Colonel Crawford went out fighting after a 28-23 defeat to Tinora at Spartan Stadium in Lima Saturday night.
The No. 3 Eagles offense finished with 283 yards total, while the No. 2 seed Rams’ passing game allowed its offense to finish with 319 yards total. Colonel Crawford finish the season with a 10-2 record and the Rams move on to the regional finals of the Division VI, Region 20, with a 10-1 record.
“You guys fought like warriors,” an emotional Colonel Crawford head football coach Ryan Teglovic said to the team.
“I asked you guys to step it up,” he continued. “And you did.”
At halftime, the Eagles’ had 133 yards rushing for a total of 142 yards. Although quarterback Will Kirkpatrick was able to score a 1-yard touchdown for Colonel Crawford, Noah Ferguson missed the extra point leaving the Eagles with a shortlived 6-0 lead.
Rams’ quarterback Brevin Renollet ran the ball for two touchdowns but Ferguson successfully kicked the ball for a 23-yard field goal bringing the Eagles up 14-9 with 2:49 on the clock.
“The guys played really hard,” Teglovic said. “If you want to go, you go out fighting.”
Colonel Crawford was able to take advantage of some miscues from Tinora that lost the ball to the Eagles 3-of-4 fumbles.
“There’s no excuse for that,” said Rams’ head football coach Kenny Krouse.
He commended the Eagles for taking advantage. The playoffs are no stranger to the Rams, who make its 11th appearance in the postseason this year.
“They’re a good football team for just starting out as far as getting a little taste of what this is about,” he said.
This is the third year for the Eagles, which made history last week after winning its first playoff game against Tinora’s rival, Ayersville, 42-10. It was also the second time for the school to host a home playoff game in its history.
“It’s just an amazing testament to how hard all of those worked collectively,” Teglovic said.
The Rams’ defense limited Kirkpatrick’s passing game. He and Renollet have the same jersey number (No. 5) but the similarities end there. Kirkpatrick was 4-of-15 passing for 64 yards, while Renollet was 6-of-8 for 121 yards. Kirkpatrick had a better running game with 26 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns, while Blake Treisch had 15 carries for 71 yards.
Renollet had nine carries for 25 yards and three touchdowns, while Riley Nagel had 18 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Rams. Nagel also had four catches for 79 yards. Owen Adams had two catches for 16 yards for the Eagles, while Brock Cotsmire had two catches for 48 yards.
Despite losing in the regional semifinals, Teglovic was proud of how far team has come, especially the mentality to bounce back from an early lost with No. 1 seed Wynford in September.
“It’s a historic season,” he said.
After this year, Colonel Crawford will lose 11 seniors including Adams, Cotsmire and Kirkpatrick.
“Obviously we got some holes to fill,” Teglovic said.
After his final post-game talk for the season, the team listened to its school Alma mater, something not done after a loss.
“You guys deserve it,” Teglovic said.
Tinora will play against No. 5 seed Van Buren (9-3) this Saturday.
