The Fairborn Paper

But this time, it wasn’t meant to be.

After falling behind 21-7 just before halftime, the Braves scored a touchdown with five and a half minutes left in the game to come within one touchdown of tying the score. Shawnee then drove deep in Cardinal Mooney territory late in the game, but it was ultimately unable to find the end zone and lost 21-14.

“It’s very disappointing,” Shawnee offensive lineman Joel Schilke said after the game. “The last three weeks, we’ve got lucky breaks late in the game and had someone make a play. Getting that close to it, it sucks. It makes it hard to speak — it’s a pit in my heart.”
The loss capped off a remarkable season for Shawnee, in which the Braves amassed a 14-1 overall record and became only the second high school in the history of Clark County to finish as state runner-up.

“No matter what happened here at this game, they should be proud,” Shawnee head coach Rick Meeks said after the game. “Playing a traditional powerhouse team like Mooney… we fought. They should be proud.”
The Braves were down 21-7 with less than six minutes left in the game, but they narrowed the deficit to one touchdown on a seven-yard run from Brad Jarzab with about five minutes left. Shawnee was able to get the ball back and drove as far as Mooney’s 13-yard line, but they couldn’t convert a fourth down with one minute left in the game and turned over the ball on downs to Mooney.

Meeks said Cardinal Mooney’s players had superior size and speed, and that Shawnee’s ability to keep pace with the Cardinals in the game was evidence of the Braves’ attitude.

“It just shows the character of our kids,” Meeks said. “Earlier in the year, I talked to the players in a team (meeting). I didn’t think we were playing up to our potential and I was afraid, because of our attitude, that we weren’t going to accomplish the goals that we wanted to. I knew in the playoffs, there was going to come a point where we were going to face somebody that’s physically bigger, faster, and stronger than we us.

“I asked them, ‘Do we want to be in a position to beat a team we shouldn’t?’… That’s what I challenged these guys to, and tonight, they did it.”