TriStateFootball.com
Home / Cincinnati / Harrison establishes SWOC supremacy

Harrison establishes SWOC supremacy

Harrison WR Josh Addelsperger (photo by: Sandy Mahoney/ X: @InMotionBySandy)

HARRISON, Ohio – It was billed as a battle for the top spot in the Southwest Ohio Conference, and one team made an indisputable case for that in Friday night’s game between Blitz 5 Top 25 #18 Harrison and #24 Mount Healthy.

Harrison took over the top spot in the SWOC from Mount Healthy in a 49-26 victory at Harrison, pushing the Wildcats to 6-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, while dropping the Owls to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in the conference.

The game started off quickly, and that term was also applicable to Wildcat running back Cole Koops, who took the handoff on the first play of the game from scrimmage and quickly rumbled 65-yards to give Harrison an early 7-0 lead. That run set Koops off on what would be a 130 yard, 2 TD night for the Wildcats.

The quick strike seemed to throw the Owls off from the start, as their first possession resulted in a failed punt – after a botched snap – and a turnover on downs at their own 23-yard-line. And after a penalty,  Harrison took advantage of the good field position right away, with quarterback Dickie Engel hitting wideout Cooper Rotert on a 26-yard strike. The extra point was good, and the Wildcats were up 14-0 with 7:09 left in the first quarter.

The Owls still couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first quarter, either, as their offense again went three and out, and then the first controversy of the night ensued, as Harrison’s Josh Addelsperger appeared to fumble the punt and Mount Healthy recovering it deep in Wildcat territory. But after an initial ruling of Addelsperger being down, officials chose to replay the down, much to the displeasure of the Mount Healthy fans. Addelsperger would, in fact, fumble the second punt, but Harrison recovered at their own 35. From there, was the Cole Koops/Dickie Engel ground show, with the Wildcat RB and QB running a combined 11 times out of 13-play drive, culminating in Koops second TD of the game, a seven-yard one, and Harrison on top 21-0 with still 10:41 left in the first half.

Mount Healthy showed mettle on their next possession, however, and aided by a Wildcat personal foul penalty, found themselves at the Harrison 26 when QB Jahmeir Spain hooked up with wideout Ace Cooper on a 26-yard TD. The two-point conversion was good, and it was suddenly a ballgame at 21-8.

Harrison, though, would answer right back, taking over at midfield after a poor kickoff. Running back Preston Flick ripped off a 29-yard run, aided by a 16-yard run by Dickie Engel. Engel would put the cherry on the drive with a 2-yard TD pass to Addelsperger. With the extra point, Harrison was up 28-8 and back in control.

The Owls mustered one first down on the next possession, the drive ending with a turnover on downs, and the Wildcats took over again. Engel hit Flick for 8 yards, Koops ran for 11, then Engel hooked up with Addelsperger again, this time for a  38-yard TD, and Harrison was up 35-8. Engel only three six total passes on the night, but the three he completed all went for scores.

Mount Healthy fired right back, though, showing their explosiveness as Spain hit Cooper again, this time on second and 19, for a 72-yard TD. The two point conversion was unsuccessful, and halftime came with Harrison leading 35-14.

The Owls still had some fighting spirit in receiving the second half kickoff, and worked their way out to midfield. That, however, is when Harrison broke that spirit. An ill-fated pass by Spain was picked off by Wildcat DB Ben Markarian and returned 50 yards for a TD, putting the Wildcats up 42-14 and taking the wind completely out of Mount Healthy’s sails.

Their defense did force Harrison to punt for the first time, and the Owls got the ball back again near midfield. And again, disaster struck, as Markarian picked off his second pass of the night and returned this one 42-yards for a TD. Harrison was up 49-14, and could breathe a little.

Mount Healthy chewed up the rest of the third quarter, driving down to the Harrison 1-yard-line as the quarter ended. The fourth quarter began with Owl RB Jarvis David running it in. The two-point conversion was no good, and it was 49-20. Harrison would punt on their next possession, and the Owls converted, with Spain hitting Cooper for a 30-yard TD. The two-point play failed,  and it was 49-26, which was how it would end.

Harrison coach Derek Rehage had plenty of praise for his offense, which played almost flawlessly, and a ground attack that racked up a total of 215 yards on the ground.

“We kind of knew early on,  control the line of scrimmage and not turnover the ball; run the ball with power and take shots when we’ve got them,” he said. “Cole just kind of sets up our whole offense, him  running the ball, and our offensive line is big and physical. We gave them something new on the first play that they hadn’t seen much, and it worked really well for us.”

He knew, though, that no lead was safe with Mount Healthy.

“They’ve got a lot of offensive power over there,” Rehage said. “It can be a long night, and it felt like the longest game, getting into that second half, running clock, and they come back. It was a long half trying to get out. I know that offense, and Coach Stevens, and they have a lot of firepower.”

But with the way his defense was playing – defensive lineman Logan White had 17 tackles, 14 of them solo, and five sacks, while Markarian had the two Pick-Sixes – that Mount Healthy firepower had been negated.

“I’m pretty sure Logan White just set the school record for sacks in a season,” Rehage said. “Ben, it’s just phenomenal ball skills. He’s a sophomore. He gave up the two long touchdowns and he makes two back. That’s what you get with sophomores, but he’s a great football player. Both of them are just phenomenal football players. And the awesome part is one’s a sophomore, one’s a junior.”

POSTGAME INTERVIEW

BOX SCORE
Harrison   21-14-14-0 49
Mount Healthy  0-8-0-18 26

SCORING PLAYS
H: Koops 65-yard run (Anderson kick)
H: Engel 26-yard pass to Rotert (Anderson kick)
H: Koops 7-yard run (Anderson kick)
M: Spain 28-yard pass to Cooper (2-point conversion good)
H: Engel 2-yard pass to  Addelsperger (Anderson kick)
H: Engel 38-yard pass to Addelsperger (Anderson kick)
M: Spain 72-yard pass to Cooper (2-point conversion no good)
H: Markarian 50-yard INT (Anderson kick)
H: Markarian 42-yard INT (Anderson kick)
M: Davis 1-yard run (2-point conversion no good)
M: Spain 30-yard pass to Cooper (2-point conversion no good)

RECORDS: Harrison (6-1, 1-0) Mount Healthy (5-2, 1-1)
UP  NEXT: Talawanda (3-4, 1-0)  at Harrison;  Belmont (3-3) at Mount Healthy

You must be logged in to post a comment Login