High School Football: Tippecanoe dominates Talawanda 55-7, advances to face Badin

The Red Devils will try to use that loss as motivation one more time.

Tippecanoe dominated Oxford Talawanda 55-7 in a Division III, Region 12 quarterfinal on Friday in Tipp City and will host a semifinal in Week 13.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

Tipp, which is the No. 2 seed in the region and had a first-round bye last week, advances to host No. 3 Badin, which beat Alter 35-28 in a quarterfinal on Friday.

“This is everything that we dreamed of, playing in a semifinal at City Park,” Strong said of playing in the cozy 2,500-seat stadium, located near the Great Miami River on Tipp City’s eastern edge. “It’s definitely an honor. We want to do well again.”

The winner of next week’s semifinal will advance to a regional final in Week 14, which will be played at a neutral site.

Tippecanoe (11-0) dominated Talawanda, which beat Goshen 56-28 last week, in every facet. The Red Devils’ defense forced four turnovers, and their offense moved the ball at will.

Talawanda finished 10-2 overall. The squad’s other loss was a 14-0 defeat to Southwest Ohio Conference champion Harrison in Week 8. Aside from that loss, they scored at least 35 points in each game. Senior running back Lance Cantrell entered the game with 2,395 rushing yards to his credit this season.

“We had a great week of practice. They knew what they were going against with Lance Cantrell,” Burgbacher said. “But like I said, I think we’ve got a pretty good running back ourselves. Just joking with Xavier (Melton) this week, ‘Man, who’s the better running back?’”

Melton, a senior, ran for four touchdowns in the first half to help the Red Devils build a 34-0 lead.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

“He’ll tell you it wasn’t him, it was the offensive line,” Burgbacher said. “We were able to mix the run and pass in there. We’ve got a pretty good offense.

“… I’m so proud of these kids, because last week was the unknown. You’ve got a bye week in high school. I thought our kids approached that great. They showed up Monday and had great energy. It’s Week 12, it’s a grind, but they had a little hop in their step.”

Tipp beat Talawanda 49-7 in a first-round game a year ago at City Park. Despite having a much better season than a 3-8 campaign a year ago, the Brave still couldn’t match the Red Devils.

Strong caught a 19-yard TD pass from Larkin Thomas on a fourth-and-three to give Tipp a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the first.

“We just executed,” Strong, who finished first among Miami Valley League players in regular season with 1,012 receiving yards, said. “I ran a post route the play before, and I knew if I ran that corner route, I was going to beat him. Great to start off hot.”

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

Talawanda lost seven yards on its first possession. The Red Devils quickly drove and scored on a 1-yard TD run by Melton to take a 14-0 lead.

Drew Husic intercepted a pass near midfield, and Melton ran 52 yards on the next play for a touchdown. Though Owen Baileys missed the extra point (which was the only time he did), Tipp led 20-0 with two minutes left in the first.

The domination continued.

Melton scored on a 6-yard TD run early in the second and later on a 1-yard TD run to boost the lead to 34-0.

Talawanda put together its best drive of the night right before halftime and scored on a 4-yard TD reception by Camar Ellis to cut the halftime deficit to 34-7.

The Brave got the ball to start the third quarter but turned it over on downs, and senior receiver Max Deckard caught a 54-yard TD pass with 7:18 left, then James Merry scored on a 1-yard run with 2:02 left to increase the lead to 48-7.

After another Talawanda turnover, Colston Artz scored on a 30-yard run early in the fourth to push the gap to 48 points.

The Red Devils won with running clock margins in eight of their 10 regular season games.

Burgbacher said they know next week will be a tougher task. The Rams hadn’t given up more than 24 points in a game until Alter scored three touchdowns in the second half on Friday.

Tippecanoe beat Badin 20-17 in a regional final in 2022.

“I’m sure they remember that too and have some revenge on their minds,” Burgbacher said. “… This is a great home field advantage. This is a beautiful place. We love it. We’re going to take advantage of it.”

Now with the opportunity here, Strong said the Red Devils are focused on winning one last game in City Park and making good on their goal for a deep postseason run.

“Like Coach said, we’ve got to prepare like champions,” Strong said. “That’s the most we can do. Don’t overthink it, just prepare like champions and give it our all.”

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing