. They yielded 244 yards per game.
O-G features a balanced attack led by QB Nathan Kahle, who threw for 1,068 yards and rushed for 709 during the regular season. Kahle tossed nine touchdowns passes and rushed for five TDs but also threw 10 interceptions.
Ryan Kuhlman caught 27 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Titans receiving corps. Brandon Kuhlman led theteam in rushing with 775 yards and six scores during the regular season.
Eastwood has a 5-5 record in sixth playoff appearances. O-G qualified for the postseason for the eighth time and is 7-7 all-time. The Titans lost to Genoa 40-21 last season in the regional final.
Contact Mark Monroe at:mmonroe@theblade.comor 419-724-6354.
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