Saturday, November 5th, 2022
The spark the Cavs needed
Blasingame's unexpected return boosts Coldwater
By Dave Stilwell
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Jack Ebbing tries to break a tackle by Huron's Brady Petz in the Division V regional quarterfinals at Cavalier Stadium on Friday. Ebbing rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown in the Cavaliers' 14-3 win.
COLDWATER - It has the makings of a Hollywood script. Team struggles, falls behind. Injured star player comes off the bench, provides spark and leads team to victory.
The script came to life Friday night at Cavalier Stadium.
Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Marcel Blasingame, who hasn't played since fracturing a bone in his leg in Week Nine of the regular season, trotted out to the huddle to open the second half with Coldwater trailing 3-0.
The Cavaliers picked up first downs on five of their next seven plays, scored on a one-yard run by Jack Ebbing and went on to a 14-3 victory over the Huron Tigers in the quarterfinals of the Region 18 Division V playoffs.
"When you get to this point, you're playing good teams," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. "We knew we had to figure some things out offensively, and Marcel, even though he only ran the ball once, brought a little spark to it."
Blasingame's only run of the game was a 31-yard quarterback draw that set up a two-yard touchdown run by Cody Depweg with 5:35 left, all but icing the contest.
"We didn't know if Marcel was really, really ready," Otten said. "He had practiced a little bit, his parents were okay with it. We talked about it at halftime and said, 'Are you sure you're okay with this?'
"It was actually the plan not to use him, but it's his senior year, he said he wants to do it, so we put him out there to see what happens."
The first half was a defensive slugfest, featuring a combined eight punts, two interceptions and a turnover-on-downs.
Huron struggled to generate any consistency on offense and took advantage of a turnover to put the only first-half points on the board.
The Tiger's Andrew Delaney intercepted Coldwater starting quarterback Braylen Harlamert at the Cavalier 24, which set up a 25-yard field goal by Cameron Manner with 4:28 left in the first quarter.
Coldwater (11-1) drove to the Huron 23 early in the second quarter, but were backed up by a motion penalty and eventually turned the ball over on downs.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's AJ Harlamert goes up for a pass as Huron's Kyle Auger defends in the Division V regional quarterfinals at Cavalier Stadium on Friday.
The Cavs got into the red zone late in the half, but Harlamert was intercepted for the second time, halting a nine-play drive that started at the Coldwater 10 yard line.
After capturing the lead with the touchdown drive to open the second half, the Cavs appeared ready to take control of the game, backing the Tigers up deep in their own territory on their next possession. Instead, Huron quarterback Dylan Hohler scrambled on a third-and-15, then completed a 45-yard pass to Dawson Bowen. After 15 more yards for a roughing-the-passer penalty, the Tigers had a first down at the Coldwater 25.
But five plays later, Huron turned the ball over on downs. Following a Blasingame interception, the Cavs again got the ball back on downs deep in their own territory.
Huron was 0-for-4 on fourth downs in the second half.
"Their quarterback is a very good player, but our defense played just great," Otten said. "We gave it to them three times inside the 50 and we stopped them all three times."
The Coldwater running game, which struggled in the first half, came to life in the second. Ebbing finished with 125 yards rushing on 18 carries.
"We changed a couple technical things and then just challenged the O-line. 'Come on dudes, they're whipping your tail up there,' " Otten said. "Then they came out and played a great second half."
Coldwater improved to 5-0 all time against Huron and 20-0 in home playoff games. The Cavs will next take on top-seeded Liberty Center in the regional semifinals next Friday at a neutral site to be announced on Sunday. Liberty Center (12-0) advanced to Week 13 with a 41-7 victory over Liberty Benton.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Blade Buschur tries to tackle Huron quarterback Dylan Hohler during the Division V regional quarterfinals at Cavalier Stadium.
