St. Bernard QB Lucas Cannady was anything but lonely with Coldwater’s defense swarming him all night. (PressProsMagazine.com photos by Lee Woolery).
It was a rout from the start, one not even the OHSAA running clock could spin fast enough to forestall, as Coldwater rolled to its third straight Playoff blowout.
Trotwood, OH – Senior Cody Depweg will watch the game film of Coldwater’s 56-0 annihilation of Cincinnati St. Bernard in the region 24, Division VI semifinals with the exacting eye of a film critic.
That figures, since the Cavaliers’ dominance defensively – and offensively, for that matter – was something straight from, Remember the Titans.
The Titans of St. Bernard won’t want to remember much from this beatdown, most notably their collective zero yards offensively from the 40 plays Coldwater repelled.
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“I’ll look closely at the film to see what we did well and what we can improve on,” said Depweg, who plays both ways at linebacker and running back. “You have to be really picky if you want to get better, but there’s always something. Evading blocks quicker, things like that.”
While it’s doubtful head coach Chip Otten admonished his charges like the movie’s defensive coordinator, warning not to allow “another yard,” Otten also wasn’t locked in the kind of struggle that required such urgency.
Truth be told, St. Bernard’s best play was senior Damien Dawson on a kickoff return. He brought one back to the Coldwater 46 and another to the Cavs’ 40, but both drives went backward in the face of unrelenting defensive pressure.
“Offensively, we were efficient and defensively we just used our multiple blitzes and quickness against their big guys” Otten said. “Some of our young guys got to play and nobody got hurt. It was a good, efficient game.”
Trick play success…when Coldwater’s Ethan Elander got behind the defense for this 40-yard TD catch from fellow wide receiver Mason Welsch.
Such has been life in the playoffs for Coldwater, which has dispatched Covington (56-0), Northeastern (56-7) and now St. Bernard to set a school record with its sixth game of 50 or more points.
St. Bernard gained its only first down on the game’s opening possession when Coldwater jumped offside on third-and-five.
After that, Brady Lefeld intercepted on the next play and Coldwater moved sharply to the first of seven touchdowns on as many first-half possessions.
Miles Pottkotter scored from the 2- and 5-yard lines, with Braxton Taylor getting across on runs of 18, 12 and 4 yards and Depweg adding another from the 1.
Toss in a nifty trick play 40-yard strike from receiver Mason Welsch to Ethan Elander, after Welsch gathered in quarterback Baylon Blockberger’s backward pass to the sideline, and St. Bernard was likely thankful for the running clock that shortened the second half.
“Their coach was very complimentary of the way we played, which I appreciate,” Otten said. “It’s just different, the teams they play versus the teams we play. It makes it hard when they have to play a team from our league.”
In that, St. Bernard had plenty of company Friday night, with other Midwest Athletic Conference members flexing their muscles early, just like Coldwater.
Mason Welsch caught two passes for 39 yards and threw for a 40-yard score after a backward pass to the sideline.
Marion Local led Ansonia at the half, 48-0, in a 61-0 final.
Minster jumped on top of Cincinnati College Prep, 35-0, at the break and added another TD to that margin in the second half.
Anna fed Cincinnati Country Day a 56-14 beating, which was 35-7 at the half.
That sets up a Coldwater-Anna regional final rematch of the Cavaliers’ 34-18 win in the teams’ mid-September meeting.
“The way we played tonight is what we’ll need to bring to Anna,” said Taylor, a sophomore who spells Depweg and Pottkotter when the two need a rest from a tough defensive series at linebacker. “Hopefully, everything goes according to plan. We can’t have any mistakes against them.”
Backup quarterback Karsyn Homan scored on a 23-yard run early in the second half to complete Coldwater’s 334-yard night, 169 of which came on the ground and 165 via the air.
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Like Otten said, efficient, which is something Depweg hopes applies to the rematch against Anna.
“We didn’t play that well on offense against them the first time and we let them have a lot of yards in the passing game,” he said “I think we’ve improved on both sides since then. We should be ready to go, but you can never take a MAC team for granted in the Playoffs.”
Coldwater’s offensive line gave Cody Depweg plenty of room all night, setting him up for 56 rushing yards on five carries, including a touchdown.
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