Ball security had been a strength of Indian Lake all season. The turnover bug bit at the wrong time here Friday night.
Indian Lake players hold hands as they listen to head coach Dave Coburn speak after their loss Friday to Ottawa-Glandorf. (EXAMINER PHOTO | TONY BARRETT)
Ottawa-Glandorf picked off three Indian Lake passes and benefited from the gritty play of quarterback Jay Kaufman to beat the Lakers 33-28 in a Division IV, Region 14 semifinal football game at Harmon Field.
Indian Lake turned the ball over just seven times during the regular season, but had three crucial turnovers Friday against the Titans (11-1).
“When you get to this level, the margin of error is small,” said Indian Lake head coach Dave Coburn. “You have to take care of the football and get stops, and we weren’t able to do that.
“But all the credit goes to Ottawa-Glandorf. Coach (Ken) Schriner and his staff do an incredible job of getting their kids to play at a high level.”
The Titans did the bulk of their damage on the ground, rushing for 251 of their 313 total yards.
“We ran the ball well and I thought that was the key to the game because we didn’t throw the ball real well,” said Schriner. “Our offensive line did a really nice job opening holes.”
Kaufman, a 6-4 junior, rushed for 142 yards on 24 carries. Most of his yards came between the tackles.
“We just didn’t do a good enough job at the line of scrimmage tonight, especially on defense,” said Coburn. “We were able to get some stops at times, but we couldn’t get them when we really needed them.”
It was the second straight season Indian Lake’s playoff run came to an end against Ottawa-Glandorf.
Indian Lake (11-1) had not tasted defeat since last year’s 23-15 first-round loss to the Titans.
“Up until two years ago, I don’t think many people knew much about Indian Lake,” said Coburn. “We have a body of water, people knew that. These kids over the last two years have put Indian Lake on the map for something other than a lake.”
The departing senior class was responsible for back-to-back Central Buckeye Conference Mad River championships and the first two playoff appearances in school history.
Indian Lake outgained the Titans 349-313 in total yardage.
Playing in his final game as a Laker, Alex Jacobs threw for 228 yards on 16-of-31 passing. He also rushed for a team-high 103 yards on 18 carries.
Parker Grothaus led the receivers with 81 yards on five catches. Collin Coburn had 50 yards on three grabs, Tyler Reprogle tallied 45 yards on four receptions, Nate Kaffenbarger caught three passes for 32 yards and Andrew Hulbert added 20 yards on one catch.
For the Titans, Beemer contributed 56 rushing yards on eight carries and Niese had 40 yards on 14 attempts.