Playoff Notebook: A change of roles as Jays fly under the radar

FINDLAY - Despite finishing 8-2 in the regular season, playing its always-tough Midwest Athletic Conference schedule, Delphos St. John's came into the football playoffs as something of an afterthought.

And despite advancing to Friday's Division VI state semifinal against Sidney Lehman (7:30 p.m., at Wapakoneta), the Blue Jays are still flying under the radar.

"There probably weren't a lot of people who were giving us a chance to win that game (against Ada)," St. John's coach Todd Schulte said. "It's more relaxing, I can tell you that. We've been in that spot where everyone points the finger at us and says we're supposed to win all of the time. That's some added pressure on the kids and coaches. ... At this point, someone else's has the bulls eye on them."

With its 21-14 win over West Jefferson, Marion Local advanced to a Division V state semifinal, Saturday at Findlay's Donnell Stadium against Liberty-Benton at 7 p.m. The Eagles are led by quarterback Aaron Craft.

The regional final win over Ada was big for the confidence of the Blue Jays (11-2). They squared off against the high-flying Bulldogs offense and came away victorious.

Against the Cavaliers, St. John's will see a run-based offense it is more used to.

"Any team that's left at this point is going to be good," Schulte said. "They're primarily a running team, so we're going to have to shift gears again and get geared up for another running team."

With Lehman (11-1) facing teams such as Columbus Grove, Anna and Allen East, the Cavaliers have faced teams the Jays are familiar with, even if they aren't necessarily common opponents.

"You can make some phone calls and talk with some coaches that you're familiar with," Schulte said. "Even though we haven't played those teams, had a common opponent, we still know those teams in this area. We know who they're playing and the type of competition they've seen."

BACK AGAIN: Marion Local returns to the state semifinals for the third straight year. The Flyers won the Division VI state championship in 2006 and won the Division V title last year.

"This is a great year for our team, not that we're done or anything," Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said. "This is something I thought we could do, but we lost a lot of players off last year's team. Something like this year really makes a coach proud."

MORE SUBSTANCE THAN SIZE: Last year Delphos St. John's offensive line was young and a little undersized by Blue Jays' standards.

So St. John's coach Todd Schulte spread the field, went with the shotgun and got away from power football.

This year, the power running game returned and the Blue Jays have gone from 2-8 last year to 11-2 this year.

St. John's 38-28 victory over Ada in a Division VI regional final was a blue-chip performance for the Blue Jays' offensive line. Against a stingy Ada defense, the Blue Jays ran for 241 yards and had 362 total yards. Quarterback Wes Ulm ran for 86 yards on 15 carries. Jordan Leininger ran for 135 yards on 20 carries with a 59-yard TD.

"We're still not big up front, but we're very physical," Schulte said. "They're physical, hard-nosed kids. That's what it boils down to. I don't know if we're a whole lot bigger than we were last year, but maybe we're a little meaner."

Starters on the line include sophomore center Alex Recker (6-0, 215), sophomore guard Derek Klaus (6-0, 205), sophomore guard Joey Grubenhoff (6-0, 205), senior tackle Tyler Hayson (6-0, 205) and sophomore tackle Austin Vogt (6-2, 230).

KUHLMAN GRINDS IT OUT FOR O-G: Ottawa-Glandorf quarterback Taylor Kuhlman led the Titans in rushing in all three of its playoff games.

The senior rushed for 126 yards in O-G's 56-12 opening-round win over Lorain Clearview. In O-G's thrilling 28-21 overtime win over Marion Pleasant in the Division IV regional semifinals, Kuhlman rushed for 143 yards.

In the Titans' 40-21 regional final loss to Genoa Area, the first-year quarterback led the team with 101 yards on the ground.