Crusaders look to keep rolling, pull big upset
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WILLOW WOOD -- The Catholic Central football team has been doing exactly what coaches want -- playing its best football at the most important time of the year.
The Crusaders ended the regular season with six-straight wins and wins in seven of their last eight games, then carried that momentum into the playoffs and toppled No. 8 seed Fisher Catholic in dominant fashion in the opening round.
This week, the Crusaders will need their absolute best as they head to No. 1 seed Symmes Valley in the second round of the Divison VII, Region 27 playoffs.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and every coach says the goal is to peak at the right time and play your best football in late October and November,” Central head coach Greg Bahen said. “We definitely feel like we’ve trended in that direction, and the nice thing is, for as much good stuff as we’ve done, there is still plenty to correct and we’ve still got room to grow and keep going. I’ve said it multiple times, our best football is in front of us. We’re just going to keep getting better and better. We’re very excited to have another week of practice.”
Symmes Valley is 10-0, has scored 35 or more points in every game, 55-plus in five games and have won their games by an average of 44.6 points. Their defense has pitched three-straight shutouts.
The Vikings finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final Ohio AP Division VII poll, No. 5 in Division VII by MaxPreps, No. 5 by Martin RPI and No. 3 by Joe Eitel.
“Symmes Valley is a darn good football team,” Bahen said. “They are kind of different than other team’s we’ve faced, we have faced a lot of different styles all year. They’re very much more similar to a Conotton Valley-type team with how they spread the ball out and really look to throw the ball. Their quarterback is top ten in the state in passing yards. He’s thrown 49 touchdowns. They have a couple explosive receivers and their running back, they don’t run the ball a ton, but he’s tough. He’s their middle linebacker on defense, too, and he’s what makes them go on defense.
“It’ll be a great challenge, but we’re excited for it.”
The quarterback he referenced that leads the Vikings is junior Bronx Carpenter, who has an eye-popping 3,052 yards and 49 passing touchdowns on the season, a rushing TD giving him 50 total TDs on the season.
Fellow junior Jackson Fields is his top target, hauling in 59 passes for 1,229 yards and 21 touchdowns. Junior Andrew Isaacs has hauled in 34 passes for 833 yards and 12 scores. Junior Asher Maynard has rushed for 12 touchdowns and averages nine yards per carry when the Vikings run the ball. On defense, he has five TFLs and two fumble recoveries.
Despite the eye-popping numbers and being the underdog, Bahen says his team believes it can go to Lawrence County and win.
“I think we have a good plan on both sides of the ball,” Bahen said. “I think a lot of people are really not giving us much of a chance. We’re kind of putting that chip on our shoulder, the underdog mentality, and we’re going in to not just to keep it close, we’re going in to win. That’s our mindset.
“I think anything can happen. Seeds are kind of out the window at this point. I coached at DeSales, and I wasn’t on staff at the time, but I remember DeSales was an eight seed, and they came to Big Red way back in the day, and they upset Big Red. So, stuff happens and at this point, you’re in the second round of the playoffs, everybody’s a good team, and we believe we’re a good team, and we’ve played some good competition this year that has prepared us for this moment.
“We’ve taken some lumps along the way, but we’ve learned from them and we’re excited to go compete.”
If Central is going to pull the upset, Rahim Mitchell is sure to be a big part of why. The junior has rushed for 1,219 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, hauling in three more scores in the passing game while returning a kick for a score and having four interceptions on defense.
Matty Jones, Central’s junior QB, has thrown for 1,488 yards and 20 scores, senior wideout Michael Fabbro hauling in 10 of them.
“They’re obviously the best team we’ve faced at this point, but I’d like to think we’re probably one of the better teams they’ve seen all year as well,” Bahen said. “I think we can present some issues and challenges for them.”
The opening kick at Viking Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday night.