Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch proved a headache for Mechanicsburg all night, running for one touchdown and throwing for a pair (PressPros Feature Photos by Sheri Hooley).
Though lacking a first-round bye, sixth-seeded Anna showed it’s lacking little else with a decisive victory over No. 3 Mechanicsburg to advance easily in Division VI, Region 24
Mechanicsburg, OH – There wasn’t a single play that leaped forward as the difference-maker to head coach Kurt Forrest as he surveyed the wreckage from Anna’s 46-12 annihilation of his Mechanicsburg Indians Friday night in the second round of the Division VI playoffs.
But a single reason…that, Forrest had no trouble identifying.
“People can beat around the bush all they want, but their kids play in a league where you have to be at your best every single play,” Forrest said of the Rockets, who tied for third in the Midwest Athletic Conference. “That builds a mental toughness and a mental discipline that shows up late in the season. That’s what you saw tonight.”
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
Seeded sixth in Region 24 after a 7-3 regular season, tied with Coldwater and Minster for third in the MAC behind champion Marion Local and runner-up St. Henry, Anna is increasingly acquiring the look of past league brethren who didn’t claim a conference title but had no trouble blowing through the post-season en route to a state championship.
Just 3-2 in mid-September, the Rockets have since won six of seven games, with the only defeat a 28-27 double-overtime loss at Marion Local.
“We’re playing pretty well, but we have to keep our heads level and pay attention to our next game,” Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch said. “We’re a pretty confident team right now, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”
The Rockets overwhelmed third-seeded Mechanicsburg (8-3) in the same fashion a bankruptcy sneaks up on an over-leveraged borrower – gradually…then all at once.
Anna scored three times in the last 8:53 of the first half to break from a 12-12 tie, then used Carter Edwards’ 49-yard interception return for a score early in the third quarter to guarantee the outcome.
Edwards’ pick was the third of four Anna would claim on the night, matching the cumulative season total thrown by Mechanicsburg quarterback Conley Bogard.
The first of those takeaways crushed the Indians’ hopes of taking immediate command, turning away a drive that reached the Anna 17 after the opening kickoff.
Zeb Pleiman takes the handoff from Logan Ziegenbusch and heads for daylight.
Sophomore Cale Hoying broke on Bogard’s pass into the left flat and was off to the far end zone, running 85 yards unimpeded to put the Rockets in front.
“I thought there was a chance he’d be coming toward my direction,” Hoying said. “I was hoping not to drop it. I’ve dropped one or two in practice, but that one was right in my hands.”
Staggered, but not down for the count, Mechanicsburg quickly answered with the first of two Bogard TD throws, both of which went Austin Haynes. The first traveled 13 yards and the second – after Ziegenbusch’s 20-yard scoring run – measured 89 yards.
At that point, it looked like the last team with the football might be the survivor, but instead Anna took command with a 68-yard scoring drive and dominated in every phase thereafter.
“The kids played well,” head coach Nick Marino said. “That first pick-six was a real big one. Kale has done a great job late in the season. He had some work to do early on, but he’s gotten better and better and he’s really playing good football now.
“That was a game-changing pick, because if they get up on us there it can get hairy and play out a lot differently. The defense got four turnovers and it’s always a great night when that happens.”
Crale Builders proudly sponsors area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
The Rockets’ offense played turnover-free, with Ziegenbusch and the array of skilled weapons at his disposal giving Mechanicsburg too many options to contain.
Tyson Vaubel’s nine-yard scoring run on a reverse handed Anna a 19-12 lead with 8:53 left in the first half, then a defensive stop handed the ball back to the Rockets’ offense at their 23.
T.J. Roberts, whose late first-half touchdown aided Anna’s getaway, hauls in this sideline pass over Mechanicsburg’s Austin Haynes.
Three plays later, Ziegenbusch hit Brody Murray on a quick slant over the middle and he outran the pursuit 58 yards to score for a 26-12 advantage.
“That was a big play by Brody,” Marino said. “We have a lot of guys who do a good job of making plays with the ball in their hands. That’s one of our strengths. We’ve got some nice, skilled kids.”
Junior Wyatt Howell added to the Rockets’ momentum as Mechanicsburg tried to answer, cutting in front of a receiver at midfield to intercept Bogard for the second time and return the football to the Indians’ 12.
“They do a great job with their defensive scheme,” Forrest said. “It’s a very unique scheme with five across the secondary and they don’t give you any easy reads.
“That interception late in the half was just a great play. Their kid is coming on a blitz and he just stops, reads the play and peels off to make the interception. That’s a heck of a play. Hat’s off to them.”
Mechanicsburg briefly escaped danger when a holding penalty wiped out Ziegenbusch’s TD run, but that flag only delayed Anna getting into the end zone.
T.J. Roberts scored easily on a fourth-and-two run from the four-yard line to establish a three-touchdown lead, which quickly rose to four scores when Carter Edwards returned another interception 49 yards for a pick-six on Mechanicsburg’s second play of the third quarter.
Logan Services sponsors the MAC on Press Pros.
“I think we won this one on both sides of the ball,” Edwards said. “I think our whole team played well. Logan does a great job running our offense and our defense contributed in a big way, too.”
Austin Steinke’s interception – Anna’s fourth by four different players – and Vaubel’s second TD on an 11-yard pass from Ziegenbusch sent the game into running-clock mode and the Rockets into a Region 24 semifinal against second-seeded Northeastern.
“How good is Northeastern?” an Anna player asked a Mechanicsburg player in the post-game handshake line, likely aware Northeastern put a 52-26 black eye on the Indians three weeks ago.
It will be another week before we know the answer, but one thing is certain – Anna is not a typical No. 6 seed, nor is it a garden-variety three-loss team.
Bunny’s Pharmacy, in downtown Sidney, supports high school sports on Press Pros.