Clear Fork knocks off unbeaten Ottawa-Glandorf, earns regional final rematch with Shelby
OTTAWA, Ohio — Trey Sellers broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown on the opening drive, and the Colts never gave up the lead. The fourth-seeded Colts beat top-seeded Ottawa-Glandorf 35–9 Friday night, ending the Titans’ unbeaten season on their home field and earning a shot at Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference rival Shelby in the Division IV, Region 14 final.
Sellers scored on the sixth play from scrimmage. Later in the first quarter, quarterback Marcus Hoeflich found Nash Evans for a 33-yard touchdown to make it 14–0. Ottawa-Glandorf answered with a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter, ending Clear Fork’s run of three straight shutouts, but the Titans managed just one touchdown all night.
“Our O-line came out full of energy to start off,” Sellers said after the game. That line kept opening holes. Clear Fork rushed 49 times for 272 yards, with Sellers carrying 17 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Schlosser added 90 yards on 16 carries and scored on the ground. Hoeflich and Evans helped set up Schlosser’s touchdown by connecting for 23 yards on third-and-12 in the second quarter.
Hoeflich finished 6-of-9 for 104 yards, with Evans accounting for 91 of those yards on four catches. The two hooked up again for a 29-yard touchdown to cap Clear Fork’s scoring. Ottawa-Glandorf had to handle Sellers and Schlosser on the ground while keeping track of Evans downfield, and the Colts made the Titans pay in both places.
Sellers made his presence felt on defense, too, sacking Ottawa-Glandorf quarterback Tanner Vogt on back-to-back plays. Clear Fork finished with four sacks and held the Western Buckeye League champions to 253 yards. A single 69-yard touchdown accounted for more than a quarter of that total. It was the seventh time this season the Colts held an opponent to single digits “Everybody’s flying around and that’s the way we teach it,” Clear Fork coach Aaron Brokaw after the huge road playoff victory.
Clear Fork (10–2) gets another crack at No. 2 Shelby (12–0) on Friday, Nov. 20, at a neutral site. Shelby won the first meeting 28–21 on Oct. 2 at the Colt Corral. The Whippets earned the rematch by scoring twice in the fourth quarter to beat previously unbeaten Sandusky Perkins 20–14. Quarterback Michael Shepherd ran for all three Shelby touchdowns, including the go-ahead score.
The Colts have won five straight since that October loss, outscoring opponents 161–23. To flip the result against Shelby, they’ll need the same push up front they got in Ottawa and enough discipline in the pass rush to keep Shepherd from slipping out of the pocket. If Sellers and Schlosser keep Clear Fork ahead of the chains, Hoeflich should have chances to find Evans downfield again. Seven weeks after losing by a touchdown at home, the Colts get another four quarters with Shelby and a trip to the state semifinals on the line.
