CINCINNATI — Harrison senior quarterback Dickie Engel won’t soon forget the feeling of Friday night’s home win against East Central.
The noise of the student section was raucous. The battle of I-74 t-shirts were everywhere.
The Harrison community wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see a Week 2 showdown against a nearby rival. The hype leading up to the game was palpable.
The Wildcats practiced from 7 to 9 p.m. during the week to beat the heat and prepare for the primetime time slot.
“It felt great to be the underdogs in that game and come out on top,” Engel said. “Everybody is just excited. “Everyone had our back all week."
Engel threw for 150 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score as Harrison rallied to defeat East Central 35-28 Friday night. East Central, an Indiana Class 5A program, is the reigning back-to-back Indiana Class 4A state champion.
Harrison snapped East Central’s 22-game win streak, which was tied with Bishop Chatard for the second-longest active win streak in Indiana entering Friday.
It also snapped East Central’s five-game win streak in the rivalry. Prior to Friday, Harrison’s most recent against East Central was the 2017 season opener (27-24 in overtime).
With Friday’s win, the Wildcats lead the all-time series 24-22-1 which dates back to 1973.
The electric atmosphere at Harrison did not disappoint.
“It was off the charts,” Harrison coach Derek Rehage said. “That’s what high school football is all about. Last night was for our community.”
Harrison didn’t lead until the very end. Rehage said it was a tale of two halves. The second half just happened to be “awesome.”
“It gives us a world of confidence,” he said.
Engel found junior wide receiver Josh Adelsperger for a 27-yard touchdown pass connection with 42 seconds left to break a tie and give the Wildcats the lead for good. Engel made the throw off his back foot with a defender in his face.
Senior Cole Koops rushed 25 times for 134 yards and a touchdown. Junior linebacker Grant Daillo had a team-high 12 tackles (9 solo) and senior linebacker Jayden Little had 10 tackles (9 solo).
Junior running back Preston Flick scored on a 71-yard touchdown reception from Engel to help tie in the game in the first quarter.
Engel said the victory is a statement to Division II, Region 8 that the Wildcats, which won their second straight game this season, are poised for another special journey.
Last season’s second-round playoff win at Clayton Northmont was a favorite game memory of Engel’s career, but he said Friday’s win tops that. There is a special bond in the program.
“It’s like family,” he said.
Harrison (2-0), which plays at home for a third consecutive week, plays host to Indian Hill (2-0) Sept. 6.
Indian Hill defeated visiting Northwest 35-12. Sophomore running back Devlan Daniel rushed 20 times for 222 yards and three touchdowns on Friday night.
Record book
Mount Healthy senior quarterback Jahmeir Spain was 21 of 29 passing for 453 yards and eight touchdowns in a 62-35 win at Ross.
“When he’s confident things just click differently,” Mount Healthy coach Jordan Stevens said. “His vision gets really, really broad. It was great to see it.”
Spain's eight passing touchdowns is tied for second in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state record book for most passing touchdowns in a game.
Spain, a third-year starter, also broke school records for most passing yards and most passing touchdowns in a game, which he already held in those categories.
Spain, who is 6-feet-4 and 192 pounds, is receiving college interest from Boston College since Friday's game. Mid-American Conference schools are also interested in Spain.
Mount Healthy had six receivers catch passes Friday night. Junior Ace Cooper had four receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Larry Fannon had five receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Senior Jai’mier Scott (Wisconsin verbal commit) had three receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Nashoun Crittendon rushed five times for 100 yards. He also had a receiving touchdown.
‘Lights out’ defensive effort
A week after allowing just a fourth-quarter touchdown to three-time state runner-up Springfield on the road, the Winton Woods defense rose to the occasion again.
Winton Woods defeated visiting Kings 19-5 Friday night.
“The defense played lights out – again,” Winton Woods coach Chad Murphy said.
Kings had 627 yards of total offense in a 42-7 win over Sycamore last week.
Friday night was the earliest that Kings and Winton Woods have played each other during the season. The previous four games had been in September or later.
Winton Woods (2-0) plays host to Milford (2-0) Sept. 6.
Fenwick’s Cranford earns victory
Fenwick defeated visiting Talawanda 14-6 as Fred Cranford earned his first win in his second head coaching stint with the Falcons.
“It was exciting to see all this come to fruition with such a young team,” Cranford said. “We’re growing every Friday night.”
The Falcons (1-1) entered the season with eight seniors, two of whom are kickers. Despite limited starting experience, the Falcons have talent and are learning as a collective unit.
Several players stood out Friday night including sophomore quarterback Micah O’Connor, junior linebacker/guard Kelby Shaffer, senior offensive/defensive lineman Mitch Feldmann and sophomore cornerback Hudson Kreke, whose clutch interception set up Fenwick’s 80-yard scoring drive before halftime.
“The effort has been incredible,” Cranford said.
Cranford, a 1992 Fenwick graduate, was named the head coach in January after being a volunteer assistant coach the past three seasons. He previously coached at Fenwick from 1998 to 2013 including seven years as head coach.
Extra points
- Milford coach Tom Grippa tied Jim Prather for the most coaching wins (53) in program history. Milford defeated host Walnut Hills 38-0. Prather had 53 wins from 1984-1996. Milford (2-0) plays at Winton Woods (2-0) Sept. 6.
- Moeller defeated host Bishop Dwenger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) 42-18. Moeller junior quarterback Matt Ponatoski was 24 of 36 passing for 362 yards and four touchdowns, according to Moeller statistician George Smith. Ponatoski has thrown for 777 yards and eight touchdowns in two games this season. Moeller (2-0) plays host to East Central (1-1) Sept. 6 at Mount St. Joseph University.
- Middletown has a 2-0 record after the host Middies defeated Oak Hills 34-14. Senior quarterback Jeremiah Landers was 14 of 22 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown. He rushed 10 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The Middies had 481 yards of total offense. Sophomore Kasaun Graham rushed 11 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.
- Taft senior cornerback Jahvion Jarman’s interception with 1:57 left sealed the Senators’ 12-7 win over visiting Chaminade Julienne at Stargel Stadium. Taft (2-0) plays host to Alter (1-1) Sept. 6.
- Senior Joel Hancock rushed 24 times for 106 yards and a touchdown in Wyoming’s 23-6 win at Monroe. Hancock had four receptions for 58 yards, too. Senior Carter Rummer was 3 of 3 on field goals including a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter. He had two punts for 92 yards. Wyoming (2-0) is at Bethel-Tate (1-1) Sept. 6.
- Anderson senior quarterback Justice Burnam was 18 of 21 passing for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the Raptors’ 52-7 win over host West Clermont. Senior wide receiver Trace Jallick had eight receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Senior tailback Durrell Turner had six receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
- Elder senior Maddox Arnold scored two second-half rushing touchdowns as the host Panthers defeated West Catholic (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 20-13. Arnold, a linebacker who is verbally committed to Toledo, has four rushing touchdowns this season. He had nine tackles on defense Friday night.
Sophomore quarterback Kaden Estep was 11 of 17 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed six times for 40 yards. Senior outside linebacker George Guidugli had a team-high 11 tackles. - Ryle coach Mike Engler is one win from becoming the school's all-time wins leader. Engler is in his 11th season with a 73-48 record at Ryle. Ryle (2-0) plays at Cooper (2-0) Sept. 6. Ryle has won nine consecutive games against Cooper.
- Cincinnati Country Day defeated Blanchester 29-27 in a highly-contested game. The Nighthawks drove 61 yards in 45 seconds for the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds remaining. "I think what I like most is we have a lot of young players and players starting for the first time that have not reached their potential yet and if we keep improving and learn from last night we can be a pretty good team," Cincinnati Country Day coach Dennis Coyle said.
Senior running back/defensive back Lee Thomas had 19 carries for 78 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception. Senior quarterback Elijah Guttman was 13 of 22 passing for 259 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver/defensive back Thomas Huckleby had six receptions for 81 yards and a game-winning touchdown. Junior wide receiver/defensive back Brandon Proffitt had three receptions for 97 yards, a 25-yard fumble recovery, three pass break-ups and several solid kickoff and punt returns. The Nighthawks (2-0) plays at North College Hill (0-2) Sept. 6.
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