CINCINNATI , Ohio – In the OHSAA division two, region eight semifinals between the undefeated Anderson Raptors and the LaSalle Lancers, the hosting Raptors dominated in a complete game, taking advantage of a huge second quarter to hold on to a 35-28 victory over the visiting Lancers, and moving on to their fourth straight regional finals.
After a stalemate between the two squads in the games opening quarter, it was the Lancers who struck the contest’s first blow, as the LaSalle defense forced a turnover via a strip sack deep in Anderson territory at the end of the first quarter.
Armed with advantageous field position, the Lancer offense turned to their wildcat formation to pound their way into the endzone for the first score of the game. It was Colin Woolridge who punched it in for six, and LaSalle took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Despite the 7-0 deficit, the second quarter belonged to the Anderson Raptors. Their incredible 12:00 started after the Raptors defense stood tall on third-and-manageable for Avier Carter and the Lancers, forcing a punt.
Raptors junior defensive back Mark Madden fielded the punt at midfield, and made what seemed like the entire Lancer punt team miss, as Madden took it all the way to the house for a touchdown.
From there, the momentum shifted entirely to the Raptors sidelines. Quickly, Anderson followed the punt return touchdown with another quick three-and-out, giving the ball back to senior quarterback Owen Scalf and the high-powered Anderson offense.
Junior wideout Cooper Kathman broke free behind the Lancer defense and strolled his way in on a 50+ yard bomb from the arm of Scalf to set up the Raptors inside the five yard-line. Junior tailback Jordan Davis easily rumbled his way into the orange and black endzone, igniting the home crowd and quickly changing the outlook of the remainder of the game.
PHOTOS: La Salle at Anderson
With the Lancers reeling, Anderson did not let up, forcing another Lancers punt and immediately scoring again, this time on a 47-yard run by Scalf, who took the QB draw play virtually untouched into the end zone.
While the Raptors are known for their offensive output, it is the Anderson defense that is the glue that holds the entire team together. Led by senior linebacker Brady Kuhn, the Anderson defensive unit stepped up on the very next drive, when a Avier Carter pass was tipped up into the air – junior Jerrod Lindsey caught the tipped ball and returned it 43-yards for a pick-six.
Scalf would add his lone touchdown toss on the night connecting with classmate Tysin Weaver from 48-yards out to make it 35-7. Scalf finished the evening 22-28 for 281 yards and the one touchdown toss. Weaver was on the receiving end of eight of those targes for 140 yards.
LaSalle was not going to give up, however. The Lancers offense found success running the football, and a perfectly executed two-minute drill ended in a 5-yard rushing touchdown for Carter, to cut the lead back down to 21 points.
When the dust settled at the end of the second quarter, the Raptors held a commanding 35-14 lead, after scoring a whopping 35 unanswered points in just 12 minutes in a perfect display of team football.
Despite being down three scores after halftime, LaSalle showed no quit in their offense or defense, as they stymied the Raptors offensively for the entirety of the second half.
Offensively, the Lancers found success with a new formula after halftime; they began to spread the ball around through the air, and relied more on Carter’s rushing ability.
Blitz 5: Anderson 35 La Salle 28
The Raptors failed to score in the 1st, 3rd & 4th quarters. A 35 spot in the 2nd will get the job done.
Evan Dreyer’s crew is one victory from its third consecutive regional title. pic.twitter.com/eRGJ4YFUz2
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) November 15, 2025
After a missed field goal by Anderson on their first drive of the second half, LaSalle embarked on a 15+ play, 80-yard touchdown drive that chewed almost 10 minutes off of the clock, capped off by a Jack McLaughlin receiving touchdown from Carter.
Senior Dereion Spraggs and the Lancers defense continued to hold strong, as Anderson began to manage the clock, moving away from the passing offense and rushing the ball for a majority of the half.
However, Anderson did not find as much success on the ground as the contest wore on into the evening, and the Raptors were forced to punt multiple times, allowing LaSalle to slowly crawl back into contention.
Carter continued to dazzle with the ball in his hands on the Lancers ensuing drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter; including multiple fourth-and-long conversions, once through the air to McLaughlin, and once on the ground with his legs. He capped off the Lancers second scoring drive of the half with an impressive throw to senior wideout Drew Dipzinski, threading the needle between two Raptors defenders in the back of the end zone.
In a complete change of events, it was only a one-score game, with their respective seasons on the line; it came down to which defense would make the play to win the game.
After another stalled Anderson offensive drive, Carter and the Lancers offense came back onto the field with just three minutes remaining and two timeouts.
Anderson’s defense showed up big again, this time through two separate plays; on a second-and-ten, Carter dropped back to pass, when Kuhn came screaming off of the edge on a blitz and dropped the Lancer quarterback at the LaSalle one-yard line.
On the ensuing play, Carter’s desperation heave down the sideline was intercepted by Anderson senior Ke’Maury Tye, slamming the door shut on any chance of LaSalle completing the comeback and extending Anderson’s undefeated season.
Up next for Anderson is a matchup against Trotwood-Madison (8-3) in the regional finals, at a site to be announced this weekend.
POSTAME INTERVIEWS
SCORING BY QUARTERS
La Salle: 0-14-7-7-28
Anderson: 0-35-0-0-35
SCORING PLAYS
L: Colin Wooldridge 3 run (Grayson Bedacht kick)
A: Mark Madden 50 punt return (Maddux Snider kick)
A: Jordan Davis 4 run (Snider kick)
A: Owen Scalf 47 run (Snider kick)
A: Jerod Lindsey 43 interception return (Snider kick)
A: Tysin Weaver 48 pass from Scalf (Snider kick)
L: Avier Carter 11 run (Bedacht kick)
L: Jack McLaughlin 3 pass from Carter (Bedacht kick)
L: Drew Dipzinski 18 pass from Carter (Bedacht kick)
RECORDS: Anderson (12-0), LaSalle (9-4)
UP NEXT: #1 Anderson at #3 Trotwood-Madison (8-3), OHSAA Division II, Region 8 Regional Championship
Get the complete scores from all of this week’s action on the Underground Sports Shop Scoreboard at TriStateFootball.com/scores.
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