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11/6/05

Cardinals earn date with No. 1 St. Xavier
Division I: Colerain 24, Glen Este 7

If anyone expected a blowout in Saturday's Colerain-Glen Este game, they were disappointed.

On the other hand, if anyone was looking for indications that the defending state champion Cardinals aren't prepared for the biggest matchup of the year next Saturday, they were equally disappointed.

Colerain ousted Glen Este 24-7 Saturday night in a competitive, physical first-round Division I playoff game before 8,500 fans at Mason's Dwire Field.
Despite a soft schedule in the second half of the regular season, Colerain's playoff form looked solid in advancing to a regional semifinal matchup with the state's top-ranked team, St. Xavier. The Bombers beat Colerain 7-0 in the season opener.

Saturday, Glen Este took Colerain's best punch, going down 17-0 in the second quarter, but never really fell victim to the knockout.

"They are very tough," Colerain coach Kerry Coombs said. "They put you in some tough spots. They are physical and well-coached."

"Our kids played great," Glen Este coach Zak Taylor said. "Everyone thought we'd lose by 50 points tonight. Defensively, we played as good as we can play."

Colerain's rushing game, which averaged 365 yards per game, was held to 211 yards.

But it produced enough big plays to keep Glen Este from ever strongly challenging the lead.

Junior Trammell Williams broke off TD runs of 59 and 27 yards on the way to a total of 17 carries for 169 yards.

Colerain's other score came on a 62-yard punt return by Eugene Clifford in the middle of the second quarter.

Glen Este quarterback Kyle McCalla turned back any thoughts of the game turning into a blowout when he hit backup tight end Matt Winegardner with a 53-yard TD pass late in the second quarter.

That play seemed to renew Glen Este's spirit.

"We had some chances," Taylor said. "Offensively, we didn't take advantage when we had some shots."

Glen Este's biggest chance came on its first drive of the second half. Starting at their own 15, the Trojans moved to the Colerain 13. Facing fourth-and-3, Taylor eschewed a field goal that could have cut the lead to seven, and elected to go with a McCalla pass. The ball just fell off Winegardner's fingertips in the end zone, keeping the deficit at 17-7.

Colerain31407-24Glen Este0700-7

C - Schulte 23 FG
C - Williams 59 run (Schulte kick)
C - Clifford 62 punt return (Schulte kick)
GE - Winegardner 53 pass from McCalla (Harder kick)
C - Williams 27 run (Schulte kick)
Records: C 10-1, GE 9-2.