Shawnee senior quarterback Robie Glass ran for three touchdowns and threw for another as the Braves beat rival Kenton Ridge 35-20 in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division game on Friday night in Springfield.
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Glass rushed for 180 yards on 20 carries and threw a 51-yard TD pass to senior Jaden Hall as the Braves improved to 8-2 and 4-1 in the division. Senior Matt Guyer also scored a rushing touchdown.
The playoff scheduled will be announced Sunday, but according to joeeitel.com, Shawnee will host Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in a Division V, Region 20 quarterfinal game next Saturday. It will be the program’s first home playoff game since 2011.
“I thought they came ready to play,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks said. “It’s a rivalry game. I think we probably could’ve played better, but I don’t want to take anything away from (KR). Defensively, it was bend, don’t break. We didn’t want to give up a big play.”
Cougars senior quarterback Dylan Lemen threw an 18-yard TD pass to Calvin Dibert with three minutes remaining to make it 35-20. KR recovered a fumble in Shawnee territory, but weren’t able to get any closer. Kaelen Lemen and Matt Wichael each ran for touchdowns for the Cougars (5-5, 1-4 CBC Kenton Trail). A week ago, the Cougars overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Tecumseh 35-29 in triple overtime.
“We had some heroics last week and came back with two minutes left,” Marratta said. “Now our kids believe anything can happen. I’m most proud of them for that. They didn’t fold the tents tonight. We played a great football team and got a great effort out of our kids. It’s always fun coming over here and playing. It’s such a huge rivalry.”
Shawnee rushed for 273 yards in the victory. The Braves read option game worked to perfection with running backs Guyer and Hall carrying the ball up the middle and Glass keeping it to the outside.
“We were just pounding it up inside, pounding it up inside and lulling those edges to sleep,” Meeks said. “That’s when Robie gets a pull and makes a big play. He keeps those guys honest.”
The Braves led 14-6 at the half, but scored 21 straight points to take a 28-6 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“We came out a little slow, but after halftime we came in (the locker room), regrouped and came out fired up and ready to go,” Glass said.
The Cougars will graduate 13 seniors, including Dylan Lemen and Dibert, who rewrote the record book at Kenton Ridge. Lemen finished his career as the school’s all-time leading passer with 5,287 yards and 52 TD passes. Dibert finished his career as the school’s all-time leading receiver with 2,277 receiving yards.
“The whole group has been a great group to work with all the way since junior high,” Marratta said. “We hate to see them leave, but we’ve got to regroup and get ready for next year.”
The Braves nearly earned a share of the CBC Kenton Trail title. Shawnee needed London to beat Jonathan Alder to force a three-way tie for the division. The Pioneers beat the Red Raiders 24-23 on a last-second field goal to complete a 10-0 regular season and clinch the outright division title.
Now, Shawnee will focus on the postseason. Last year, the Braves lost 40-0 at Clinton-Massie in a D-IV, Region 16 quarterfinal. The Braves last playoff victory came in 2012.
“We’re happy to have a home playoff game,” Meeks said. “It’s going to be fun to have another game here next week.”
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