By Thomas Baker, BCHSSReport.com
HARRISON — The Harrison High football team went into its Southwest Ohio Conference opener with the second-ranked defense in all of Division II.
After a 48-10 win over the visiting Ross Rams on Friday night, it was plain to see why.
“We know we have a stout defense,” Harrison coach Derek Rehage said. “We know that’s the strength of our team.”
But if defense is the Wildcats’ strength, somebody forgot to tell the offense. The 48 points for Harrison nearly doubled its point total for the year.
The Wildcats got on the board first on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Connor Kinnett to Levi Tidwell in the first quarter. After a mishandled snap by Harrison, Ross took over at the the Wildcat 10-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal to make it 7-3.
Harrison answered with a Kinnett rushing touchdown that put the Wildcats up 14-3. The Wildcats then took advantage of a Ross fumble by way of another Kinnett to Tidwell touchdown strike that moved it to 21-3.
Kinnett finished with 349 yards on 24-of-30 passing and the two TDs. He also rushed for 84 yards and two scores on the ground.
Harrison (3-1, 1-0 SWOC) outgained Ross (3-1, 0-1 SWOC) in yardage 466-194.
Ross was able to create some plays on the ensuing possession, culminating with a CJ Boze rushing touchdown just before half that pulled it to 21-10.
From there, it was all Harrison.
Cam Hering found the end zone late in the third to make it 28-10, but the Wildcats really flexed their muscles in the fourth.
Tidwell and Hering took turns getting into the end zone, and then the defense closed it out by taking a fumble to the house, which closed out the scoring.
“If their defense keeps playing like that, they’re going to be a really, really tough team to beat this fall,” said Ross coach Kenyon Commins, who was forced to start four guys on defense with zero varsity starts.
“We knew we were going to be a little down, especially on the back end, defensively,” Commins added. “But those are excuses. Harrison played really, really well.”
But even with the decisive victory, Rehage was still unhappy with how his team, repeatedly, put the ball on the ground and the special teams miscues.
“We’ve got to clean up some of our run stuff,” Rehage said. “Can’t fumble and have to clean up our special teams.”
When asked the best way to clean up those mistakes, he simply stated: “Attention to detail.”
Boze led the way for Ross with 106 yards on 22 carries and score.
Harrison will take on Edgewood next Friday in Trenton, while Ross will play host to Mount Healthy.
First Quarter
HAR TD 04:34 Levi Tidwell 52 YD PASS FROM Connor Kinnett (Grant Swope KICK) 0-7
Second Quarter
ROS FG 09:31 Jonathon Neumaier 21 YD 3-7
HAR TD 05:51 Connor Kinnett 3 YD RUN (Grant Swope KICK) 3-14
HAR TD 02:15 Connor Kinnett 1 YD RUN (Grant Swope KICK) 3-21
ROS TD 00:06 C.J. Boze 6 YD RUN (Jonathon Neumaier KICK) 10-21
Third Quarter
HAR TD 02:56 Cam Hering 5 YD RUN (Grant Swope KICK) 10-28
Fourth Quarter
HAR TD 09:21 Levi Tidwell 38 YD PASS FROM Connor Kinnett (Grant Swope RUSH FAILED) 10-34
HAR TD 03:52 Cam Hering 9 YD RUN (Grant Swope KICK) 10-41
HAR TD 01:30 Sam Heimkreiter 23 YD FUMBLE RECOVERY RETURN (Grant Swope KICK) 10-48