2008-2009 Schedule

Here is the boys varsity basketball schedule:

Dec. 2008 OPPONENT TIME
Fri. 5 Ross 7:30 PM
Sat. 6 at Mount Healthy 7:30 PM
Tue. 9 at Talawanda 7:30 PM
Fri. 12 Middletown 7:30 PM
Fri. 19 Fairfield 7:30 PM
Sat. 20 at Harrison 7:30 PM
Tue. 23 Kings 7:30 PM

Jan. 2009 OPPONENT TIME
Fri. 2 at Oak Hills 7:30 PM
Tue. 6 Hamilton 7:30 PM
Fri. 9 at Lakota East 7:30 PM
Fri. 16 Lakota West 7:00 PM
Fri. 23 at Mason 7:30 PM
Tue. 27 Sycamore 7:30 PM
Fri. 30 Princeton 7:30 PM

Feb. 2009 OPPONENT TIME
Tue. 3 at Fairfield 7:30 PM
Fri. 6 at Middletown 7:30 PM
Tue. 10 Oak Hills 7:30 PM
Fri. 13 at Lakota West 7:30 PM
Tue. 17 at Northwest 7:30 PM
Fri. 20 Lakota East 7:30 PM

Thank you, Seniors

As the season went along of course we had our favorite seniors to talk to and watch play. Brandon White and Colin Lozier were great quotes and talked about that game of football in such a way that I have no doubt that both would make great coaches some day. Both have bright futures in whatever field they choose. Cole Pasqaule and Nick Preissman are so soft spoken that it if you met them away from the football field you would not know how ferocious either were.

To all the seniors we talked with and those we didn't get a chance to: Thank you. Your contributions (1 R4 title and 2 R4 finalists) has furthered the tradition and mystique of Colerain Football!

No. Name
2 Kevin Moore
3 Cole Pasquale
9 Damon Sims
10 Jonathan Prather
11 Ryan Foster
13 Jordan Ross
15 Tomasin Okunade
27 Colin Lozier
28 Nicholas Priessman
32 Thaddeus Steele
35 Andy Wilkens
36 Mark Ornella
40 Zach Green
44 Andrew Coors
45 Vinnie Phillips
47 Drew Taylor
52 Adam Moser
54 Justin VanNiman
55 Keith Minges
58 Chris Bertram
60 Brad Hasdorff
63 DJ Snell
75 Farhad Partia
76 Brandon White
78 Zach Zillig
83 Tommy Stockhoff
88 Kyle Davis
90 Chris West

Thanks to everyone for a great year!

I, as the webmaster of the WeAreColerain.com website, would like to thank everyone for a great season. I would like to thank my volunteer staff for helping bring all the content for the fans to enjoy, the fans for visiting and helping make the site what it is today, the Colerain athletic department for allowing us to be on the field to provide the content, Coach Bolden for allowing us access to the team for interviews as well as allowing us to interview him before and after games.

We are still learning as we do this, we are all volunteers who are Colerain alumni and former players who just enjoy supporting our team. I would like the thank the following staff for all their contributions this year:

Al Gabriel: Videographer
Brian Wyatt: Sideline Reporter/Interviewer
Mike Noyes: Photographer
Chris Himonidis: Writer

This offseason we are going to provide more content than ever on football signings and happenings, such as Midnight Lift and others. We will also be reporting more on basketball results, which we have never done.

Thanks most of all to football team for providing us with another exciting season. Thanks to the seniors and good luck in the future!

Thanks,

Jason Helferich
Webmaster
WeAreColerain.com

Highlights from Elder Game

Elder Postgame Interview with Coach Bolden

Cardinals fight to the end, fall to Elder 27-20 in double OT

The Colerain Cardinals fought hard in a tough 27-20 double overtime loss to the Elder Panthers last night. Colerain trailed much of the game, but put together a big drive late in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Elder was able to move into field goal range and hit a field goal with a couple minutes left to tie the game and force OT.

In OT, the Cardinals took the first possession and on the third play had a bad exchange between the QB and FB and lost the ball. Elder played for a field goal, which the Cardinals blocked, giving them new life.

In the second OT, Elder took the ball first and scored a TD pass on the first play. Colerain came back and on the second play put the ball on the ground, which was recovered by Elder, thus ending the game.

All in all, the Cardinals fought hard to the end and had chances to win, but came up short. I know I speak for most in the Colerain community when I say that this team put together an incredible season, beyond most of our expectations. This was thought to be kind of a rebuilding year, but it the exactly opposite. Congrats to the seniors on this team for leading this young group of Cardinals.

Thanks Colerain for a great year!!

Vote Tyler Williams: Player of the Week!

Gold Star Player of the Week!
http://tristatefootball.com/player.asp

Priessman, Williams, White named First Team All Southwest District

WeAreColerain.com would like to extend a congratulations to Colerain Seniors Brandon White & Nicholas Priessman, and also Sophomore Tyler Williams on being named First Team All Southwest District. Congrats to these players for this great honor!!

Southwest All-District Football List
11/10/2008, 7:26 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The 2008 Associated Press Southwest All-District football teams, based on the recommendations of a media panel:

DIVISION I

First team

Offense: Ends_Josh Jones, Cin. Elder, 6-foot-2 210 pounds, senior; Tony Harris, Cin. Moeller, 5-10,160, sr. Linemen_Austen Bujnoch, Cin. Elder, 6-4 275, sr.; Matt James, Cin. St. Xavier, 6-7, 285, jr.; Andy Weber, Cin. Sycamore, 6-3, 250, sr.; Brandon White, Cin. Colerain, 6-5, 315, sr.; Jake Feldmeyer, Centerville, 6-4, 270, sr.; Quarterback_Mark Miller, Cin. Elder, 6-0, 170, jr. Backs_Bud Golden, Cin. Sycamore, 6-1,195, sr.; Tyler Williams, Cin. Colerain, 5-7, 145, soph.; Matt Allen, Troy, 6-0, 190, sr.; Return specialist_Jerry Gates, Middletown, 5-10,185, jr. Kicker_Tony Miliano, Cin. Elder, 6-1, 170 , jr.

Defense: Linemen_Pat Muldoon, Cin. St. Xavier, 6-4, 255, sr.; Orlando Scales, Cin. Elder, 6-2, 240, sr; Sean McClellan, Cin. Moeller, 6-3, 245, sr.; Adam Replogle, Centerville, 6-3, 275, sr. Linebackers_Denicos Allen, Hamilton, 6-0, 206, sr.; Jordan Hicks, Lakota West, 6-2, 210, jr.; Austin Moore, Springfield, 6-1, 216, sr.; Nick Galvin, Cin. Moeller, 6-1, 215 jr. Backs: Nick Priessman, Cin. Colerain, 5-11, 170, sr.; C.J. Barnett, Clayton Northmont, 6-1,187, sr.; Luke Kuechly, Cin. St. Xavier, 6-3, 220, sr. Punter_Steve Hull, Cin. Sycamore, 6-2, 180, sr.

Offensive player of the year: Mark Miller, Cin. Moeller.

Defensive players of the year_Pat Muldoon, Cin. St. Xavier; Denicos Allen, Hamilton.

Coaches of the year: Doug Ramsey, Cin. Elder; Lance Schneider, Clayton Northmont.

Second team

Offense: Ends_Jeff Duckworth, Cin. Princeton, 6-1, 198, sr; Brendon Cunningham, Kettering Fairmont, 6-1, 195, jr., Linemen_Joe Brading, Troy, 5-10, 250, sr.; Ethan Harrig, Middletown, 6-2, 250, sr.; Sean Brooks, Clayton Northmont, 6-2, 224, sr.; John Anevski, Cin. Elder, 6-3, 265, sr.; Alex Rehmert, Huber Hts. Wayne, 6-3, 280, sr. Quarterback_Spencer Ware, Cin. Princeton, 5-11, 215, jr.; Backs_Erik Finklea, Cin. Woodward, 6-2, 200, sr.; Erique Geiger, Huber Hts. Wayne, 5-11, 200, sr.; Antonio Banks, Middletown, 5-10, 200, jr. Return Specialist_Randy Doss, Harrison, 6-0, 185, sr. Kicker_Nick Gundel, Beavercreek, 5-9, 160, jr.

BLACKOUT THE PANTHERS!

Al Gabriel
WeAreColerain.com

In case you haven't heard, the Colerain student body is requesting a 'Blackout' this Saturday night at Nippert Stadium. Please help unify the Cardinal faithful and wear black and help Turn Out the Lights on the Elder Panthers.

To borrow a UC phrase:

Come Early
Be Loud
Wear Black.

Go Cards!

Elder Preview Interviews

Coach Bolden, Cole Pasquale and Greg Tabar help us preview the GCL Champion, Elder Panthers.

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Elder Preview

Chris Himonidis
WeAreColerain.com

What: 2008 OHSAA Football Playoffs: Regional Finals
Division I, Region 4
Who: #1 Colerain Cardinals (11-1) vs. #3 Elder Panthers (11-1)
Where: Nippert Stadium, University of Cincinnati
When: Saturday November 15, 2008 @ 7:00 PM

Colerain Ticket Info:
Colerain will play Elder in the Regional Finals of the Ohio Division I State Football playoffs on Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Nippert Stadium. Colerain will be the home team with seating on the Press Box side of the stadium.

Tickets for the game will be sold beginning Tuesday morning, November 11. Pre-Sale General Admission Tickets are $7.00 for students 5 and older and adults. Game Day General Admission Tickets are $9.00 for students 5 and older and adults. Pre-Sale ticket sales will end on Friday, November 10 at all locations.

Pre-Sale tickets may be purchased at any of the following locations:

Colerain High School Athletic Office:
Tuesday – Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Colerain Middle School:
Tuesday – Thursday from 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Colerain Bowl:
Tuesday – Thursday from 9:00 a.m. – Midnight
Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Heid's Lanes:
Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. – Midnight
Thursday from 12:00 noon – Midnight
Friday – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

How they got here: Regular Season
Elder (9-1 Overall, 3-0 GCL) finished the regular season on an 8-game winning streak. Their only loss of the season came in week 2 at the Herbstreit Challenge where they fell to nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), 35-24. Elder’s season has been characterized mainly by a dynamic offense led by GCL Player of the Year QB MARK MILLER (Jr.). The defense has done more than hold it’s own against some big name opponents this year as well allowing just 16 points/game.

Colerain (9-1, 6-1 GMC Champions) has had a more consistent journey through the season with their only loss coming in week 7 at Middletown, 39-42. Tough tests early on against St. Xavier and McKeesport (PA) were critical as Colerain had to hold off furious upset attempts from Mason and Sycamore AT HOME to earn the #1 seed in the Division I, Region 4 playoffs.

How they got here: 2008 Playoffs: Elder (11-1) certainly enjoyed the confines of their cozy Pit in week 11 as they blasted GWOC representative Centerville (7-3, 3-2 GWOC) right out of the stadium with an impressive offensive display, 52-27. The game was 38-13 going into the 4th quarter. In that game, Elder amassed 347 yards passing and 177 yards rushing. It was a complete effort by the Panthers. In week 12, a different team seemed to show up at Nippert Stadium. Playing GWOC-C Champion Northmont (10-1, 5-0 GWOC), the Panthers struggled mightily on offense. While the Panthers collected just under 300 yards of total offense, they were only able to visit the land of 6 one time the entire game, and that came in the 1st quarter. They were down 10-7 heading into the 4th when K ANTHONY MILIANO (Jr.) does what he does best…boot 2 FG’s to put the Panthers up for good, 13-10.

The Cardinals (10-1) were pushed to the brink in week 11 by the Moeller Crusaders. With the score knotted at 10 half-way through the 4th quarter, LB TYON DIXON (Jr.) scooped up a Moeller fumble and raced 88 yards for the go-ahead and eventual winning score. Colerain held Moeller in check with an interception late and ran out the clock inside the Moeller red zone to win and advance, 17-10. In week 12, the Cards looked much better defensively as they were able to effectively shut down GWOC-C member Huber Heights Wayne (8-3, 2-3 GWOC) and score their second shutout in their past 3 games. The Cardinals were rock solid on the ground, as usual, racking up 337 yards on the ground at a 6.0 avg. Three RB TYLER WILLIAMS (So.) TD runs and a K JORDAN ROSS (Sr.) 22 Yard FG was all Colerain needed to secure their place in the Regional Final against Elder.



Key Players & Stats (regular season only)
Elder
QB - #16 Mark Miller (Jr.) – 1,968 yards, 21 TD/4 int, 69.9% comp.
RB - #11 Adam Brown (Jr.) – 836 yards, 12 TD, 6.5 Avg
WR - #82 Josh Jones (Sr.) – 691 yards, 8 TD, 16.9 Avg
WR - #3 Tim O’Conner (Jr.) – 545 yards, 8 TD, 13.3 Avg
WR - #13 Michael Del Prince (Sr.) – 508 yards, 4 TD, 13.4 Avg
DL - #26 Carlos Ware (Sr.) – 5.5 sacks, 1 FR
DL - #55 Orlando Scales (Sr.) – 6.5 sacks
LB - #20 Dominic Palmisano (Sr.) – 1 FR, 2 int, 1 TD
DB - #22 Zach Autenrieb (Sr.) – 1 sack, 3 int, 1 TD

COLERAIN
QB - #8 Greg Tabar (Jr.) – 515 yards, 6 TD/4 int, 44.3% comp.
as a rusher – 805 yards, 16 TD, 5.8 Avg
TB - #1 Tyler Williams (So.) – 1,269 yards, 16 TD, 10.3 Avg
FB - #34 Trayion Durham (So.) – 1,032 yards, 9 TD, 5.9 Avg
WR - #11 Ryan Foster (Sr.) – 345 yards, 5 TD, 24.6 Avg
DL - #52 Adam Moser (Sr.) – 2.5 sacks
LB - #27 Colin Lozier (Sr.) – 4.5 sacks, 1 Forced Fumble
LB - #5 Tyon Dixon (Jr.) – 3.5 sacks
DB - #28 Nicholas Priessman (Sr.) – 5 int, 2 returned for TDs
DB - #3 Cole Pasquale (Sr.) – 4 int

Keys to Victory
ELDER
• RUN…THEN PASS – Look, it’s not a secret that Elder likes to throw the ball. It is what they do to score points. However, they are not going to be able to do that exclusively against an underrated Colerain secondary. The Cardinals are much closer to Northmont in skill level than Centerville. I think the Panthers are going to have to establish the run early to show their balance on offense. RB NICK GRAMKE (Sr.) could be an X factor in this game. He has carried the ball only 3 times this post-season, but two of those touches have been for TD’s. He is much bigger and stronger than RB ADAM BROWN (Jr.) and would certainly have an advantage against an undersized Cardinal DL. Mixing his talents with Brown’s outside running ability would keep the safeties and DB’s up just a bit and would allow QB MARK MILLER (Jr.) the ability to hit his big receivers in stride down the field for big gains.
• ASSIGNMENT FOOTBALL – No difference here vs. the Wayne preview. Despite the impressive win over Centerville, Elder struggled mightily to slow down the Elks rushing attack. Centerville rushed the ball 64 times for 320 yards. That’s a 5.0 yard avg/rush. And for a team that was down, the Elks never felt the need to attempt a lot of passes as they only went to the air 9 times all game. They just did what they do but unfortunately, were unable to slow down (at all!) Elder’s passing attack. The key players here are going to be the LB’s and Safeties for Elder. They are going to have to keep their assignments and tackle well because if Colerain’s RB’s get space, they are faster and more elusive than the Elder secondary and will rip off 8, 9, & 10 yard chunks at a time.
• THE HEAD MAN – Doug Ramsey has 2 State Championships to his credit. He has been around the Elder house for quite some time and knows how it works. He comes into this game with TONS of big game experience and specifically, has designed many a game plan to stop Colerain’s option attack. It was Doug Ramsey, not St. Xavier HC Steve Specht, who was the first HC in the Cincinnati area to give Colerain fits offensively. He is going to have to dust off some tapes from almost a decade ago to show these kids how to beat Colerain because they haven’t done it in 5 years. However, if there is a Ricky Brown or Drew Metz on the defense, Coach Ramsey will know how to use them and will need to guide his relatively young team with a cool hand on Saturday night. He clearly has the coaching advantage over his counterpart on the Colerain sideline and he will need to use that experience and sense of “Been there, done that” if Elder is to move on to the State Tournament.
COLERAIN
• BE PERFECT – There is no other way to say it. The offense must simply BE PERFECT. They cannot afford incorrect reads, penalties or God forbid, turnovers. Elder’s offense is a quick strike offense that can bury you in a heartbeat and the Cardinals simply do not have an offense to get into a high-scoring affair. The past two weeks have been sub-par in terms of offensive output. They have been the lowest offensive output since weeks 1 & 2. That cannot happen against Elder. The Cards will need upwards of 28+ points to have a chance in this game and it rests solely on the shoulders of QB GREG TABAR (Jr.) to get that done.
• HEAD’S UP! – Most think the key for Colerain defensively is to put pressure on their QB Miller to force mistakes and take advantage. I am not going to go down that path because quite simply, I have seen this DL enough to know that pressuring the QB is not something they are capable of doing on a consistent basis. They are too small and against a larger, more experienced group of Sr. OL from Elder, the DL will struggle. So, it falls in the hands of the secondary to keep their HEADS UP as the ball will be in the air often. The DB’s are going up against a very good group of receivers and one player concerns me the most…TE ALEX WELCH (Jr.). He doesn’t get the press of some others on this team but he is big and talented and Colerain always seems to struggle with big and talented TE’s. You have to believe that Jones and O’Conner/Del Prince will get theirs, but the Defense cannot allow Welch to have a big game. If he is catching seam passes for 5+ yards every time, it could be a long night for the Colerain defense. Also, when they DO get the chance to lay a lick on the QB, they need to hit him like a Mack truck. He has never played Colerain before so he has no idea what is about to hit him. Make him have nightmares for a year about the hits he is about to endure and the Cards might just be able to rattle him enough to force some mistakes.
• LESSONS LEARNED – Remember the lessons learned from this season. Go all the way back to August and remember what it took to beat St. Xavier and McKeesport. Those were tight, intense games that required concentration and effort to win. Saturday will be no different. Elder is the best team Colerain will have faced all year and the players and coaches (and fans!) need to remember that when we fall behind (and we will), it doesn’t mean the end is near. It simply means that the Cardinals will have another chance for a comeback. These young kids must KNOW that they are never out of any game…ever. It’s time to see how much these young Cardinals have grown in the past 12 weeks. It’s time to see how much they’ve learned.

Bottom – Line
Number 1 (Elder) vs. Number 2 (Colerain) in the city. It’s the game that every prep football fan has been waiting for. No more words, no more speculating, no more yapping. It’s here.

Offensively, Colerain has got to be perfect. Absolutely NO TURNOVERS this week and a stingy, ball control offense are the game plan this week. Nothing cutesy or out of the ordinary is necessary. If the Cardinals are chucking the ball all over the place, we have reason for concern. Do what you do and sprinkle in a pass here and there to keep the Panthers honest. But do not stray from what got you here. That is a recipe for disaster.

Defensively, wow…what a task this will be. Elder overlooked a very good Northmont team last week. That won’t happen this Saturday. Elder has been looking to re-establish themselves in the city and this is their chance to do it. Beating two Dayton teams to get here doesn’t give them near the satisfaction they will garner from beating Colerain. The Cardinals must play smart, ball-hawking defense. The ball will be in the air enough that an INT returned for a TD may be in the Cards this week. But most importantly, THE DEFENSE, AS A UNIT, MUST TACKLE BETTER THAN THEY HAVE LATELY!!! This is a weakness on this team that still completely befuddles me. A broken tackle by either the RB BROWN or any of the WR’s will result in big-play city for Elder and that’s not good.

Familiar Foe Awaits...

Al Gabriel
WeAreColerain.com

Beginning with a 14-7 win over then number 1 Elder in the first game of 2000, there has been no game in Cincinnati quite like playing Elder for Colerain or its fans. Colerain used the regular season win at UC's Nippert Stadium to spring board into a program that has found itself playing for the Region 4 title for the seventh time this decade, including a victory over Elder in the 2000 Region 4 title game. While Doug Ramsey remains firmly in command of the Panther football program, Colerain coach, Tom Bolden, will make his head coaching debut in this fierce rivalry. But coach Bolden is no stranger to the hype as he was the Colerain QB coach/Assistant OC in 2004 when Colerain duplicated the 2000 accomplishment of beating Elder in the regular season and following it up with a post season victory.
Elder has had is share of success, though, in the rivalry ending Colerain's season in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The 2002 and 2003 games were both for the regional championship and are amongst the best high school football games this city has ever witnessed.

a quick look back:

2000: Colerain 14 Elder 7
2000: Colerain 44 Elder 10 R4 Final
2001: Elder 35 Colerain 21 R4 Semi-Final
2002: Elder 28 Colerain 21 R4 Final
2003: Elder 24 Colerain 23 R4 Final
2004: Colerain 21 Elder 3
2004: Colerain 38 Elder 3 R4 Quarter-Final

What's in store for 2008? We will soon find out. Stay tuned to www.WeAreColerain.com for a full game preview and pregame comments from coach Tom Bolden.

Highlights from Wayne Game

Here is the highlight reel from Saturday's win over Wayne:

Coach Bolden interview with mic

In this clip we used a mic and the audio is much better than the one we posted earlier.

Check it out:

Coach Bolden and Colin Lozier speak about Wayne

For the 7th time this decade, the Colerain Cardinals will play for the Region 4 championship. An acomplishment to be proud of for sure.

Coach Bolden and Senior LB Colin Lozier speak about the Wayne game. We apologize for the audio but the mic wasn't working and the PA at Nippert wouldn't shut up.

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RED OUT THE WARRIORS!

Red Out The Warriors!

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Before we did the interview last night, I asked coach Bolden if he would have any problems if we (wearecolerain.com) called for a 'Red Out' this Saturday at Nippert. Coach Bolden said he did not...

so...

If you are student at Colerain who reads Yappi or www.WeAreColerain.com and plan on attending the game: Wear RED!

If you are student at Colerain who plans on wearing RED to the game on Saturday: Bring three friends and make them wear RED, too!


If you are parent, realative, almunus, teacher or fan of Colerain and will be at the game on Saturday: Wear RED!

If you have friends or family who will attend the game but aren't visitors to Yappi or www.WeAreColerain.com: First, tell them about the website (shamless plug) THEN tell them to wear RED to the game.




Go Cards! Wear RED!

Coach Bolden Interview: Wayne Preview

Coach Bolden discusses the Warriors and game preperation.

Colerain will be the home team, wearing red jerseys and will occupy the press box side of Nippert Stadium.

I floated the idea of a 'Red Out' past coach Bolden and he was all for it.

Wear Red and spread the word! RED OUT THE WARRIORS!

Playoff Game Preview: Huber Heights Wayne

By Chris Himonidis
www.WeAreColerain.com

What: 2008 OHSAA Football Playoffs: Regional Semi-Finals
Division I, Region 4
Who: #1 Colerain Cardinals (10-1) vs. #4 Wayne Warriors (8-3)
Where: Nippert Stadium, University of Cincinnati
When: Saturday November 8, 2008 @ 3:00 PM

Colerain Ticket Info:
Tickets for the game will be sold beginning Tuesday morning, November 4. Pre-Sale General Admission Tickets are $7.00 for students 5 and older and adults. Game Day General Admission Tickets are $12.00 for students 5 and older and adults. Tickets are good for both the Colerain game and the Elder – Northmont game which will be played at 7:00 p.m.

Pre-Sale tickets may be purchased at any of the following locations:

Colerain High School Athletic Office
Tuesday – Thursday – 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday – 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Colerain Middle School
Tuesday – Thursday – 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Friday – 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Colerain Bowl
Tuesday – Thursday – 9:00 a.m. – Midnight
Friday – 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Heid's Lanes
Tuesday and Wednesday – 9:00 a.m. – Midnight
Thursday – 12:00 noon – Midnight
Friday – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

How they got here
Wayne (7-3 Overall, 2-3 GWOC) has had an up and down season. They got a big boost early in the year by beating traditional St. Louis (MO) power East St. Louis Senior, 20-12. It all came to a crashing halt when Sophomore phenom QB BRAXTON MILLER got hurt on the 1st play of the 2nd half against Northmont. With MILLER believed to be out for the year, Wayne was forced to go to their 4th and even 5th string QB’s and would eventually lose, 17-7 to the Thunderbolts. After holding on to beat Beavercreek with Freshman QB TONY PETERS at the helm, Wayne could not maintain momentum as they suffered their worst loss in GWOC history at the hands of their bitter rival, the Centerville Elks, 31-14 the following week. Wayne finished on an up note by beating rival Springfield, 20-14 in week 10.

Colerain (10-1, 6-1 GMC Champions) has had a more consistent journey through the season with their only loss coming in week 7 at Middletown, 39-42. Tough tests early on against St. Xavier and McKeesport (PA) were critical as Colerain had to hold off furious upset attempts from Mason and Sycamore AT HOME to earn the #1 seed in the Division I, Region 4 playoffs.

2008 Playoffs: Wayne (8-3) had absolutely no trouble dispatching CPS Cinderella Woodward (10-1) last week at home. The Warriors ran rough shod over the Bulldogs and were leading 45-0 at halftime with the final score being 52-0. The Warriors held Woodward to 11 Total Yards of offense and 4 1st downs for the entire game. The big takeaway was the return of Senior QB Ryan Bitsko (6’2”, 195lb) who hadn’t seen ANY game action since Wayne’s 35-7 win over Springfield South on October 5, 2007.

The Cardinals (10-1) were pushed to the brink in week 11 by the Moeller Crusaders. With the score knotted at 10 half-way through the 4th quarter, JR LB Tyon Dixon scooped up a Moeller fumble and raced 88 yards for the go-ahead and eventual winning score. Colerain held Moeller in check with an interception late and ran out the clock inside the Moeller red zone to win and advance, 17-10.

Key Players & Stats (regular season only, except where noted)
WAYNE
QB - #8 Ryan Bitsko (Sr.) – (PLAYOFF STATS ONLY!) 176 yards, 0 TD/0 int, 60% comp.
RB - #34 Erique Geiger (Sr.) – 1,201 yards, 14 TD, 6.0 Avg
WR - #81 Rodney Camper (Sr.) – 338 yards, 1 TD, 14.1 Avg
WR - #6 Shawn Whitehurst (Jr.) – 211 yards, 3 TD, 9.2 Avg
DL - #86 Anthony Pyle (Sr.) – 2.5 sacks
DL - #89 Brock Lundeen (Sr.) – 4.0 sacks, 1 FR, 1 TD
DL - #90 Terry Talbott (Jr.) – 2.0 sacks
LB - #47 Cody Smith (Sr.) – 1 sacks, 1 FR
DB - #2 Javon Marshall (Sr.) – 1 FR
DB - #14 Terrence Talbott (Jr.) – 3 int

COLERAIN
QB - #8 Greg Tabar (Jr.) – 515 yards, 6 TD/4 int, 44.3% comp.
as a rusher – 805 yards, 16 TD, 5.8 Avg
TB - #1 Tyler Williams (So.) – 1,269 yards, 16 TD, 10.3 Avg
FB - #34 Trayion Durham (So.) – 1,032 yards, 9 TD, 5.9 Avg
WR - #11 Ryan Foster (Sr.) – 345 yards, 5 TD, 24.6 Avg
DL - #52 Adam Moser (Sr.) – 2.5 sacks
LB - #27 Colin Lozier (Sr.) – 4.5 sacks, 1 Forced Fumble
LB - #5 Tyon Dixon (Jr.) – 3.5 sacks
DB - #28 Nicholas Priessman (Sr.) – 5 int, 2 returned for TDs
DB - #3 Cole Pasquale (Sr.) – 4 int

Keys to Victory
WAYNE
• BALANCE – The Wayne offense must show balance. They aren’t going to be able to run the ball or throw the ball exclusively. The OL specifically is going to have to do a good job slowing down a small but quick DL. Quick rising DL/LB DAMON SIMS of Colerain could cause problems for this OL who must protect a QB who has played 1 game this season against a vastly overmatched Woodward Bulldogs squad.
• ASSIGNMENT FOOTBALL – This is key when facing any option team. For those that see Colerain on a regular basis, there is at least an idea on how to stop their offense. Unlike Centerville, Colerain is a true triple option team. The QB makes the read on the line of scrimmage and dictates where the play is going to go. Wayne has a tremendous DL, arguably the strength of their team, and they are going to have to play disciplined assignment football to win this game. They are fast and athletic and must use their football savvy to slow down the 3-headed monster rushing game. That can only be done if they follow their assignments and tackle well.
• BIG MO – No…not Moeller…MOmentum. If the Warriors want to pull off the upset, it would behoove them to focus on winning two things: turnovers and field position. These are key because one (turnovers) usually begets the other (field position). If they can win these two key areas of play, that could give them momentum throughout the contest and potentially provide a very close game 4th quarter.
COLERAIN
• FIND THEMSELVES – Not sure which offense showed up last Saturday at the Cage but it was not the same Cardinal offense that has averaged 35 points and 388 yards per game. It sounds silly to say, but the offense needs to prove themselves against Wayne. Part of that is coaching (see below) and part of that is the entire offensive unit. The OL looked like a sieve at times against Moeller and the usually steady hand and decision making of QB GREG TABAR was clearly not on. Credit to Moeller’s defensive game plan, certainly, but do not discount the fact that if this team plans on going upstate to achieve their ultimate goal of the 2nd state championship in school history, the offense is going to have to play considerably better than they did against Moeller.
• STOP GEIGER – Every defensive player is going to have to get to know #34 up close and personal. He is the key to the Wayne offense…period. ERIC GEIGER leads the team in rushing, is 3rd in receiving, 1st in KO return yardage and avg and 1st in number of punts taken. This guy is all over the field. Putting it simply, he accounted for 43% of the Warriors scoring during the regular season and 57% of all the yards gained from scrimmage. Stop him and Wayne will struggle to point points on the board.
• COACHING – The coaching staff is young and inexperienced, no question. They are growing and learning “on the job” so to speak and some would say that to merely get to this point and still be playing is a tremendous accomplishment. I would venture that the Colerain coaches would disagree. They expected to be here and beyond, as they should. But the deeper they go, the better and more experienced coaching staffs they will face. The head coach at Wayne, Jay Minton, has plenty playoff games and big games on his resume. The Cardinal Coaches must be ready to make better half-time adjustments than they did last week against Moeller if they have expectations of playing in their 6th Regional Final in the past 7 years.
• X FACTOR – BraXton Miller. He’s out for the year…or is he? My bet says he is and he isn’t a factor on Saturday. But if he is ready to play, Colerain will need to have a plan in place to stop this dynamic Sophomore from Huber Heights.

Bottom – Line
For some reason, the overall feel from Colerain fans is that this game HAS to be easier than last week’s game against Moeller. I don’t necessarily understand that reasoning but I do think this game will have a better looking result.

Offensively, the Cards will come to play and prove they are not the team we saw last week scoring only 10 offensive points. I think the pressure of that first playoff win is off these young kids and now they know they can just play. That being said, Wayne is no easy task and will prove a very formidable opponent for the Cards on offense.

Defensively, stay the course. The defense played very well last week against Moeller and has looked good for over a month now. The days seem to be gone of giving up huge chunks of yardage and points to the likes of Mason, Sycamore, and Middletown. The play of the DL is going to be critical in this game as the Senior RB for Wayne is no slouch and wants to prove that he can run against the best. I think he will run well, just not well enough.

Cardinals win in a game that is tight throughout…until the fourth quarter when QB GREG TABAR hits a few passes and the running lanes open up for FB TRAYION DURHAM to bull through a tired DL and score the go-ahead TD.

SCORE PREDICTION
Wayne – 14
Colerain - 21

Colerain v. Moeller

This video will not end the controversy. But I have given you the best slow motion and freeze frame that I can. You will have to draw your own conclusions. One thing is for certain: Moeller came to play!



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Possible Sites for regional championship game

First, Colerain has to beat Huber Heights Wayne (Saturday, 3 p.m.) and Elder has to beat Clayton Northmont (Saturday, 7 p.m.) in the Division I regional football semifinals at UC's Nippert Stadium this weekend.

Scenarios for the Saturday, Nov. 15 regional final (7 p.m. kickoff):

-Should it be Colerain-Elder (as most expect), the game almost certainly would be at Nippert. That is the word from OHSAA assistant commissioner Hank Zaborniak, in a telephone interview today.

-Should it be Wayne-Northmont, Zaborniak said it probably would be played at Dayton's Welcome Stadium.

-Should it be a Cincinnati team against a Dayton team, Zaborniak said the game probably would be at Nippert primarily because of more seating capacity.

Nothing will be set until Sunday (Nov. 9), when the OHSAA makes the official pairings for all regional finals.

Info provided by The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ticket Info for Saturday

From Scott Wilhoit of UC, site manager for Saturday's Division I regional football semis at Nippert Stadium:

-All presale tickets will be $7 (students and adults).
-All tickets at the gate will be $12.

-One ticket is good for both games (Colerain-Huber Heights Wayne at 3 p.m., then Elder-Clayton Northmont at 7 p.m.). The stadium will not be cleared between games.

The four-hour spread (3 p.m. and 7 p.m.) is mostly about giving the second-game teams time to warm up on the game field, Wilhoit said. The starting times are based on the OHSAA brackets, with the top of the bracket going first (Colerain-Wayne, followed by Elder-Northmont).

Info provided by The Cincinnati Enquirer

Postgame Interview with Damon Sims

Coach Bolden Interview: Moeller

Coach Bolden talks about the fumble, his young backfield and the Moeller defense.

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Highlights from Moeller Game

Here is our highlight video from last nights game vs. Moeller:

Cardinals escape with victory vs. Moeller: 17-10

The Colerain Cardinals survived to play another game tonight vs. Moeller. The Cards escaped with a 17-10 win over Moeller. This game was a defensive struggle and the Colerain defense stepped up huge tonight and made some plays with the game very much still on the line. Up next is Wayne, next Saturday at Nippert. Game time will be released tomorrow.

Game highlights, coach interview and game review coming soon!!