Tigers end season in Division IV playoffs

A historic season for the McClain Tigers came to a close in Week 11, as they traveled to Cincinnati and fell in the opening round of the Division IV, Region 16 playoffs by a 39-7 score to the host Taft Senators.

The No. 14-ranked Tigers played close with Taft for most of the first half, but No. 3 Taft stepped up on both offense and defense, forcing a running clock halfway through the third quarter.

McClain’s lone touchdown of the game came with 3:03 left in the second quarter, with senior Andrew Potts scoring on a one-yard run.

That touchdown came after a 55-yard, 10-yard drive that began with a favorable punt return by Eli Douglas. Potts then had several runs to give the Tigers a first down, followed by gains of five and one yard by senior Kaden Penwell. On third-and-4, Potts had an 11-yard run, followed by another two-yard gain on first down.

Potts ran the ball 11 yards to the 1-yard line on third-and-8, then scored the Tigers’ touchdown on first-and-goal. The extra-point attempt by Seth Weller was good, putting the Tigers within five points, as they trailed Taft 12-7. Unfortunately, that was all the scoring for the game for the Tigers, despite several opportunities.

The game started with Taft’s Tayshawn Banks running the kickoff into the end zone, but the would-be touchdown was called back for a block in the back. The Senators eventually scored on their first possession with 6:35 left on the first quarter, following a 13-play drive that ended with quarterback Armoud Seals connecting with Najia Hill in the end zone on an 18-yard pass. The extra-point attempt failed, giving Taft a 6-0 lead.

McClain’s first possession of the game continued into the second quarter, as the drive saw multiple rushes by Potts and Penwell, along with quarterback Drake Stapleton connecting with Owen Sykes for an 11-yard reception on third-and-5. The drive ended early in the second with a turnover on downs, as the Tigers failed to convert on fourth-and-1 on the 10-yard line.

Taft capitalized quickly, with three short gains to bring up a first down, then a 77-yard pass from Seals to Tayshawn Banks for his first touchdown of the game. A two-point conversion attempt failed, with Taft taking a 12-0 lead.

After McClain’s aforementioned scoring drive, Taft had a 40-yard run by CJ Hawkins on their first play of their ensuing possession. Strong defensive play by Douglas, Cade Sponcil, Andrew Roeder and Potts put pressure on Taft, but on second-and-23, Seals connected with Banks again in the end zone. After another failed two-point attempt, Taft took an 18-7 lead with 40 seconds left in the opening half.

The Tigers’ defense had to step up again, as the Senators recovered the kickoff and ran it to the three-yard line. On first-and-goal, Cam Medley forced the football loose, with Taft recovering on the seven-yard line.

Aaron Dowdell was brought down at the five-yard line on the next play, with 10 seconds left. After referees determined a timeout was called before time expired, Taft was given one second left for a third down play at the five-yard.

Taft was then called for a false start, and a pass from the 10-yard line was incomplete as time again expired.

The Senators’ defense forced a three-and-out on the Tigers’ opening possession of the second half, but the Senators muffed the punt, which was recovered by Sykes at the Taft 31-yard line. After short gains by Potts and Penwell, the Senators intercepted a pass on fourth down, taking over at the 27.

From there, it only took Taft one play to return to the end zone, with Seals making a 68-yard pass to Jahvion Jarmon, who broke a tackle and ran into the end zone. Another two-point conversion attempted failed, giving the Senators a 24-7 lead.

The Senators then forced a three-and-out, then recovered the punt at the 48-yard line and took only two plays to score. After a pass to Banks inside the 10-yard line, Hawkins scored on a six-yard rush with 5:11 left in the third, then the Senators made their first successful two-point conversion of the night by Milton Godfrey Jr. for a 32-7 lead.

After the Tigers had a three-and-out on their next possession, Banks scored his third touchdown on a punt return. With the extra-point attempt converted by Amir Garr, the Senators took a 39-7 lead, forcing a running clock with 3:09 left in the third quarter. That was the final touchdown of the game, as each team had one possession in the fourth quarter.

The leading rusher for the game was Potts, who had 22 rushes for 91 yards. Penwell had five rushes for 26 yards.

Stapleton finished the game 4-of-10 passing for 27 yards, with Sykes having the 11-yard reception and Penwell having two catches for nine yards. Connor McCune had one seven-yard reception.

Douglas had three kickoff returns totaling 43 yards, and Riley Cummins had two returns totaling 25 yards.

On defense, Sponcil led the team with 6.5 tackles, while Potts had four, including a sack. Penwell, Sykes, Cummins and TD Matesic each had one tackle, and Roeder was credited with a half tackle.

The Tigers end their season 6-5, with a 2-3 record in the Frontier Athletic Conference and their first playoff berth in school history (not counting the 2020 season, where all teams qualified).

Seniors for MHS include Kaden Penwell, Andrew Potts, Cade Sponcil, Drake Stapleton, Seth Weller, Jayden Allison, Gunnar Bode, Max Eikenberry, Conner Frazier, Zayvion Pearson and Eldon Scott.

Taft advances to the second round of the playoffs and will face Wyoming, who defeated another FAC team, Washington, 42-0 Friday.

(Editor's note: Thank you to WVNU 97.5 FM and Charley Roman for assistance and stats for the game.)