H.S. Football: Midview gets emotional win over Amherst, secures postseason berth

EATON TWP. — The playoffs started early for Amherst and Midview. Unofficially, the Middies advanced. Senior running back Jace Wright piled up 246 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including a game-altering drive in which he accounted for every yard for the first 4:58 of the second half, in leading Midview to a 41-20 Southwestern Conference win Friday evening. "Coming into this game, we knew it was win or go home," Wright said. "With the home atmosphere, there's a lot of pressure to go to the playoffs. That really just drove us all week. We wanted this more than anybody." Both teams needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, Amherst in Division II and Midview in Division III. According to Joe Eitel's projections, the loss eliminated Amherst (4-6, 1-6). Eitel also has Midview (5-5, 2-5) clinching a playoff spot with a seed anywhere between Nos. 10-12 in Region 10 once the dust settles. Possible first-round opponents for the Middies are Celina, Ontario and Cloverleaf. "I couldn't be prouder of the boys," Midview coach Jack Armstrong said. "They faced a lot of adversity throughout this year and now we're going to be in the playoffs. We're excited about that. There were no mental mistakes on offense. It was a full team effort." The Middies were playing with heavy hearts after Armstrong's brother Jared died Sunday. "I love my brother and I know that he's looking down and smiling on me," Armstrong said. "He was a Middie, and as an alumni I know he's proud of these boys. I know that he'd be right here if he were still here. The boys came together, that's why I would never leave Midview. It's a special place and a great community." Twice Amherst sustained a drive that spanned nearly half the quarter, and both ended without points. The Comets took the opening drive of the evening 74 yards, but were stopped at the 1-yard line on fourth down. Midview then took the ball 99 yards, capped by Wright's first touchdown run from 8 yards, going up 6-0 after the missed extra point. Midview quarterback Brennen Newton completed two passes in the first half and both went for touchdowns to 6-foot-2 sophomore wideout Kellen DeSimone. The first for 36 yards made it 13-0. The second from 43 yards gave Midview a 27-14 lead with 30 seconds left in the half, just 26 seconds after Amherst cut the deficit to 20-14. That touchdown, combined with the Middies' opening drive of the second half, effectively sealed the game. Midview came out and drove 79 yards in 10 plays — nine of which were carries by Wright, who piled up 89 yards thanks to a holding call and put the Middies up 34-14 with a 5-yard touchdown run. The only play on that drive that did not go to Wright was a run by Newton for no gain. "It was huge," Wright said of the drive. "Even at halftime when we're up by a lot, we're going to come out and drive it down their throats. I think that was a statement." Amherst held the ball for nearly the duration of the second quarter, putting together 14 plays with two third-down conversions. The Comets reached the 5-yard line, but a holding call put them in second-and-goal from the 15-yard line and the drive stalled three plays later. Even though the Comets scored to start the fourth quarter, Wright answered by taking the ball seven out of eight times on the ensuing drive that took 3:22 off the clock and put Midview back up by three touchdowns. "These guys kept stepping up regardless of whether they were a sophomore or a junior or a senior," Amherst coach Tom Thome said. "They never quit, they stayed together, they stayed with the plan so I'm extremely proud of this group." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Midview 41, Amherst 20 Amherst&emsp;0&emsp;14&emsp;0&emsp;6&emsp;—&emsp;20 Midview&emsp;6&emsp;21&emsp;7&emsp;7&emsp;—&emsp;41 Scoring M — Jace Wright, 4 run (kick failed) M — Kellen DeSimone, 36 pass from Brennen Newton (Drew Morris kick) A — Anthony Passerrello, 1 run (Josh Tomlin kick) M — Peyton Ansel, 92 kick return (Morris kick) A — Xavier Champion, 8 run (Tomlin kick) M — DeSimone, 43 pass from Newton (Morris kick) M — Wright, 5 run (Morris kick) A — Ethan Wilhelms, 22 pass from Christian Vorhees (kick failed) M — Wright, 1 run (Morris kick)