COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Anderson Raptors and the Big Walnut Golden Eagles will face off in a postseason matchup at the Historic Crew Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. Anderson comes in undefeated at 13-0 overall and are ranked number 1 in the state of Ohio according to MaxPreps. Big Walnut is 12-1 on the season and are currently ranked number 16 in the state of Ohio according to MaxPreps. The lone loss for the Golden Eagles came in their first game of the season, falling to Bishop Watterson by a score of 37-15. Big Walnut is located in Sunbury, Ohio, not too far from the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.
Anderson is coming off of a 38-7 win against Trotwood-Madison to capture the Regional Championship for the third consecutive season. They won the Eastern Cincinnati Conference with a 9-0 record in conference play. The Raptors had 491 yards of total offense and 28 first downs. Junior quarterback Owen Scalf had 443 total yards (406 passing, 37 rushing) and five touchdowns through the air. Junior wide receiver Tysin Weaver caught two of those touchdown passes and finished with nine receptions for 138 yards. Wide receiver Cooper Kathman caught one of those touchdowns and had 107 yards with his season-high 15 receptions.
Big Walnut is coming off of a 27-21 win against the Washington Tigers of Massillon, Ohio to secure their second straight Regional Championship. Quarterback Eli Stumpf had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown. Big Walnut overcame a 14-7 deficit and had a strong showing from their special teams and defense. The defense came up with many clutch stops and the special teams blocked a punt, as well as recovering a fumble on a miscue from the Washington Tigers on a punt very early in the game. The Golden Eagles have shut out their opponents five times this season and have actually held their opponents to under 10 points in all but three games. Their game against Washington this past Friday night was the first time they allowed any points since October 17th. They ranked first and went 6-0 in the Ohio Capital Conference- Capital Division.
Anderson and Big Walnut met in the postseason last year where the Raptors beat the Golden Eagles by a score of 28-24. Anderson jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter before Big Walnut tied it up at halftime. The Golden Eagles took a 17-14 lead midway through the third quarter before Justice Burnam had a five-yard touchdown run a couple of minutes later. Big Walnut retook the lead with a 24-yard touchdown run from Nolan Burley with just 4:13 remaining in the game. Justice Burnam capped off the win for the Raptors with a one-yard touchdown with just 38 seconds left. This game will come almost exactly a year later, as the game last year was on November 29th, 2024 and the matchup this year will be on November 28th, 2025.
Written by Eli Altherr
