Coldwater can't hold off grind-it-out Alter

TROY - Grind it out, grind it out and grind it out.

That described Kettering Alter's 31-21 victory over defending state champion Coldwater in the Division IV regional championship game at Troy Memorial Stadium on Friday.

Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Knights scored 21 second-half points to advance to the state semifinal contest against Genoa Area next week at a site to be determined.

"It was an amazing comeback," Alter coach Ed Domsitz said. "Offensively, we established some things and defensively we gave up zero points (in the second half). That's amazing. To beat a team of this caliber it takes a staggering effort. It's the best football we've played in a couple of years."

The Knights (11-2) gained 358 yards on 64 plays, 244 yards on the ground. Alter controlled the clock with 28:54 in time of possession, grinding out 183 yards on 35 second-half plays.

"They have great athletes," Coldwater coach John Reed said. "They have great, great, great players."

The Knights started their comeback with an 11-play, 59-yard drive that was capped off with a one-yard dive by quarterback Austin Boucher with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

A Matt Pirrello 33-yard interception return on the next Coldwater possession gave the Knights a short field. Boucher scored again on the option to give the Knights the lead, 24-21.

Boucher finished the game with 18 carries for 91 yards, while completing 12 of 18 passes for 114 yards.

"Austin Boucher can throw or run," Domsitz said. "He's an amazing quarterback. He's a leader on the field."

With Coldwater unable to generate a drive and being forced to punt, the Knights began the game clinching drive with 8:31 left in the game.

"That's a credit to Alter," Reed said. "Their quarterback made play after play and their running backs continued not to go down."

Runs by Boucher and Chris Borland clicked seconds off the clock and yards for Alter.

The 16-play, 85-yard drive took 7:30 off the clock. Borland's 3-yard touchdown run from three yards out with 1:01 left in the game sealed the game and sent the Knights to the state semifinal for the fifth time in school history.

"I said all year the state championship went through Coldwater," Domsitz said. "Fortunately we were able to play great ball tonight."

Borland finished the game with 18 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cavaliers (12-1) got on the board first at the 6:09 mark of the first quarter when Tony Harlamert dove in from two yards out. The Coldwater defense set up the touchdown when senior Cory Klenke intercepted a pass tipped by Austin Boucher.

The Knights stormed back with 3:42 left in the first quarter as senior running back Borland took the option around the right side and marched into the end zone untouched for a seven-yard score.

Klenke engineered the next drive by completing passes to Keith Wenning, Dusty Rutchilling, Adam Homan and Tony Harlamert to move the ball to the Alter 17-yard line. His next pass found Zach Kaup for the touchdown.

Klenke finished the game 20-of-36 for 180 yards and one touchdown.

As a team the Cavaliers had 248 yards on 52 plays.

The Cavalier special teams struck next. Wenning's punt was fumbled by Alter's Danny Jasper and Trent Muhlenkamp picked it up and went 10 yards to make the score 21-7

Jasper added a 26-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half to make the score 21-10, setting the stage for the second-half comeback.