Tribe gets its rematch

What if … ?
It is sometimes the question after suffering a tough loss, especially in a close game.
What if … I held on to the football?
What if … I hadn’t missed a tackle?
What if … I executed properly.
What if … we got another chance?
Some teams never get the opportunity to avenge a loss.
The Tribe isn’t one of them.
“All 50 of us believed we should have won that game, including the coaching staff,” said Fort Recovery High School senior Tanner Koch, referencing his football team’s 14-12 home loss to the 2014 Division VI state champion Minster Wildcats on Oct. 9. “We knew we were going to get another shot at them if we did what we did.”
Getting that second chance — the Indians (10-2) and Wildcats (10-2) meet in the Division VII Region 26 championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium in Sidney, Ohio — wasn’t easy.
A week after losing to Minster, the Indians were shut out 28-0 by Marion Local, which won four consecutive Division VII state championship from 2011 to 2014. Unlike they do with Minster, the Indians won’t get a chance to avenge that loss as the Flyers moved up to Division VI. Marion Local has been ranked No. 1 all season.
Following back-to-back losses to 2014 state champions, the Tribe fought tooth and nail to beat rival St. Henry 8-7 at home, and then blasted the Versailles Tigers 27-13 on the road in the season finale.
Fort Recovery finished the regular season with the most overall wins (eight) and Midwest Athletic Conference victories (six) in program history.
The Indians then hosted the program’s first playoff football game, rolling to a 62-34 victory against Miami Valley Christian Academy behind sophomore running back Will Homan’s four first-half touchdowns. Last week, the Tribe beat Lehman Catholic for the second time this season, 20-3, to reach the regional title game.
Playing for a regional championship came as no surprise to the Tribe. They expected it.
“A lot of people say ‘unbelievable,’” Koch said of being able to play in week 13, a place no FRHS team has been before. “But you can’t say that because we knew we were going to be here. We wanted to be here.”
FRHS coach Brent Niekamp has led teams for the last 10 years that struggled to win five games in a season. In fact, it only happened twice, including last season when the team picked up its first playoff berth. Now, the Indians get a rematch with Minster having come off its 10th win of the season.
And only one word is needed to describe the feeling of reaching the regional title game.
Awesome.

“I keep looking around at our run here and this experience and I don’t ever want to take it for granted,” he said, noting that senior Adam LeFevre, the school’s all-time leader for sacks in a season with 13.5, said the same thing after practice last week. “I remember where we came from in this whole ordeal. I think our players understand that too. I know the older ones do.”
Six weeks ago, Fort Recovery opened the game against Minster like the 6-0 team that it was, scoring on each of its first two possessions. The only mishaps were immediately after the touchdowns — a missed extra point and a failed two-point conversion.
They ended up being the difference in the game.
Again, what if …
“We still moved the ball pretty well for stretches after those first two drives,” Niekamp said. “We would have a bad play — a tackle for loss, a hold — something that would back us up and we would get into long yardage. We would get behind the chains and we just couldn’t overcome that.”
One of the keys since then, and especially this week, is not getting into those situations. Niekamp said the passing game then wasn’t as strong as it is now. With the recent explosion of Homan — the sophomore has 420 yards and five touchdowns in the last four games, including a 171-yard effort last week against Lehman Catholic — the running game has found its stride as the Indians’ offense is firing on all cylinders.
Although Homan has shared duties with senior Kyle Schroer for much of the season, the backfield belongs to Homan for the remainder of the playoffs. Schroer broke his fibula during the first quarter against Lehman Catholic when he was hit holding the ball on an extra point.
“(Homan is) going to have more of a role offensively. He’s going to be the main guy,” Niekamp said. “He’s going to be on the field for lot more snaps than he usually is.”
Homan is also a free safety, and is 11th on the team with 31 tackles.
“The good thing is he never seems to get tired. Ever,” Niekamp said while chuckling. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around the kid when he’s been tired.”
While Homan is an important piece on both sides of the football, Niekamp said he’d find ways to give the 5-foot, 8-inch, 160-pound speedster some rest to keep him fresh.
“He’s got a big job now and I think he’s ready for it,” Niekamp said.
Fort Recovery’s defense has to be ready for a stout Minster offense too.
Like Fort Recovery, both of Minster’s losses were to 2014 state champions. It fell to Division V champ Coldwater 28-0 on Sept. 11 and to Marion Local 20-7 a week later.
Quarterback Josh Nixon completes about 56 percent of his passes, but he throws often — about 27 times per game. He has 2,529 yards passing with 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He’s thrown for 250 yards or more four times and eclipsed 300 once. His 86 career touchdown passes rank 18th in Ohio history.
Jacob Dues and Bryce Schmiesing are his two favorite targets, combining for 127 of his 180 completions. Dues has racked up 1,042 yards and 17 touchdowns on 64 catches, and Schmiesing has caught 63 passes for 986 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Wildcats also have a rushing attack that focuses on Evan Huelsman. The workhorse averages 16 carries and slightly more than 82 yards per game. He’s totaled 993 yards with 11 touchdowns, and has rushed for as many as 209 yards in a game, doing so against Delphos St. Johns on Oct. 2.
Still, the Indians have been chomping at the bit for another meeting with the Wildcats.
 “We want that one really, really bad,” FRHS quarterback Caleb Martin said Friday after the win against Lehman Catholic. “We’ve been looking forward to it ever since we lost to them at home. We’re more excited for this game than probably most of our games this year.”