Stephens said they all grew up watching the likes of Jeff Wellington, George Walker and Trey DePriest and were freshmen in the fall of 2016 when one of the great recent Springfield graduates, Danny Davis, now a junior at Wisconsin, was a senior. This fall, the 2019 Springfield senior class has the chance to build on what those players accomplished and help lead the program to a higher level.
“We should go to state and win state,” Stephens said after practice Wednesday. “That’s the goal.”
If Springfield does what no Clark County team has ever done and win a state championship, Stephens will be a big reason why. He leads the Greater Western Ohio Conference with 825 receiving yards, ranks fifth with 38 catches and is tied for second with nine touchdown receptions. He caught a season-high nine passes for 207 yards and scored twice in a 41-28 victory in Week 8 against Centerville.
“He’s been huge,” Springfield coach Maurice Douglass said. “He’s done a tremendous job of preparing his body physically in the weight room in the offseason, and he’s always worked on his craft, and it’s showing for him this year. This is best year by far. He’s put all the things he’s learned the last three years out there on the field to be seen every Friday night.”
Stephens, who committed to the Toledo Rockets in April, also uses everything he has learned in life on the football team. He was born with a hearing disability and lost his hearing when he was 3. Cochlear implants have helped him hear ever since. He lost one after his first touchdown catch against Beavercreek when he was a sophomore in 2017 and found it days later in his shoulder pads.
» TOUCHDOWN 7: Week 9 weather forecast
For the most part, though, the implants are part of who he is. They feel natural to him because they are all he’s ever known. He takes them out when he sleeps and doesn’t hear a thing. He believes losing his hearing improved his other senses. When someone enters a room, he feels their presence before he sees them.
“I always tell him, when God takes something from you in one area, he gives you something else in another area,” Douglass said, “and Larry, his hands are special. He hasn’t dropped many passes the last four years. I think it’s because of that extra sense he’s got. You see it out there on Friday night.”
Stephens uses his memories of what he has overcome as motivation every time he steps on the football field.
“I never used that as an excuse to stop me from doing what I want to do,” he said, “and I use that to push me harder and harder.”
Top Week 9 games
Springfield (7-1, 3-0) at Wayne (3-5, 2-1): Springfield has won six straight games and can clinch the Greater Western Ohio Conference American Division championship outright with a victory against the Warriors. The teams tied for the East Division title last year. Springfield also tied for first with Wayne in the GWOC Central in 2010. The Wildcats have not won a division title outright since the new high school opened in 2008.
» PHOTOS: Springfield Wildcats through the years
Springfield has already clinched a playoff spot in Division I, Region II, according to JoeEitel.com . It ranks third in the region behind Toledo Whitmer and Dublin Coffman.
Shawnee (7-1, 3-0) at Jonathan Alder (8-0, 3-0): The winner clinches a share of the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division title. This is Shawnee's second straight game against an undefeated team. It handed London (7-1, 2-1) its first loss last week, 30-22 in Springfield.
Greenon (6-2, 3-0) at Southeastern (2-6, 2-1): The Knights can clinch a share of the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division championship with a victory. Greenon will need some help from other teams to make the playoffs for the first time. It ranks eighth in D-V, Region 20 but could fall out of the top eight even if it beats Southeastern and Greeneview in its last two games.
» FEATURE: Springfield’s Stinnett packs plenty of punch
Tecumseh (1-7, 0-3) at Kenton Ridge (4-4, 0-3): Each team has lost three games in a row. In the last eight meetings, the series is tied 4-4.
Benjamin Logan (2-6, 1-2) at Northwestern (4-4, 2-1): The Warriors have been eliminated from playoff contention in D-IV, Region 16, according to JoeEitel.com. If they win their last two games, they can post winning records in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the last two decades. They finish the season at Graham on Nov. 1.
West Liberty-Salem (7-1, 2-1) at Northeastern (2-6, 0-3): The Tigers have won 15 straight games in the series since a 19-0 loss at Northeastern in 2003.
Mechanicsburg (7-1, 2-1) at Fairbanks (6-2, 3-0): A Mechanicsburg victory could lead to a four-way tie atop the OHC North Division with one game to play. Mechanicsburg, West Liberty-Salem and West Jefferson all enter Week 9 one game behind Fairbanks.
About the Author
