One of their biggest…In a game of big plays by Versailles, Kade Schwartz’s end zone touchdown catch over a Portsmouth West defender was the highlight catch of the night. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Versailles won the line of scrimmage, dominated on the ground, and used big plays to smile Portsmouth West in round of the Division VI tournament.
Portsmouth, OH – The Versailles Tigers left little doubt Friday night in Scioto County over whether they belonged in the 2026 OHSAA football tournament – whether the Harbin rankings got it right.
Behind Landyn Knapke’s 91 yards rushing, and Nick Meyer’s 59 yards, the Tigers dominated the line of scrimmage, their line opened gaping holes for the afore-mentioned ball carriers, and the Tigers breezed to a comfortable 38-7 win over 5th-seeded Portsmouth West.
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Comfortable? Field position helps, and Versailles had prime real estate all night, never starting a drive inside their own 30 yard line…after their first possession.
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And you can get comfortable in football when you hit on one big play after another, and it seemed so for the Tigers. Dare we say…Tiger-ball?
A 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter by the just-healed Landyn Knapke.
A following 43-yard touchdown bomb from Blake Monnin to Kade Schwartz to extend Versailles’ first half lead to 21-0.
Big runs for big chunks of yards by Knapke in the first half…and Nick Meyer in the second. Both set up ensuing scores.
“It helps you be comfortable when your line controls the line of scrimmage like ours did tonight,” said Versailles coach Scott Broerman. “It makes you feel like you can call anything, so credit to our line. And our backs were running really well. And they had nine guys in the box, too. So it was just great to see our line play the way they did.”
Quarterback Blake Monnin looks for blocking help from Landyn Knapke (foreground) on his 8-yard run to score the Tigers’ first points of the game.
You don’t see the word ‘comfortable’ often used in describing football. But Broerman’s Tigers looked perfectly at ease from the outset, stopping Portsmouth West’s opening drive on their 19 yard line, forcing the Senators to turn the ball over on downs.
From there, Blake Monnin and the running game moved the ball 81 yards on 6 plays to score at 3:51 of the quarter, Monnin running it in around end from 8 yards out to take a 7-0 lead.
Portsmouth West did their best to get the ball in the hands of senior featured runner Anthony Bishop, who without question has the hops to get to the hole, or outside, and turn the ball upfield for big yardage.
But by Portsmouth West’s second series the Versailles pursuit had him sniffed out. And sophomore Westyn Wyatt had little more success when he got his hands on the ball. The pair had combined for 2,700 yards and 27 touchdowns through the regular season, but by the start of the second quarter it was obvious that they were going to have a quiet night due to Versailles’ superiority on the line.
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West tried to throw, had modest short success, but not enough to avoid a series of punts that gave the Tigers the ball with good field position, and for the first possession of the second quarter. It took 2 minutes and 3 seconds for Landyn Knapke to break through the line and sprint 62 yards, untouched, for the second score of the game, and a 14-0 lead.
“That felt good,” Knapke later admitted. “But the line was great…Nate (Marshal), Ben (Kaiser) and Jackson (Morgan), along with the others, they’re beasts. It was just good to be here, to have another game to see what you can do. I think we deserved it, but I think Anna deserved to be here, too.
A healthy Landyn Knapke runs through the grasp of Portsmouth West’s Zane Pitts for big yards in Friday’s Division VI playoff win.
Another Portsmouth punt followed, and this time Monnin connected with Kade Schwartz on a 43-yard rainbow bomb in the end zone that Schwartz caught over the outstretched reach of a Senators’ defender. The highlight catch of the night, it gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead.
Another Portsmouth punt before halftime gave Versailles one more chance with 57 seconds. They got it inside the ten yard line with 15 seconds to go, Monnin took a sack to move the ball back to the 16, and Broerman called a timeout. Kade Schwartz came out, lined up a 34 yard field goal, crushed it, and the Tigers led 24-0 at the break.
Except for a matter of about ten seconds the second half belonged entirely to Versailles. If Portsmouth West made adjustments at half, they were social and not football.
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Versailles took the second half kick, worked the ball steadily downfield with Knapke and Nick Meyers, and then Meyers made a pretty spin move at the five yard line to score the fourth touchdown at 6:53 to make the score a 31-0 margin.
The afore-mentioned ten seconds came immediately after, though, on Portsmouth’s first touch of the second half. Halfback Braden Adkins took a handoff, creased the line untouched, and raced 70 yards for the Senators only score of the game…31-7.
Great to watch…and everyone watched Kade Schwartz’s 34-yard field goal end the first half of Friday’s win over Portsmouth West.
Versailles answered on the ensuing drive, with their backups in the game. Driving the ball inside the ten yard line, quarterback Ian Hemmelgarn weaved his way into the end zone from three yards out to conclude the scoring, and the game, at 38-7.
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How complete was the win? Outside the Portsmouth locker room, afterwards, people waited patiently for the players to emerge. And while some were not surprised by the outcome, fans and players alike seemed stunned at the margin of the outcome.
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“That was a really good team,” someone was heard to say. “Hard to believe that they lost four games.”
Yes, in fact. But the obstacles of this particular Versailles season could perhaps better be found in the training room instead of on the field.
Versailles outrushed Portsmouth 191 to 138…70 yards of that coming on their only score.
Versailles outgunned Portsmouth West 353 to 211.
Landyn Knapke being back made a huge difference…10 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.
“And we need him,” added Broerman. “Nick Meyer, too. He ran the ball well for us last week. We need to keep getting healthy, and if we get those guys going we can be pretty good.”
Meyer finished the game with 15 carries, 59 yards, and a touchdown.
Linebacker Ryan Treon sacks Portsmouth quarterback Carter Keyser during the second quarter of Friday’s game with Portsmouth West.
Blake Monnin, the quarterback, ran it 6 times for 73 yards and a touchdowns.
His backup, Ian Hemmelgarn, ran it in for their final score.
As it turned out Anthony Bishop and Westyn Wyatt were no factors at all, combining for just 68 yards between them…and no points.
Someone mentioned that it was a playoff game that Al Hetrick would have enjoyed – interior line and run game domination with just enough passing to keep ‘em honest.
That’s true, and the fact that they looked as comfortable as they did lends one to think that now healthier and with a season under their belt Broerman’s Hetrick-minded offense is becoming a thing of instinct.
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“We’ve got five more games to go,” Borermn told his team in the post-game huddle. And…”I’m proud of you.”
They had played as if they belonged with the top seeds, instead of twelfth. And speaking from conference pride, more than one Versailles player said the same for Anna’s sake.
“I didn’t think we had to prove anything,” added Blake Monnin. “I think 6-4 in the MAC deserves a playoff spot. Anna deserves it, too, with 7-3. You just have to come out and win.”
Which they get a chance to do again next week against #4-seed Cincinnati College Prep.
Landyn Knapke, Nick Meyer, Nate Marshal, Jackson Morgan, and Ben Kaiser all came through the game unscathed, which will not be good news for Cincinnati College Prep. Big plays seem to follow when they’re feeling good.
And yes, Jack Harbin, wherever you are, Versailles does belong.
And of course…Anna.
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