EBER — London’s highly-touted offense was as-advertised Saturday night in London’s 28-7 victory over Clinton-Massie.
However, it was the Red Raider defense that propelled London to the regional finals.
London held Clinton-Massie to just 178 yards of total offense, 62 of which came on the Falcons’ lone scoring drive in the waning seconds of the first half.
Clinton-Massie averaged just 3.2 yards per play and threw for more yards (90) than they ran for (88). The last time that happened was the state title loss to Steubenville last December.
“I think if there was a surprise, it would be that their defense was able to stop our offense,” CM coach Scott Rolf said. “That was a little surprising, but we also didn’t have as many possessions as we usually do for chances to score.”
The talented Falcon rushing attack averaged just 2.4 yards per rush. Any chance to wear down the London defensive front seven ended when Massie found itself down multiple scores.
“It took us out of some of our play calling and what we want to do,” Rolf said. “We don’t want to be throwing it as much as we did.”
Instead of grinding down the Red Raiders, the Falcons had to try to throw to win.
POWERFUL OFFENSE
The London defense was able to wreak havoc on the Falcons thanks to the London offense doing its part.
London didn’t throw a single pass. The Red Raiders rushed 52 times for 311 yards, good for a 6.0 yard-per-carry average.
“We said all week that (they) are a physical football team,” Rolf said. “They’re tough. We knew how good they were.”
Both Brennan Spiess and KJ Price eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark. Spiess finished with 185 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown, while Price had 126 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.
“This was two teams that were very similar,” Rolf said. “What we like to do, they like to do.”
London linemen Nate Wells, Nick Schooley, Brandon Leach, Jack Gould, Richie Geib, Dustin Massie and Jack Minner opened huge holes for the Red Raider rushing attack.
“They’re physical, and we knew we had to match that,” Rolf said. “We weren’t able to do that.”
BY THE NUMBERS
During the 17-year playoff streak, Clinton-Massie has dominated the region. But the region has caught up a bit over the last five years.
With Saturday’s loss, the Falcons failed to advance beyond the regional round in four of the last five years. Last season was the lone exception, as the Falcons lost to Steubenville in the state title game.
The Falcons’ record in regional games is 27-13 since 2002. Since 2011, Clinton-Massie is a combined 18-4 in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
With the loss to London, Clinton-Massie is now 9-5 in regional semifinal games during the 17-year streak, with losses coming to London, Alter, Kenton, Blanchester and Valley View.
