Springfield stays tied atop GWOC with rout of Centerville

“Sometimes it takes that,” coach Maurice Douglass said. “You humble yourself and realize that you’re not as good as you think you are, and you have to work to be special. In the last two weeks, we’ve done a really good job of paying attention to detail in practice. We’ve had really good spirited practices.”

That led to a 54-14 victory at home in Week 7 against Springboro and a 38-10 victory at Centerville in Week 8 on Friday.

With two games to play, Springfield (6-1, 4-1) and Springboro (6-2, 4-1) share first place in the Greater Western Ohio Conference.

Springboro beat Northmont 41-17 on Friday. Wayne (5-3, 3-2) lost 26-21 at home to Fairmont to fall into a three-way tie for third with Centerville (6-2, 3-2) and Fairmont (6-2, 3-2).

Springfield closes the season with a home game against Miamisburg and a road game at Northmont. Springboro plays at home against Wayne in Week 9 and then plays at Miamisburg.

The Wildcats continue to dominate the series against Centerville. This was their fifth straight victory against the Elks and second straight blowout victory. Both teams ranked in the top 10 in Division I a year ago when the Wildcats won 44-7 in Springfield.

This time Centerville ranked fourth and Springfield fifth in the state poll. However, the game was a rout from the start.

Springfield scored on its first two possessions. It took a 7-0 lead on a 13-yard run by Norman with 4:38 left in first quarter. Norman ran 49 yards for another touchdown with 21 seconds left in first quarter, giving Springfield a 14-0 lead. Those were his third and fourth touchdowns of the season. He finished with 114 yards on eight carries.

“Nobody ever respects our run game,” Norman said. “They think we’re a passing team. So I just came in prepared. We’re young up front. We’ve got a bunch of sophomores and freshmen. We just do what we do.”

Springfield has 10 rushing touchdowns and 23 receiving touchdowns in seven games.

Bryce Schondelmyer completed 19 of 30 passes for 345 yards against Centerville. He threw a 46-yard pass to Daylen Bradley to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining in the half. The Wildcats led 24-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter, DayDay Owens ran three yards for a Springfield touchdown, and Schondelmyer threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Brown.

Springfield outgained Centerville 497-208. Centerville lost starting quarterback Drake Wells to an injury on Sept. 30. Braylon Newcomb and Gavin Monturo split time last week in a 37-6 victory against Beavercreek. Newcomb started this game and scored Centerville’s only touchdown on a 51-yard run in the third quarter.

“We did a good job of taking away what we felt that they would try to do,” Douglass said. “We know that (Newcomb) was a runner, and we let him get through there on one, and that was the biggest play all day but our guys did a good job of battling.”