Youthful Wyoming football bows in DIV regional finals to Alter

MONROE  – Some nights the other team just plays better.

That’s the short version of what happened to Wyoming High School in the Ohio Division IV football regional finals. The sixth-seeded Cowboys fell 17-0 against fourth-seeded Kettering Alter.

The Knights simply stymied Wyoming, allowing the Cowboys only three first downs in the first half and blocking a 36-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter that could have made it a one-score game.

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Instead, Alter went 46 yards on seven plays, finding the end zone on Gavin Connor’s eight-yard pass to Michael Russ for the final score with 8:29 to play.

“We had some shots, but we didn’t capitalize because they played such good defense,” said Aaron Hancock, Cowboys head coach. “That’s a well-coached team. I thought they did a good job defending our hands and taking away some opportunities.”

Knights sophomore running back Rod Owens opened the scoring on a six-yard run in the first period. Kicker Tony Acuri added a 41-yard field goal late in the first half to make it 10-0 at the break.

It could have been worse. Wyoming junior Joel Hancock scooped up a fumble after Alter made it inside the Wyoming 20 on its first drive. Senior Dorien Fredericks ended another Alter drive with an interception midway through the second period.

Hancock liked the way his team battled.

“This team as a whole continued to grow each and every single week,” he said. “We were a young team. We had some adversity. But these guys just kept fighting week after week. We fought hard tonight and lost to a very good team.”

Senior salute

Hancock told his underclassmen in the postgame huddle to make sure they spoke to all the Cowboy seniors before leaving the field.

“They showed you the way,” he said.

The Cowboys senior class includes D.J. Gray, Quaid Hauer, Denham Miller, Jaylen Dukes, Theo Addo, Dorien Fredericks, Touraj Dukes, Deuce Wiley, Jerry Myatt, Aiden Pippin and Holbrook Voight.

Up next

The Cowboys fell to 12-2 with the loss. Alter improved to 11-3 and advanced to face either Steubenville or Thornville Sheridan, both of whom were 12-1 entering play Friday night.

The state semifinal kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, at Westerville Central High School in suburban Columbus, with the winner moving forward to play for a state title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in Canton.

Alter 17, Wyoming 0

1          2          3          4          FWYO  0         0          0          0          0ALT    7         3          0          7          17

1Q – ALT: Rod Owens, six-yard run (PAT Tony Acuri)2Q – ALT: Acuri, 41-yard FG4Q – ALT: Gavin Connor, eight-yard pass to Michael Russ (Acuri PAT)