It was a Friday night fright for the Little Miami Panthers, while the Springboro Panthers night, was all treats. Tenth-seeded Little Miami traveled North to face the 7th seed, Springboro in the first round of the OHSAA playoffs, Division I, Region 4 matchup. In what should have been a closer game, was anything but that, as Springboro came away with a 31-0 victory over Little Miami. Next up for Springboro, is a Friday night date with the Elder Panthers, at the Pit in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs.

Springboro won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. That gave the visiting Little Miami Panthers the chance to get on the board early and take the momentum. Little Miami drove the ball down the field but was the drive was thwarted, with Brayden Brown taking a sack, forcing the Panthers to punt. It didn’t take long for Springboro to capitalize. Springboro quarterback, Max Miller, who is committed to Central Michigan, found Kru Collins for a 55-yard touchdown to get Springboro up and running. With the crowd in a frenzy, the Springboro defense rose again to the occasion, forcing another Little Miami punt. Running back, Brandon Birdsong Jr. added to the Springboro lead as he punched it in from 13 yards out. The Liam Cripe extra point made it 14-o, Springboro at the end of the first quarter.

On a crucial drive to keep the game close, Little Miami marched the ball right down the field but turned it over on downs, at the Springboro 5-yard line. Both defenses stood tall in the second quarter, keeping the opposing offense off the scoreboard. Springboro had a chance to put the nail in the Little Miami coffin at the end of the half but Little Miami senior safety Jaxon Barnett intercepted a Max Miller pass to keep it 14-0 at the half.

With how the game started, a 14-point halftime deficit for the Little Miami Panthers was a huge victory. Once again, the Little Miami defense stood tall, forcing a Springboro punt to start the half. The Little Miami offense couldn’t get it going as Brown threw his first interception of the game, giving Springboro the ball in Little Miami territory. With all of the momentum with Springboro, the Little Miami defense once again stepped up. This time, it was Carter Hainey who intercepted the Springboro quarterback. With another chance to get back into the game, senior defensive back Maddox Dixon picked off Brown and scampered 55-yards for the pick six, extending the Springboro lead to 21-0. The interception was bad enough for Little Miami but Dixon was not to be stopped on his way to paydirt. That effectively ended any hopes Little Miami had for a comeback, as the dagger was inserted deep into the Little Miami Panthers’ hearts.

Little Miami once again turned the ball over on downs and Birdsong tacked on another rushing touchdown. The 2-yard rushing touchdown made it 28-0 in favor of the home Panthers. After another Little Miami punt, Springboro added a Liam Cripe 34-yard field goal to the score, making it 31-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The final score would end as such, sending Springboro into the next round against second-seeded Elder. The Little Miami defense deserved a much better fate, as they forced two turnovers and standing tall after the offense put them in precarious situations. Little Miami could only muster 174 total yards of offense and the two interceptions from Brown came at inopportune times, with one of them taken to the house. Little Miami was only 5/13 on third down and 0/2 on fourth down. Discipline was also a massive issue as Little Miami totaled 96 penalty yards on 8 penalties. Springboro also tallied 8 penalties for 85 total yards.

A great season comes to an end for Little Miami, while a great season continues for Springboro. Stay tuned as ISC continues their coverage of the OHSAA playoffs.

Chris Asbrock is the owner, writer and analyst for Impact Sports Cincinnati and can be followed on Twitter  Follow @iamchrisasbrock and Follow @ISCincy

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