Big Walnut Eagles

[EastSide]

delaware gazette

The battle lines have been drawn!

Big Walnut (9-1) will host Rossford (6-4) in a Division III Regional quarterfinal game Friday night at 7:30 in the friendly confines of Golden Eagle Stadium.

Rossford comes into the game riding a three-game winning streak, clinching the eighth – and final – playoff spot by five-hundredths of a point with a 35-19 Northern Lakes League (NLL) victory Friday night at Sylvania Northview.

[EastSide]

Big Walnut 35
Rossford 2



The Eagles dominate Rossford and send a message. WETZEL IS 4 REAL!

Edit: Rossford had a good fan base drive the distance to "the Nut" but the home crowd played a big part in this game. Rossford got a litttle momentum early when they held the eagles on the first drive but that was about all that the bulldogs could do. Their only score came on a snap over the punters head...(isn't this the 2nd time this year that this has happened...note: long snapping is a necessity and if you have a big kid, have him practice long snapping and he will have a home at every level, high school, college, and the pros).

Next game: Shelby at TBA. Shelby upset a strong Bellfountain team on the road. This will be a big challenge for the Eagles. Napoleon will have a tough test against Clyde.

[thievery!]

Congratulations to the Eagles.

Rossford is the smallest DIII school in Ohio, and would not have made the playoffs if they'd remained in DIV.

I'm happy to hear the Bulldog faithful represented well, and somewhat surprised and happy to hear the 'Dogs were competitive until the end.

FWIW, Rossford's starting fullback and leading rusher Brandon Huner was on crutches last night. His injury had no bearing on the game, but perhaps the Bulldogs could've put one in the endzone had he not been out.

Again, congrats to the Eagles and thank you to coach Wetzel for not running it up and letting the Rossford kids enjoy a hard-fought turn-around season after going 1-9 last year and losing their starting QB to Toledo Central Catholic.

[EastSide]

JOE REED
Dispatch

Ethan Wetzel rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, Cory Wolfe rushed for 128 yards and had a 50-yard touchdown run and host Big Walnut beat Rossford 35-2 last night in a Division III regional quarterfinal.

Rossford is the smallest DIII school in Ohio, and would not have made the playoffs if they'd remained in DIV.

TRUE:
Rossford Boys 215+
Big Walnut Boys 350+

Yeah we lose some kids in our area to the Catholic Schools but that is the way it is nationwide.

[thievery!]

Originally Posted by EastSide

JOE REED
Dispatch





TRUE:
Rossford Boys 215+
Big Walnut Boys 350+

Yeah we lose some kids in our area to the Catholic Schools but that is the way it is nationwide.

Losing him seemed to rub a lot of Rossford people the wrong way. Rossford is predominantly Catholic, and does lose a quite a few kids to the parochial schools in Toledo, but Kleeberger isn't Catholic. His father was on the school board and his brother is the drummer in a Christian rock band that sued the school district after they were told they couldn't play at an in-school assembly. The lawsuit was a huge deal locally, especially when another school board member's son's band was allowed to play. That particular member is from a prominent Catholic family in town.

The irony and intrigue over Kleeberger transferring to a Catholic school after the much publicized lawsuit still hasn't died down.

It's unfortunate, as the family was well-liked and respected in town and still has children in the school system. In the end, you can't blame the kid for wanting to play on a team that was coming off the DII state title and featured an Ohio State-bound Dane Sanzenbacher at WR.

In a round-about way, Kleeberger's probably responsible for Rossford's playoff berth this year, as Coach Werbylo scrapped the spread in favor of the winged-t. The Rossford defense benefited greatly from the emphasis on the running game, as the no-huddle spread was largely ineffective over the years and left the defense on the field for the majority of the game.

[EastSide]

SHELBY WIPPETTS
1. Experienced team with many returning seniors led by their Senior QB who is their most valuable player as with most teams.

2. Offense is run-first.

3. They run the triple-option led by the QB and FB but they will use 5 or more TB and will use misdirection like there is no tomorrow but FB#33 is by far their main weapon.

"You have to give Shelby credit," Bellefontaine coach Jason Brown said. "They run that triple-option better than anyone we've seen."

4. If they have a any weakness it will be their secondary. They did an excellent job shutting down the high speed run game of Bellefontaine but the run game may open if the secondary is exploited early.

Last Game Against Bellefontaine:
Rushing: 69 rushing attempts for 393 yards. QB had 2 TDS, TB#13 had 2 TDS, FB#33 had 200yds.

5. O-Line averages 240lbs.

6. #11 WR/Special Teams seems to make some big plays with and average kickoff return of 22 yds.

Team Website: Shelby Football

[EastSide]

Shelby Daily Globe

“Our game plan was to keep their athletes off the field and their offense off the field. Do that and they can’t score,” said Whippet coach Chris Solis after watching his club grind up the Chieftans 35-7.

SHS ran off 77 offensive plays to 28 by the home team. That lopsided figure also resulted in a one-sided time of possession that saw the red and gray devour 35 minutes and 48 seconds off of the clock.

The mastery by the locals also included a 417-120 cushion in total yardage and a whopping 26-3 edge in first downs.

Bellefontaine never got untracked in the second half as they mustered just 12 yards in offense while having the ball for only five minutes and 37 minutes.

While the Hungry Hounds were stuffing the run-oriented Chieftans, the Shelby offensive line was dominating and creating gaping holes for backs to run through all evening.

Cont'd

Really detailed article praising the home team.

[EastSide]

Here is an article where the OHSAA director explains the reasoning behind site determinations.

The Dispatch

Of note Last year Big Walnut was the higher seed and had to travel 2 hours to play St. Mary's Memorial while they only traveled hlaf hour.

But this year Shelby fans are upset but here is the reason:

Such assumptions aren't always as obvious as they seem. For example, it might upset Shelby partisans that their Division III, Region 10 game against Big Walnut will be played at Olentangy, just a stone's throw from Big Walnut. The longer travel distance not withstanding, Zaborniak's panel took into consideration Shelby's loyal following when it chose Olentangy over Lexington because the larger visiting stands would better accommodate such a crowd.

In summary the Shelby fanbase is huge and they needed a large facility and Mansfield isn't an option and it looks as though Marion isn't either.

In all reality playing at Brave Stadium is like he bucks playing a bowl game in The Big House.

[EastSide]

A look at it from the northMansfield News Journal

"(Big Walnut) runs a hodge-podge of different looks on offense, but you better always know where the quarterback (Ethan Wetzel) is. He is a playmaker who knows how to make sure his team is in the right position," said Solis, in his fifth year with the program.

Shelby's Cody Baker slices through the Willard defense during an overtime win in Week 7. Baker and the Whippets take on top-seeded Big Walnut in the Division III, Region 10 semifinals Friday at Olentangy High School in Lewis Center.

And a look from the south
Eagles' next obstacle: Whippets' triple option

Sunbury News

"This should be a nice little matchup because the teams are evenly matched," Wetzel said. "We have a lot of respect for their program and the kind of team they have this year."

[EastSide]

Big Walnut defense comes up big! Studlein with 15+ tackles and an interception had probably his best game this year.

BW: Wetzel 49 run (Dronsfield kick); BW: Tutorow 6 run (Dronsfield kick); BW: Wolfe 79 run (Dronsfield kick); BW: Reed 35 pass from Wetzel (Dronsfield kick); BW: Baer 30 fumble return (Dronsfield kick); SH: Sommer 23 pass from Coward (Coward run).

Shelby couldn't get anything going after their opening drive in which they marched down the field with ease only to turn the ball over in Big Walnut territory.

Shelby had way too many turn overs and I believe that 21 of Big Walnut's points came from turnovers if not more.

Great game and good to see wetzel back on defense. Also an awesome fumble recovery and run in for touchdown by Big Bad Lineman Kelvin Baer!!!!!sp?

Shelby's only score came from a deep pass on the final play of the game with 1.5 seconds left.

One step closer. GO EAGLES! Great Game! Oh EDIT: Mark Nelson #22 He was HUGE has been HUGE and will be HUGE in throughout the playoffs!