CENTERVILLE – Nolan Wilson ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns to lead his Alter Knights to a convincing 32-7 win over previously undefeated and first-seeded Clinton Massie on Saturday night in an OHSAA Division IV Region 16 final.
Accordingly, Wilson was Miami Valley Sports Magazine’s pick as player of the game for week 13.
Alter – the defending D-IV state champions and the winners of regional titles in three of the last four seasons – moves to 13-0 on the season.
Next week, the Knights will face 11-2 Cochocton in a state semifinal clash to be held (at 7 p.m.) on Saturday at Hamilton field in Columbus’ Hamilton Township.
Meanwhile, Clinton Massie’s season has come to a sudden and absolutely final conclusion.
And as badly as the evening went for the Falcons, they actually were the first team on the board due to a 65-yard Jordy Scanlon touchdown run.
Little did anyone know at the time, but Clinton Massie would never get to the 100-yard mark on total offense in this game.
Even so, junior tailback Scanlon had 94 yards (unofficially) for the Falcons on 19 carries.
“When we scored to go up 7 to nothing, and then they came back and tied it with a fullback run (by Nolan Wilson) for 70 yards (actually it was 65 yards)?” asked Clinton Massie head coach Dan McSurley rhetorically. “Really, that was just like putting a bullet in us.
“We really thought that we had a great game plan, but it just good enough tonight.”
Alter had 292 yards of total offense in the game to just 96 for Clinton Massie.
Outstanding Massie monster back,Gunner Calhoun, found the time to contribute 21 yards rushing on six carries as a fullback.
“Certainly the game was a little but of a shock early and that (the long touchdown) served to wake us up,” said Alter head coach, Ed Domsitz after the game. “Our defense just played an unbelievable ball game.
“Offensively and defensively Massie is a powerful football team. I was happy with the way we moved the football on them at times, but our defense was just amazing.”
Alter’s starting quarterback, Zane Pitzer ¬– who had 5 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown at the time – was knocked out of the game early in the third quarter. His replacement, also the starting free safety Cody Byers, finished the deal with aplomb by rushing for 56 more yards (on 13 carries).
“(Pitzer) tried to go back in the game, so we felt like if something happened to Cody Byers we could put him back in and he could just hand the ball off. With Cody in we might have tried to pass the ball a little more tonight, but we also wanted to take some time off of the clock, too.”
Might inquiring minds want to know, exactly, how one differentiates between those moments when Domsitz is strategically trying to burn a little fourth quarter clock versus when he is actually trying to establish his offense?
“I’m the only one that needs to know that,” said the award-winning head coach, laughing. “That is just the way that we play. We like to control the ball. We like to control the clock.
“We like to avoid mistakes,” Domsitz summarized. “Tonight I thought that we did just that.”
The Knights have outscored their opponents 115-7 so far in the post season.
Alter’s upcoming opponent – Cochocton – has beaten two former state champions (Amanda-Clearcreek and Ironton) in the 2009 playoffs so far.
Next weekend, they will be trying to make that three former champions vanquished in their continuing effort to qualify for the upcoming OHSAA D-IV state championship game.
The Alter Knights have a different story line in mind. Something will have to give.
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