BELLVILLE — Otsego’s highly touted offense was nothing but a rumor when it met the Clear Fork defense on Friday night.
On the other hand, the Colts wasted no time flashing their own pyrotechnics to key a convincing 38-0 romp over the fifth-seeded Knights in the Division IV, Region 14 playoff encounter.
Otsego crashed through the 60-point barrier in its last two games, a 62-0 beating of Fostoria, and a 63-27 pasting of Van Wert in last week’s playoff clash. Then it arrived in The Valley — and received a rude awakening in the Colt Corral.
The fourth-seeded Colts forced a punt on the visitors’ first possession and Trey Sellers took a handoff for a 55-yard sprint. Quarterback Marcus Hoeflich followed with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nash Evans for a quick, 7-0 lead.
Sellers tacked on two more TD blasts in the second quarter, from 24 and 3 yards, to make it 21-0.
Just before the half, Sellers scopped up a Knights’ fumble and raced more than 40 yards for his third touchdown of the night to expand the bulge to 28-0 at intermission.
Hoeflich struck again in the second half, connecting with Alekai Price on a 62-yard aerial for a 35-0 bulge at the end of the third quarter. That triggered the running clock to dash all hopes for Otsego.
Sellers finished his all-around exploits with 108 yards rushing. Hoeflich was 3-of-3 passing for 103 yards and added 65 yards rushing and 2 TD passes.
CF ran for 256 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. Clear Fork outgained the Knights 359-168. Otsego did not compete either of its two pass attempts.
The Colts have won four straight games to push their overall mark to 9-2. Next week Clear Fork travels to top-seeded Ottawa-Glandorf (11-0). Clear Fork’s last loss was a 28-21 decision to undefeated Shelby on Oct. 2.
The Titans knocked off ninth-seeded Medina Buckeye 28-14 on Friday night. This will be O-G’s first regional semifinal appearance since 2021.
Fifth-seeded Otsego finished the season 8-4. This decision halted a four-game winning streak, in which the Knights produced at least 40 points in every game.
(Photos by Katie Ellington Serrao)
