'Feeling pretty good going into Week 11': Alliance High School football ready for playoffs

ALLIANCE — Alliance, which has a rich history in Ohio high school football, will be making the school’s 10th trip to the postseason playoffs Friday night when the Aviators play Aurora in a Division III playoff game at 5,500-seat Aurora Veterans Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

It marks the first time the Aviators and Greenmen have ever played.

Alliance, which has battled through significant injuries all season, checks in to the battle with a deceiving 6-4 record. The Aviators are a dangerous No. 14 seed in rugged Division III Region 9, which has produced the D3 state champ the past three seasons.

Meanwhile, Aurora is 9-1 overall and won the Suburban League American Division title with a 7-0 league ledger. The Greenmen are the third-seeded team in the region.

“We’re really excited to be in the postseason,” said Alliance head coach Tim Goodman. “I tell our kids, people can scoff and say, well, 16 teams get in now, but if you look at Region 9, it’s probably the toughest region to get into the playoffs in high school football. There are some good teams sitting at home in our region. Our kids have earned the right to be here, they know what it takes to get in, and we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Alliance enters the postseason playing its best football. The Aviators are coming off an impressive 36-0 shutout of arch-rival Marlington and have outscored their past two opponents, 97-0.

“We’re happy with the progress we’ve made over the last few weeks,” said Goodman. “We knew that going into the final stages of the season and getting ready for the playoffs, we had to improve our defense, and I think our guys have really responded to that and pitched two shutouts in a row — especially against Marlington last week with the playmakers they have on offense. It has us feeling pretty good going into Week 11.”

Offensively, Alliance and Aurora are two teams who can light up the scoreboard. The Aviators are averaging 39.3 points-per-game and the Greenmen are averaging 32.6 a game.

Goodman says the Greenmen attack using a variety of offensive sets.

“Offensively they’re a little bit of everything,” noted the Aviators’ pilot about the Greenmen. “They’ll be in spread, they’ll be in a one tight end set, a two fullback set, and then they’ll get in the stacked I and come at you, too,” he explained. “They have a really good offensive line that’s physical up front and they have a few playmakers who can scare you if they get in the open field.”

Goodman says the Aviators’ defense will be tested, but he also feels that unit is ready after their outstanding efforts the past two weeks in pitching shutouts.

“(Linebacker) Adam Zumbar has been the leader of our defense the entire year and he’s really taken it upon himself to get the guys going and he played really, really physical football on Friday (against Marlington),” said Goodman. “Also, CJ Daniel, our defensive end, has an extremely high motor and he led our team in tackles and played extremely well up front.”

Friday’s matchup also pits Alliance’s explosive, high-scoring offense against Aurora’s stingy defense. While Alliance is scoring 39.3 a game, Aurora’s defense is yielding just 11.2 points per ballgame. The Greenmen have shut out two opponents and only allowed a single touchdown to their opponents in five other games.

“Their defense is a very, very strong unit,” said Goodman. “They fly around and play with a lot of enthusiasm. What impresses me is how many takeaways they’ve had on the year, so that’s an emphasis to our guys that we’ve got to take care of the football because they do a tremendous job on defense. They’re a base four-man front, They’ll mix up their fronts a little bit and bring heat in certain situations. They do a good job of mixing up their coverages and give the quarterback different looks.”

Alliance counters with an outstanding offense led by Oklahoma quarterback commit Brendan Zurbrugg, who has completed 140 of 192 passes for 2,173 yards and 25 touchdowns for an off-the-chart quarterback rating of 142. But it doesn’t stop there, as Zurbrugg, a senior, leads the team in rushing with 1,005 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“He’s a special player, teams know he’s going to have the ball in his hands and he still finds a way to make it happen,” said Goodman of his star quarterback “He leads our offense and to have a dynamic playmaker that can hurt you with his arm and on the ground is pretty special.”

When Zurbrugg takes to the air, he has two tremendous receivers waiting in 6-4, 215-pound K’Vaughn Davis and speedy Ramhir Hawkins, both seniors. Davis has 49 receptions for 984 yards and nine touchdowns, while Hawkins has caught 47 passes for 530 yards and eight TDs.

“They complement each other very well,” said Goodman of Davis and Hawkins. “K’Vaughn is kind of a vertical threat and stretches the field and he can the take off at any moment, and Ramhir is our quick slot guy and we want to try to get the ball in his hands and he makes guys miss. To have a one-two punch like that it makes it tough on defenses because they can’t double cover one guy because it leaves the other guy open.”

Aurora’s offense counters with a balanced attack behind a physical offensive line.

“They (the Greenmen) remind me a lot, at least offensively, of Central Catholic a little bit,” said Goodman. “They have long, rangy athletes and hard-nosed kids up front. I think they’re a very good comparison, they even wear the same (green and white) colors.”

Aurora’s offensive leaders include 6-2 senior quarterback Brandon Liepins, 6-3, 225-pound running back Enzo Catania and 5-11 senior wideout Dylan Crasi.

“Their quarterback, Brandon Liepins does a really nice job of running their offense,” said Goodman. “He actually sustained an injury last week, so we’ll see if he plays. Their backup quarterback came in and the next play threw an unbelievable pass in winning the game against Highland (by a 9-7 final). Also, their running back Catania is a big, physical kid and he runs really, really hard and they have a really good offensive line that opens things up for him and Crasi is probably their most explosive receiver.”

Goodman was asked the key to winning the game on Friday?

“I think any game you play, but especially this one, you’ve got to win the line of scrimmage,” said the Alliance head coach. “They have a really solid offensive and defensive line, so we’ve got our work cut out for us there and we have to win the line of scrimmage. We also have to win the turnover battle and make sure we take care of the ball, and then any time you can force a takeaway or two, it can really swing the momentum of the game. We need to generate stops on defense and find ways to finish in the end zone on offense.”

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance High School football ready for OHSAA playoff game at Aurora