Blanchester head coach Brandon Sammons’ early thoughts immediately following his team’s 42-0 loss in a Division V, Region 20 playoff opener were “the feeling right now sucks, but it’ll subside in time and the memories of the good times will start to resurface.”
He told his seniors they should be proud about laying a foundation for future Wildcats. To the underclassmen, the message was they have some big shoes to fill and they have a lot of work to do to get back to the playoffs. Next year’s squad will attempt to be the first Blanchester team to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 2005-06.
FAMILIAR FACES: Sammons stood in familiar but unfamiliar territory at Lindner Stadium Saturday as he was an Eagle assistant before taking the top job at Blanchester. But it didn’t faze him.
“It’s another game, it’s another venue. I just happened to be more familiar with the surroundings, the images, so there wasn’t a surprise to what you’re seeing,” he said. “It was special to be able to come back here, in the beginning. It doesn’t feel real special right now.”
He said it was nice to see some familiar faces, but “outside of that, it’s a football game. We have to play on a 100-yard field and do the things we’re supposed to do and we didn’t do it tonight.”
TURNING POINT: Down 14-0, Blan faced 3rd-and-goal and 4th-and-goal from about as close as you could get to a touchdown without being in the end zone.
After CHCA stuffed Blan on third down, an errant snap gave the Eagles the ball on their 9. They proceeded to march 91 yards in eight plays and 3:52 to make what could’ve been a 14-7 game 21-0.
“I thought he was in the first time. I don’t know,” Sammons said. “We probably should’ve run something different one or two times in there. But we’ve got to be able to get a foot. A bad snap killed it. Fourth and one inch, we should be able to get there. We thought we’d be able to punch it in and get something. But you don’t get a good snap, can’t handle it. That kind of kills everything.”
OH SNAP: Blanchester’s center-quarterback exchange woes weren’t limited to the aforementioned fourth-down play. There were many in the game, starting with Blanchester’s first offensive play. “No idea,” Sammons said when asked if he could figure a reason for the bad snaps. “Hasn’t been an issue all year. Hard to tell.”
THIRD TIME NOT A CHARM: CHCA’s Lindner Stadium is where Clinton County playoff dreams have gone to die. East Clinton played there in 2008 and 2010, losing the former 43-21 and the latter 21-20. Clinton-Massie did face CHCA in the 2011 playoffs but that was at Mason’s Dwire Field at Atrium Stadium. Massie won that game, a regional semifinal matchup, 24-10.
