Colerain 10, Middletown 7
On Senior Night, it was junior Jarret Grace who sealed a 10-7 Colerain victory over the Middletown Middies at Cardinal Stadium in a playoff-like atmosphere. With the Cardinals protecting a slim three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, a short Colerain punt gave the Middies excellent field position, and Middletown looked poised to score. That's when Grace reversed the momentum with his interception. Grace took the ball to the Middie 31-yard line, but the Colerain offense kept the game interesting by failing to add to their lead. The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs providing Middletown with an opportunity to score with just under three minutes remaining in the contest. Middletown was able to move the ball to midfield, but a forced pass by Middie quarterback Caleb Watkins led to Grace's second interception of the night with 1:54 to go and eliminated any hope of a Middletown comeback. The Cardinals faced an early deficit as the Middies sustained a seven minute opening drive that resulted in a five-yard touchdown run by Watkins to give Middletown a 7-0 lead. A Middletown fumble deep in Colerain territory helped the Cardinals knot the score with a minute left in the first half. Colerain's Darius Godfrey recovered the fumble and ran to the Colerain 29. Two plays later freshman Chris Davis ran 21 yards for the touchdown, making the score 7-7. A Colerain field goal on their first possession in the third quarter would give the Cardinals all they needed to hand Middletown its first defeat of 2009. With the win Colerain avenges last season's 42-39 defeat at the hands of the Middies. That loss broke a string of over 60 conference victories for the Cardinals. As a reminder of that disappointing defeat, players wrote "42-39" on their arms for the contest. The Cardinals' playoff hopes remain intact as they head to Oak Hills for the final game of the regular season. The loss was devastating to Middletown's playoff hopes as they brace for next week's match-up with Princeton.
Mount Healthy 21, Northwest 12
The Mount Healthy Owls kept their playoff hopes alive and stayed tied for the top spot in the FAVC Scarlet as they defeated the Northwest Knights 21-12 on Friday night.
Mount Healthy (6-3, 3-1) was able to capitalize on three first-quarter fumbles by the Knights, converting two of the turnovers into touchdowns. Junior quarterback rushed for 67 yards and a pair of scores and running back Tracy Barnes led all rushers with 104 yards on 14 carries, including a 73-yard touchdown run. Northwest (4-5, 1-3) was out of sync most of the evening, including their leading rusher Preston Brown, who was limited to just five yards on three carries as the Knights were forced to abandon the running game early in the contest. The Owls entered the week in the sixth spot in the latest Division II Region 8 computer ratings and now appear to be in control of their own destiny as they enter the final week of the season. Mount Healthy will take a three-game winning streak into next week's finale against Edgewood as they seek their first-ever FAVC Scarlet title and their first conference championship since 2005. They enter the contest tied with the Cougars with a 3-1 league mark. Northwest will look to finish the season on a positive note as they travel to Ross after losing five of their last six games.
Winton Woods 21, Loveland 7
Winton Woods (7-2, 3-1) got quite the scare from a tough Loveland (4-5, 1-3) squad. The game was knotted up a 7-7 at intermission. Turnovers led paved the way to two third quarter touchdowns to break things open for the Warriors. Winton Woods quarterback Dominique Brown was sensational running for 178 yards and a score and passing for 101 and a touchdown through the air. Running back Jeremiah Goins chipped in for another 131 yards on the ground. The Warriors shredded the Tigers defense with 360 yards rushing in the contest. It was the Winton Woods defense was that was the difference in this one. They held Lockland to 25 yards rushing and intercepted three passes in the contest. Adam Engel was the lone bright spot for the Tigers with five receptions, 147 yards receiving and a touchdown. Winton Woods closes out the season as they host Glen Este (4-5, 1-3). Loveland travel to play rival Milford (5-4, 1-3) to wrap up their year. North College Hill (9-0, 6-0) remained unbeaten as they knocked off Lockland (8-1, 5-1) on Friday night. The win puts them all alone atop of the Miami Valley Conference standings . The Trojans were led by quarterback Dakota Dartis who threw for two touchdowns. Senior running back Lucien Kidd ran for another two scores. North College Hill built a 21-10 halftime lead and never looked back. The Panthers had a hard time moving the ball on offense as North College Hill put 10 and 11 guys on the line of scrimmage all evening long to suppress the Lockland running attack. The strategy worked enough to force two fumbles including one that was returned 62 yards for a score by Stefone Grace to open up the games scoring. North College Hill looks to cap of a perfect regular season with a home matchup against New Miami (1-8, 1-5). Lockland closes out its year with a home game against Fayetteville-Perry.