Midview punches playoff ticket with win over Amherst

EATON TWP, Ohio – It was an emotional week within the Midview community when head coach Jack Armstrong’s brother Jared died days before Friday’s game.Adding to the magnitude of a “win or go home” Week 10 Southwestern Conference game against visiting Amherst, Armstrong’s team showed up at Ross Field at Adelsberg Stadium charged up and ready to keep this season going at least one more week.Led by senior tailback Jace Wright’s 252-yard, 25-carry, three-touchdown performance, the Middies ended the season with two wins in the final three games, punching their ticket to the Division III, Region 10 playoffs with a 41-20 victory over the Comets.Prior to the game, both teams were hovering around the final playoff seeds in their respective regions. Each likely needed a win to qualify. Midview (5-5, 2-5 SWC) has clinched a playoff berth, according to joeeitel.com. They are currently seeded 11th out of 12 but have the chance to move up as high as ninth based off how various other games shake out around the region this weekend.Amherst (4-6, 1-6 SWC), which started the season 3-0, ends the season on a three-game losing streak and will not be qualifying for the Division II, Region 6 playoffs this season.Over the history of the matchup between Midview and Amherst, Amherst leads the all-time series 33-31. It is not only Midview’s second-straight win over the Comets, but – like last year – the win helped qualify the Middies for the postseason. “I love my brother,” Armstrong said. “I know that he’s looking down on me smiling right now. He was a Middie so, as a former alumni, I know that he’s proud of these boys and I know that he’d be right here if he was still here. The boys came together for him. “There’s nothing like Midview, that’s why I would never leave Midview. It’s a special place and great community.” It was an emotional game for Wright, who needed 185 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season. In his final home game of his career, Wright surpassed that mark and then some, putting the Middie offense on his shoulders the entire evening.“I felt like kind of everything was working tonight,” Wright said. “We went into halftime and our coach was like, ‘What play did you guys like?’ Counter, stretch, I felt like everything was working. Coming in here, I knew I needed 180 to be over 1,000 yards, and that kind of just drove me, drove my lineman, I felt like it drove the whole team to accomplish something that I really felt was dear to my heart.“I’m just happy to be able to play another week, especially with my boys. Coming in here, I had some tears before the game, thinking that this could be my last game and I’m just happy that it’s not and that we’re able to keep going.” The way both teams started the game set the tone for the first half, and the game.Amherst got the ball first and drove from the 25 down to Midview 1 on a penalty-marred opening 12-play drive. However, on 4th-and-goal from 7, quarterback Anthony Passerrello was stopped on the 1 for a huge turnover on downs.The Middies, taking over on their own 1, drove 99 yards in 9 plays, keyed by a 57-yard run from Wright down to the Amherst 14. Three plays later, Wright scored from 8 yards out. The extra point was blocked, keeping it 6-0 Midview with 2:33 left in the quarter.“This whole season, we thought we’d have a home playoff game,” Wright said. “That’s what one of our goals were. Unfortunately, we didn’t hit that. But it is what it is. We had an amazing crowd tonight. And I’m just thankful for everyone that came out and turned this into a playoff-type atmosphere from start to finish.”The Middies added another touchdown just two plays into the second quarter, when quarterback Brennen “Mooks” Newton found Kellen DiSimone for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 11:53 remaining. This time, Drew Morris’ kick was good, making it 13-0, Middies. The touchdown was set up when a bad snap on an Amherst punt forced Josh Tomlin to kick on the run. It wound up being a 0-yard punt that gave the Middies first down on the Amherst 23.“I think that there was no mental mistakes on offense,” Armstrong said. “We continued to do our job. It was a full team effort. Jace Wright had a special night. Mooks did his job, he threw the ball twice (in the first half) and was 2-for-2 with two touchdowns, so I couldn’t be happier for the boys, prouder for the boys, and we’re hungry and we’re ready to roll for the playoffs.”Amherst finally got on the board on its ensuing possession, driving 65 yards on 10 plays. Passerrello did the honors from a yard out, cutting the deficit to 13-7 with 6:14 left.However, it only took 7 seconds for the Middies to extend their lead to 2 scores. Peyton Ansel returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards, and Morris’ kick made it 20-7 with 6:01 remaining in the half.Amherst, which outgained Midview 255-213 in the half, answered back with a 12-play, 80-yard drive. Xavier Champion, who took over for an injured Ethan Layne (held to 2 carries for 10 yards) capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with :56 left in the half to make it 20-14.However, once again, the Middies answered quickly, driving 68 yards on just 2 plays. A 43-yard completion from Newton to DiSimone capped the drive and made it 27-14 with :30 remaining.That score loomed large, when the Middies got the ball to start the second half and drove 79 yards on 10 plays. Wright carried the ball all but once on that drive, gaining all 79 yards and capping the drive from 5 yards out. With 7:02 remaining in the third, it was now 34-14, Middies.“No matter what, we’re going to come out, we’re going to keep driving it down their throats, and I think that was a statement,” Wright said. “Our defense, we knew this whole week that they had to step it up. They were told that this whole week, told that during halftime of our last game. And, I think they came out, they did what they needed to do. And offensively, we knew what we had to do. “Our linemen, quarterback, you know, everyone on the offense is just, it felt like we were one today.”Despite losing Passerrello early in the fourth quarter, Amherst wasn’t going to go quietly. Junior Christian Vorhees, a receiver who had not thrown a pass all season, stepped in and found Ethan Wilhelms on his first pass of the season for a 23-yard touchdown with 8:55 remaining.“Injuries was kind of the story of our year, but our guys just stepped up,” Amherst coach Tom Thome said. “Javi (Xavier Champion) going in at running back, running hard for us; Christian Vorhees, who’s never played football in his life until this year, and had never throw a competitive pass, stepped in and delivered a big touchdown for us; (Jack) Coleman giving us everything he had on an ankle that had been struggling for a couple of weeks. I’m just proud of their grit. I’m proud of their effort. At no point did they ever quit. I love these guys to death.”But Wright had a hat trick left in him, putting the finishing touches on his historic night with a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 5:33 remaining to put the exclamation point on a big night for Midview.Newton went 3-for-3 for 102 yards, while DiSimone had 2 catches for 79, both for scores, to help lead the Midview offense.Passerrello was 15 of 23 for 169, and led the ground game with 76 yards on 19 carries before his injury. Champion added 71 on 13 carries and a score, while Vorhees led the Comet receivers with 7 catches for 79 yards before throwing his team’s lone touchdown pass.“We saw some things we liked, but Midview is a very well-coached, disciplined, physical team,” Thome said. “My hat’s off to them. The grit was there all night, but at the end of the day, we just weren’t able to get it done.”