D-III state semifinals
Who: Shawnee (13-0) vs. Elida (10-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Piqua Alexander Stadium
Radio: WIZE 1340 AM
SPRINGFIELD — Alex McCrory couldn’t wait to get his lips on Shawnee’s regional championship trophy.
“Let me taste it,” said the junior running back as quarterback Brad Jarzab hoisted the hardware.
McCrory planted a kiss on the trophy and raised one arm in the air Friday night in Hillard.
“Wooooo!” he shouted. “It’s so great.”
After that 21-10 victory over Jonathan Alder, McCrory can almost taste an even bigger prize. The Braves are two victories from becoming the first Clark County team to win a state tournament championship. Shawnee (13-0) plays Elida (10-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Division III state semifinals in Piqua.
As always, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound McCrory will play a large role in Shawnee’s game plan. He rushed for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season and has gained 328 yards and scored three touchdowns in three playoff games. He scored the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter of the Alder game, running between the blocks of tight end Ryan Mayfield and offensive linemen Jeff Van Zant and Zack Ruf.
“He’s our bruiser,” Shawnee coach Rick Meeks said. “We don’t have a whole lot of lead blockers for him. We run a lot of zone plays and traps. He opens everything else up. All the runs Brad gets, it’s because of teams biting on him, and obviously Brad is good enough that he can take advantage when teams want to take Alex away.”
McCrory, who rushed for 704 yards and 11 TDs in the regular season as a sophomore, has football in his genes. His dad Tony played fullback for Southwest Minnesota State, an NAIA program in Marshall, Minn.
“My dad has been the best motivator for me through my whole life,” McCrory said. “He’s a big dude, and he loves football.”
McCrory started playing football with the pee wee Rams in fourth grade in 2004. He got his picture in the News-Sun that year for winning a punt, pass and kick competition.
“I played offensive line in fourth grade and made it to running back in fifth and sixth grade,” McCrory said. “I started lifting weights in the spring of my seventh grade year. I was the only seventh-grader, and I was working out with the incoming freshmen because my dad was the freshmen coach at the time. I think that’s really helped me be where I am today.”
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