The Tippecanoe Red Devils survived to play another week in the OHSAA Football Playoffs with their 41-30 come-from-behind win over the high-powered offensive attack of Mt. Orab (Ohio) Western Brown and record-setting quarterback Drew Novak.
Head coach Matt Burgbacher has his team’s sights set on something no other Red Devils team has accomplished, winning a regional championship.
Burgbacher knows all about the history of the Red Devils’ football program, having graduated, played, and coached with his father, the legendary Charlie Burgbacher, who coached the Red Devils program for 26 seasons, winning 185 games and taking the program to their first-ever playoff appearance, and 11 playoff appearances overall.
None of that mattered Friday night as Novak looked to have the Broncos offense humming, jumping out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. But the Red Devils looked to answer the Broncos and did on a 36-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Liam Poronsky to senior wide receiver Stanley Clyne with 4:30 left before the half.
Novak looked to have the Broncos ready to score before intermission, but the Red Devils’ defense made a crucial play in the end zone to stop the threat.
Poronsky would score on a nine-yard run, and then running back Xavier Jones would score on a four-yard run to give the Red Devils their first lead of the game with 3:00 minutes left in the third quarter.
Novak wasted little time revving up the Broncos offense finding the end zone in two minutes, then going and making the two-point conversion to regain a 22-21 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Jones would score on a 10-yard run making it 28-22. Red Devils, the Poronsky would break free on a 46-yard run to score and make it 35-22 with 5:56 left in the game. Novak wasted little time, using just over a minute to hit Isaiah Smith for a 23-yard touchdown, with Novak keeping it for the two-point conversion making it 35-30 and keeping one of the top-producing quarterbacks in Ohio high school history in striking distance to make another game-winning drive.
However, Poronsky was set to make another big play again and scrambled until he found a crease up the sideline and broke for a 56-yard touchdown giving the Red Devils a 41-30 lead before watching the defense end Novak’s storied career.
After the game, Coach Burgbacher spoke with DBHuddle.com about his team’s win and what a win next week against Hamilton (Ohio) Badin in the D3 Region 12 final would mean to the program and the city of Tipp City.
First Star Logistics presents our interview with Coach Burgbacher.
