Second-seeded and undefeated Tipp beat third-seeded Badin 23-16 in a Division III, Region 12 semifinal game on Friday night at Tipp City Park.
A 16-14 defeat to St. Mary’s Memorial at home to end last season has not left the minds of Tipp players at any point since that game.
“Every day it’s what I’m constantly thinking about,” senior Collin Isaac said. “16 to 14 right here where I’m standing, the worst loss I’ve ever taken in my life.
“I always try to remind the guys and everybody else reminds everybody that’s what we’re playing for — to never go back to how we felt that day.”
Tippecanoe (12-0) advances to play No. 1 London (12-0) on Friday, Nov. 14 at a site to be determined.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Isaac intercepted a pass with 1:47 remaining to seal the win. He was one of two seniors stepping up in the second half to carry Tipp. Xavier Melton scored a pair of touchdowns after the break.
“It’s motivation for the next week and the week after and the week after,” Melton said in thinking about last year’s playoff loss.
Tippecanoe capitalized on a pair of miscues to score touchdowns on a short field.
A 29-yard field goal on its opening possession gave Tipp a 3-0 lead before the two teams traded punts on eight consecutive possessions. The Red Devils grabbed the advantage on the tail end of the exchanges after a Badin fumble, allowing Tipp to flip the field near the redzone.
Larkin Thomas struggled to get going early, completing 4 of his first 11 pass attempts, but made the most of the turnover by finding Will Strong for a wide-open 24-yard touchdown near halftime.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Badin opened the second half escaping from its own 1-yard line, but a mishandled snap on another punt allowed Tipp to get the ball at the Rams 21. Melton scored four plays later to put the Red Devils ahead 17-3.
“I think we talked about that earlier this week, that you got to take care of the football,” Tippecanoe coach Matt Burgbacher said.
Badin briefly awoke after senior James Brink returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown for the second consecutive game. Badin punched in another score on its next possession, but a penalty backed up the extra point attempt and it sailed wide to keep Tipp ahead 17-16.
On the next possession, Tipp marched 65 yards and Melton scored from 2 yards out to make it 23-16 early in the fourth quarter.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and our offense had their heads in between their tails because we had only scored 10 points,” Burgbacher said about his team’s halftime demeanor. “It’s like, fellas, that’s a good football team down there. And you just pick it up and again, that next play is going to be our best play mentality, the kids kept going with it.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Badin is just the second team to reach double figures against Tipp this season. Xenia was the other in a 16-14 win that was Tipp’s only other game that finished within one score.
Isaac said he felt holding Badin under 20 points would be the key number to win. The Red Devils became the second team to accomplish that against the Rams, which now occurred in both of Badin’s losses this season, ending the year with a 10-2 record.
It was the third time the two teams met in the postseason in the last six years. Tipp secured the rubber match after Badin won in 2020 and Tipp did in 2022. The latter secured the only regional title in Tipp’s history.
Tipp has never played London, but it was the site for the Red Devils state semifinal game that season.
“I’ll worry about them at 11:30, 12 o’clock tonight,” Burgbacher said. “I know they didn’t lose a whole lot from last year. We’ll worry about that tomorrow morning once we get some film.”
The Red Devils walked off the field in disappointment at home last year. This time it was hard not to find someone with a smile as they celebrated an unbeaten campaign at home.
“This is my last time ever playing here on this field,” Melton said. “That was something I was thinking about all week. I played here my whole career, and it’s definitely very sad, but this all was motivating because I knew what I wanted the outcome to be.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
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