CINCINNATI—The regional finals for the OHSAA football state championships start Friday night, and only one Cincinnati Public School is left in the running.
What You Need To Know
- Taft is the only Cincinnati Public School left in the OHSAA state football tournament
- Taft has never made the state semifinal game, which they could go to if they beat Wyoming
- Players said they are proud to represent Cincinnati and their neighborhood
- Taft plays Wyoming in the regional finals on Saturday night at Lakota West
Cincinnati Public Schools aren’t usually in the running for a football state championship- or they at least haven’t been since Cincinnati Academy of Physical Education, or CAPE, won it all in 1992. CAPE no longer exists, and football championships haven’t come since. But Taft is trying to change that.
“I’ve been playing football since I was seven, I’ve never been playing football this long in one season," said Elias Rudolph, a junior defensive end. "So it’s different. We came out with a different mindset this year, a different statement. We’re just trying to put on for this city, our school, and everybody that’s supporting us.”
Rudolph has already received more than 20 scholarships to play in college, including Ohio State. He said it’s bigger than him and football. Being in the regional finals means a lot to this community.
“We see it as an opportunity," Rudolph said. "We’re just trying to make a difference in our lives and our peers' lives. So we just go hard.”
Taft has seen recent success in basketball, winning states earlier this year. But for senior linebacker Ronald Cutts, he said it’s football’s time.
“It feels good, but I’m not satisfied at all," Cutts said. "I watched my brother do it in basketball and that just gave me all the motivation in the world. If they can, why can’t we? We go to the same school, we grow up around the same neighborhood, come from the same background, so why can’t it be our turn?”
Cutts says being a student at Taft can have negative connotations. He wants to change that.
“Being a young Black man in today’s society, everybody always doubts you," Cutts said. "So just having that chip on your shoulder to be the best you can possibly be at every aspect of life.”
“I built this program the right way," head coach Tyler Williams said. "We show these kids that we definitely care about them. Whatever we need to do for them to show them we care, we definitely do that. We rally behind our neighborhood, we rally behind our parents, we get them involved, we get our youth involved. We put that all together and let them know that we’re their biggest support system. From there we let that take care of itself."
Taft has never made it to the state semifinal in football- but the Senators need to beat Wyoming- one of the two teams they lost to earlier this season. Second year Head Coach Williams says he believes his guys can do it.
“We both look at each other as the best teams in Division IV in Ohio," Williams said. "So I told my kids the best team to match up against Wyoming to beat them is us and the only team that I think can beat them right now is Taft.”
Taft faces Wyoming for a regular season rematch on Saturday night at Lakota West.