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Taft topples Indian Hill, moves on to Regional Final 

MILFORD, OH – At the beginning of the season, no one could’ve predicted the unexpected competitiveness of Ohio’s Division 4, Region 16 playoffs. Taft and Indian Hill both were riding a wave of momentum after defeating previously favored opponents en route to the Regional Semifinals. It was the Senators who used a suffocating defense to roll past the Indians, 30-14 on Friday night, earning them a date in the Regional Final.

Senators sophomore signal caller Monsanna Torbert used his legs to lead Taft in every offensive category, rushing the ball 16 times for 99 yards, in addition to 58 passing yards on just three completions. Torbert opened the scoring on the evening with a 28-yard touchdown toss to Freshman receiver Lorenzo McMullen.

All eyes turned to the Indian Hill offense and to see if they could put together a quick response with their first drive of the game. It quickly went sour for the Indians, when junior quarterback Ben Sichel threw a 53-yard pick-six to Taft’s Aaron Dowdell, Jr.

The pick-six was only the beginning of a difficult outing for Sichel. The junior threw a whopping five interceptions to the Senators, forcing the Indians offense to consistently find themselves playing from behind. Sichel had 159 yards passing on 23 attempts in addition to the five picks thrown. All five interceptions were recorded by five-different players for the Senators.

In addition to his pick-six early in the game, Dowdell, Jr. was another valuable player for the Senators. The senior two-way star also had 75 rushing yards on 15 attempts and a touchdown.

Once Taft took the early lead, they never looked back, cruising to the win and a date with a surprising Alter team in the Regional Final next Friday.

PHOTOS: Indian Hill vs. Taft

SCORING BY QUARTERS 
T: 14-0-8-8-30
IH: 0-7-7-0-14

SCORING PLAYS: 
T: Lorenzo McMullen 28 pass from Monsanna Torbert (Torbert 2-pt rush)
T: Aaron Dowdell, Jr. 53 INT return (Torbert rush failed)
IH: Devlan Daniel 3 rush (Drew Seinen kick)
T: Dowdell, Jr. 2 rush (Dowdell, Jr. 2-pt rush)
IH: Daniel 5 rush (Seinen kick)
T: Nijia Hill 4 rush (Adam Kirtley 2-pt pass)

UP NEXT: Taft (11-2) faces Alter (8-5) in Regional Final

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