Against a former South Central Ohio League foe, at a former South Central Ohio League site, there was an unfamiliar result.
Clinton-Massie, which had not lost to any South Central Ohio League opponent in its last 62 games dating back to Oct. 12, 2007; fell to former SCOL counterpart London 28-7 in a Division IV, Region 16, semifinal at Miami Trace High School Saturday.
London (11-1) and Clinton-Massie (10-2) were in the SCOL together from 2005 to 2012.
Massie, ranked fourth in the final Division IV Associated Poll, was trying to make its eighth regional final in the last 10 seasons.
“We just got beat physically by a better team tonight,” CM head coach Dan McSurley said. “We just had a hard time matching up with their size up front.”
The Red Raiders, ranked 10th in the final Division IV Associated Press poll, scored on all three first-half drives to jump out to a 21-0 lead from which Massie wouldn’t recover.
Looking like a typical Massie squad to open the game, London marched 66 yards in 14 plays and 7:17 to get on the scoreboard. KJ Price capped the drive with his first touchdown, a 4-yard run. The Red Raiders dodged a pair of bullets earlier in the drive, jumping on a fumbled snap and converting a 4th-and-2 by the nose of the football earlier in the drive.
Price scored on London’s next drive, a 1-yard plunge, which Brennan Spiess set up with a 55-yard run on which he turned on the afterburners to blow past the Falcons’ defense.
Spiess finished the evening with 23 carries for 185 yards while Price had 126 yards on 25 carries.
On Massie’s subsequent drive, London’s Jackson Jones picked off Jake Vaughan’s double-reverse, halfback pass, wrestling the ball from Massie receiver Griffin Laake on the way to the ground. The Red Raiders made CM pay 13 plays later with Bricker Thiel’s 1-yard plunge.
“Their running backs and offensive line just kind of worked our D-line,” McSurley said. “We couldn’t get off their blocks. They just physically beat us up front.
“They had a great game plan. They had our number tonight and we got beat.”
Massie scored on the last possession of the first half, a Brendan Lamb 2-yard burst through the line.
With the ball to start the second half, and designs on cutting London’s lead in half, Massie marched to London’s 20-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs.
The teams traded scoreless drives until London put the final nail in the coffin with a Spiess 25-yard run midway through the final period.
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SUMMARY
LHS – 7 14 0 7 – 28
CM – 0 7 0 0 – 7
First Quarter
LHS – Price 4 run (Noble kick), 4:38.
Second Quarter
LHS – Price 1 run (Noble kick), 11:10.
LHS – Thiel 1 run (Noble kick), 1:44.
CM – Lamb 2 run (Avey kick), :07.1.
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
LHS – Spiess 25 run (Noble kick), 7:10.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – London – Spiess 23-185, Price 25-126, McClintock 2-0, Thiel 2-0, Total 54-311. Clinton-Massie – Lamb 12-35, Frederick 8-28, Stulz 14-9, Wolfe 1-8, Vaughan 2-8, Total 37-88.
PASSING – London – McClintock 0-0 0, Clinton-Massie – Stulz 10-18 90, Vaughan 0-1-1 0, Total 10-19-1 90.
RECEIVING – London – None. Clinton-Massie – Laake 4-42, Vaughan 5-30, Lamb 1-18.
