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Saturday, November 28, 2009
Alter advances to state final with 31-6 win against Coshocton
COLUMBUS — Alter will get a chance to defend its Division IV state championship at 11 a.m. Saturday in Canton after defeating Coshocton 31-6 in a state semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Hamilton Township High School.
Alter trailed 6-0 after the first possession but scored 31 straight points. It was similar to last week against Clinton-Massie, when the Knights trailed 7-0 after one possession and won 32-7.
The Knights got 140 yards and two touchdowns from running back Cody Taulbee and 109 yards and two scores from junior quarterback Zane Pitzer. The defense also stiffened against a Coshocton offense that scored on the opening possession and drove to the Alter 18-yard line on the second possession.
Fourth quarter, 7:21 left: After throwing an interception on the previous drive deep in the red zone, Alter stopped Coshocton and got a 2-yard touchdown run from Cody Taulbee — his second of the night — to take a 31-6 lead. Taulbee has rushed 18 times for 140 yards with scoring runs of 8 and 2 yards.
Third quarter, 3:49 left: After Cody Conley’s interception, Alter went 40 yards in five plays and got the second touchdown of the night by quarterback Zane Pitzer on a 4-yard run to take a 24-6 lead.
Third quarter, 5:41 left: Alter’s Andrew DiMario kicked a 24-yard field goal to close a 12-play, 74-yard drive as the Knights took a 17-6 lead after the first drive of the second half. Alter had first-and-10 at the Coshocton 11-yard line but failed to push in for a touchdown as DiMario kicked just his second field goal of the season.
Alter then quickly got an interception by linebacker Cody Conley on Coshocton’s first play of the next possession to set up first-and-10 at the 40-yard line.
Halftime: Four Alter players have combined for 180 rushing yards as Alter has taken a 14-6 halftime lead in its Division IV state semifinal against Coshocton.
Junior quarterback Zane Pitzer has led Alter with 63 rushing yards on 8 carries in the half, including a 3-yard touchdown with 50.5 seconds left in the first half. Cody Taulbee has added 58 yards on 11 carries and the other touchdown, an 8-yard run with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
Alter, like it did last week, rebounded from giving up a rushing touchdown on the opponent’s first drive — in this case a 25-yard run to Coshocton’s Marcus Johnston — to take a halftime lead.
Second quarter, 50.5 seconds left: Declining to kick a field goal on fourth-and-2 from the 3-yard line, Alter got a touchdown from Zane Pitzer to take a 14-6 lead. The score gave the junior quarterback 63 yards rushing on 8 carries.
Second quarter, 5:14 left: After stopping Coshocton on a fourth-and-1 play at the Alter 18-yard line, the Knights were stopped on their second possession at the Coshocton 41-yard line and have punted. Alter still has its 7-6 lead.
First quarter, 3:21 left: Alter followed a Coshocton touchdown with an 80-yard drive closed by an 8-yard scoring run by Cody Taulbee, and the Knights took a 7-6 lead with the extra point by Andrew DiMario.
First quarter, 10:02 left: Coshocton, like Clinton-Massie did last week against Alter, has opened with a touchdown on its first possession. On the sixth play, Marcus Johnston ran for a 25-yard touchdown, but the extra point was missed for a 6-0 Coshocton lead.
Pregame, 5:56 p.m.: Several members of the Coshocton football team just took the Hamilton Township High School field for warm-ups, and the Coshocton crowd is already rowdy in the home-side stands, with bells and cheers roaring.
Alter came next to prepare for the Division IV state semifinal, the Knights’ second straight after they won last season’s D-IV state title.
Alter (13-0) is hoping to make its third appearance in the state title game. The Knights lost to Steubenville in 2006 before winning the title last season. In getting this far, Alter has topped Jonathan Alder, Carlisle and Clinton-Massie by a combined score of 115-7.
Coshocton (11-2) got out of D-IV, Region 15 as the No. 5 seed by beating Zanesville West Muskingum (55-35), Amanda-Clearcreek (15-12) and Ironton (20-14 in overtime). The Redskins are making their first state semifinal appearance.
Here’s a piece of trivia about D-IV. Alter is making its seventh state semifinal appearance. Each of the other semifinalists — Coshocton, Chagrin Falls (13-0) and Ottawa-Glandorf (11-2) are all making their first trip this far into the tournament.
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