Miami Trace junior quarterback Trey Robinette (12) is greeted by teammates Garrett Guess (5), Adam Guthrie (73), and Asher LeBeau (1) after scoring a rushing touchdown in the second quarter of the game against Hamilton Township on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. The Panthers would win by a score of 55-34 to advance to the Regional Quarterfinals against Columbus Bishop Watterson.
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald
Panther freshman running back Julian Baker celebrates after scoring a 27-yard touchdown in the third quarter of the game against Hamilton Township on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Miami Trace would win by a score of 55-34 to advance to the Regional Quarterfinals against Columbus Bishop Watterson.
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald
It was the first win by a Miami Trace football team over a team with a 9-1 record in some time. In fact, there’s a chance that it is the program’s first win over a 9-1 team.
The Panthers (the No. 9 seed in Division III, Region 11) played their best all-around game of the season and emerged from Friday’s first-round playoff game with a 55-34 win over the No. 8 seed Hamilton Township.
The Rangers went 6-1 in the Mid-State League, finishing in a three-way tie for first place with Logan Elm and Bloom-Carroll.
Against Hamilton Township, the Panthers ran the ball 44 times for a net of 378 yards.
Senior Asher LeBeau carried 33 times for 300 yards and four touchdowns. That gives him 1,690 yards rushing on the season, ranking him second all-time to his brother, Jayden LeBeau, who holds the single season rushing record at Miami Trace of 1,830 yards, set in 2021.
Julian Baker had two carries against Hamilton Township for 32 yards and one touchdown and Trey Robinette carried five times for 16 yards and one touchdown.
Robinette completed 9 of 13 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, both to Garrett Guess.
Guess had six receptions for 173 yards.
Cooper Enochs had two catches for seven yards and Cody Gibbs had one for 14 yards.
Enochs, Jake Manbevers and Walker Glispie each had one interception for the Panthers. Manbevers returned his pick for 35 yards, while Enochs went for two and Glispie went for four yards.
Robinette punted four times for a 36-yard average.
In 2020, Miami Trace won its playoff game against Chillicothe. Fans may remember the Cavaliers did not have a full roster of players due to COVID 19.
The last playoff game won by the Panthers prior to that was a 29-22 home win in overtime against Wilmington in 2005. The Hurricane came into that game with a record of 7-3 and Miami Trace was
The Panthers lost in the second round of the playoffs the following week, 38-19 to Springboro.
“We beat a good football team,” Miami Trace head coach Jerry Williams said of the Panthers’ win over Hamilton Township. “A team that beat Bloom-Carroll (now 9-2 after a 58-14 pounding of the Athens Bulldogs in their playoff opener).
“We knew going in that we felt pretty good about what we could do up front,” Williams said. “We knew if we could go right at them, we would have some success.
“We didn’t want to get in a situation where we had to play a fast-paced football game with them,” Williams said. “They had some skill athletes that were very difficult for us to match up with.”
The Panthers looked to get off to a fast start, Williams said. However, it was 14-0 in favor of Hamilton Township at the end of the first quarter.
From there, the tide turned and Miami Trace outscored the Rangers, 55-20.
“We were very fortunate to create some turnovers,” Williams said. “Once (our guys) felt comfortable and felt like they could play with (HT), they turned it on and played football.”
Hamilton Township (along with Jackson) were the two best teams Miami Trace has played thus far this season.
Now, along comes Bishop Watterson. The Eagles are 10-1 on the season after a 45-0 playoff win over Columbus South (who finishes the season 4-7).
It was the fourth shutout victory of the season for Watterson against teams with a losing record.
Watterson also went 4-0 against teams with a winning record: 33-14 over now 9-2 Tiffin Columbian; 14-10 over now 8-3 Chardon; 35-7 over now 9-2 Bishop Hartley and 48-13 over now 8-3 Cincinnati Harrison.
The Eagles’ lone loss thus far was 27-24 to now 5-6 St. Francis DeSales.
Bishop Watterson is the No. 1 seed in the Region 11 tournament. They are ranked No. 4 in the state in Division III by the Associated Press.
“It’s a good football team,” Williams said of the Eagles. “It’s a team that we know we can’t have turnovers (against). We have to get off to that fast start. We have to be able to stick to our game plan. We’re going to have to play a flawless football game in order to compete with them.”
Williams again praised the play of the Panthers’ line, naming players Adam Guthrie, Nick Farrens, Cameron Morton, Conor Harrison and Brady Sheets.
