Cincinnati Elder shook off a slow start and a stubborn Springboro team on Friday night, pulling away in the second half for a 37-20 win at The Pit in a Division I, Region 4 quarterfinal — the Panthers’ 20th home playoff win in 20 tries.
The final score was confirmed on the statewide scoreboards published by The Columbus Dispatch, the Mansfield News Journal and the Zanesville Times Recorder. Second-seeded Elder improved to 9-2, while seventh-seeded Springboro’s season came to an end.
Senior quarterback Kaden Estep accounted for four touchdowns, according to the game recap published by EHSports, Elder’s official athletics site. Estep completed 21 of 25 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown and ran 17 times for 84 yards and three more scores. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s stat leaders from the game credited Springboro receiver Noah Bilinski with nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
Elder led just 17-13 at halftime after Springboro scored 13 unanswered points, and the visitors opened the third quarter driving for a go-ahead score. The game’s turning point, per the EHSports recap, came when junior linebacker Pete Fortkamp knocked the ball loose from Springboro quarterback Max Miller and Brayden Ackerman recovered; seven plays later Estep broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run. Fortkamp finished with 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks.
Elder added a 21-yard Estep touchdown pass to Andrew Lyman — who caught nine passes for 100 yards — to make it 30-13, and after an 11-yard Miller touchdown pass cut the margin to 30-20 with 9:12 left, the Panthers closed the game with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that burned 6:25 and ended in Estep’s 7-yard touchdown run with 2:41 to play, EHSports reported. The Enquirer’s recap noted Elder head coach Doug Ramsey credited Springboro’s staff for disrupting Elder’s game plan early before the Panthers adjusted after halftime.
What happens next is the game Cincinnati waits for all year. Elder hosts St. Xavier at The Pit at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in a Region 4 semifinal rematch — the Bombers reached it by stunning Lakota West 51-14, as NewsForce247 reported. The winner faces the Moeller-Princeton winner — Moeller beat Winton Woods 24-7 on Friday, as NewsForce247 reported — in the regional final on Nov. 20.
Elder has beaten Springboro, survived its own rust after a first-round bye, and kept its perfect home playoff record intact. Beating its oldest rival, in its own stadium, is the only thing standing between the Panthers and another regional final.
Photo: Ynsalh, CC BY-SA 4.0