2023-11-23 13:30:00
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Spectrum News 1 will be broadcasting the state semifinals in Division I high school football this Friday. It’s the third year in a row Springfield High School takes on Archbishop Moeller. Springfield’s coach and players are confident they can make it three in a row, despite having a slow start to this season.
What You Need To Know
Springfield takes on Moeller for the third year in a row in the football state semi-final in Division I
Springfield has won the past two semifinal bouts against Moeller the past two years
Springfield nearly didn’t make it to the semifinals after a slow start this season
“We were one and three, and we talked to the team and just told them, if we can just make it to five and just get in, we’ll have a chance,” said Springfield head coach Maurice Douglass. “The team believed and continued to work hard. And we turned out where we ended up being five and five, and now we’re here where we’re at now.”
Douglass said it’s all about attitude — on the field and in the weight room.
“We believe, and that’s all we can do is go out there and, you know, trust and believe that if we put the work in that we got to honor that, you know, those things become possible that people think are impossible,” said Douglass.
Douglass accomplished an impossible dream for many high school players: going on to play 11 seasons in the NFL for the Bears and Giants. That experience has earned him the respect of his players here.
“It means a lot,” said senior Bryce Washington. “I know he knows a lot about football, so he really teaches us everything he can.”
“He used to play my position in the NFL. So, I just learned from every day it’s making me better every day,” said senior Aaron Scott Jr., who will be playing at Ohio State next year,
He’s feeling confident against Moeller and he has extra motivation because one of their star players, Jordan Marshall, is going to Michigan.
“He’s a good running back,” Scott said. “He’s committed to Michigan, so we’re going to set the rivalry early and gonna try to get a win.”
“They’ll be looking to get revenge but we’ll be ready,” Washington said.
Their team is hitting the weights hard and spending a lot of time looking at Moeller’s playoff games, something Douglass admits he wasn’t big on as a kid but learned to appreciate during his time with the Chicago Bears.
“You got to watch film,” Douglass said. “I never really used to watch film when I was younger, but then I started starting for Mike Singletary, pulled me to the side, and after practice he let me sit in there with him and we’d watch an hour and a half of film. That would be probably one of the greatest things that I’ve heard from the game from the NFL.”
From the NFL to launching college careers for dozens of his players — when Douglass started coaching here, he moved to Springfield to become a part of this working-class community.
“It’s got a small-town flavor to it,” Douglass said. “This football has galvanized this community and brought it all together. And you’ve got people, very different ethnicities that’s out there. And when all those people come together and support our team it’s been a great thing. I’m just excited for these people and the fans and the city.”
The Springfield-Moeller game will be played at Piqua High School. It airs Friday night at 7 p.m. on the Spectrum News app, Spectrum News 1 website and Channel 1.
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