Fort Loramie rallies around first-year coach
It didn’t take long for firstyear coach Spencer Wells to make an impact on the Fort Loramie football team.
Wells emerged as the go-to guy following the resignation of former coach Whit Parks after a playoff season in 2017. It was the first head coaching position for Wells, previously the offensive coordinator at Wapakoneta.
“They bought in right away,” said Wells, a football and basketball standout at Delphos St. John’s. “I thanked them for that because we really hit the ground running with our weight program. I had a lot of support from the community and the administration from the get-go.”
The dream season continues when Fort Loramie (121) plays McComb (12-1) in a Division VII state semifinal at Wapak’s Harmon Field on Saturday.
In today’s Week 14 games, Alter (12-1) will play Norwalk (10-3) in a D-III state semi, also at Wapak, and Marion Local (12-1) is paired against Attica Seneca East (12-1) at Lima Spartan Stadium. Both those games are at 7 p.m.
The winners advance to the Week 15 state championships at Canton’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Thursday through Dec. 1. Following all the state semifinal results, the Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce one of the seven divisions that will play for a state championship Thursday. Three each will be held over the next two days.
Loramie is a small-school playoff regular, advancing to the postseason nine out of the past 10 seasons. But the Redskins had just three total playoff wins going into this season and had never advanced past the second round.
That all changed when Fort Loramie overwhelmed Convoy Crestview 48-20 in a Week 13 D-VII, Region 28 final last Saturday at Lima. That matched the three previous playoff wins and
SATURDAY’S GAME
Fort Loramie (12-1) vs. McComb (12-1), at Wapakoneta Harmon Field, 7 p.m. pushed Loramie’s win streak to 12. Only neighboring rival Minster, the D-VII defending state champ, defeated Loramie, in the season opener. Crestview knocked out Minster in the Region 28 semifinals.
Loramie has been on a mission since that loss. Wells noticed a change in the Redskins by midseason, when practice “stepped up a notch,” he said. “Throughout the year, that’s been motivation for us. We’ve heard a lot of people talk about a lot of different teams and our guys just kept plugging away and getting better and better. Pretty much, every week since the halfway point I’ve said this is our best week of practice.”
Loramie’s first five opponents in the regular season were all playoff teams. The Redskins went 8-0 to dethrone Miami East and win an outright Cross County Conference title in their second season. Loramie is a longtime member of the Shelby County Athletic League in all other sports.
In the five games prior to Crestview, Loramie had outscored opponents 244-12. Led by linebackers CJ Billing, a senior, and sophomore Max Hoying, the Redskins have allowed seven points or less in seven games. Crestview snapped a three-game shutout streak.
Offensively, sophomore quarterback Collin Moore has accounted for more than 2,000 yards and senior running back/receiver Carter Mescher another 1,000 yards.
“It’s been a fun year and hopefully, we can keep it rolling,” said Wells. Contact this reporter at 937225-2381 or email Marc. Pendleton@coxinc.com. Twitter: @MarcPendleton