Game #	Date	Opponent	Site	Score	W/L	Record
1	8/29/09	East St. Louis	UC	49-28	W	1-0
2	9/6/09	Colerain	Home	20-7	W	2-0
3	9/11/09	Louisville Trinity	Home	26-7	W	3-0
4	9/18/09	La Salle	Away	23-13	W	4-0 (1-0)
5	9/26/09	Lakewood St. Edward	Away	38-14	W	5-0
6	10/2/09	St. Xavier	Away	17-7	L	5-1 (1-1)
7	10/9/09	Moeller	Home	35-13	L	5-2 (1-2)
8	10/16/09	Columbus St. Francis De Sales	Home	34-24	W	6-2
9	10/30	Western Hills	Home	42-0	W	7-2

Playoffs

Ranked No. 4 in USA Today's national high school football poll, the 2009 Panthers faced high expectations in Game 1, against the East St. Louis Flyers as part of the Crosstown Showdown at UC.  Mark Miller returned as quarterback, carrying his 2008 Ohio Player of the Year credentials, and he did not disappoint the Elder faithful, leading the Panthers to a 49-28 victory.  Junior running back Ben Coffaro contributed the first score, a 49-yard run, followed by Selby Chidemo's first of two TD receptions, to make the score 14-0.  The Flyers responded with an 80-yard TD run, but Elder scored once again before the end of the first quarter, when Adam Brown's 15-yard TD run brought the score to 21-7.  A 53-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter made the score 21-14, and it was clear the Flyers were an opponent to be taken seriously.  The Flyers scored again shortly thereafter, but missed the ensuing extra point, making the game 21-20, Panthers.  Tim O'Conner scored from 12 yards out before halftime and the score at the break was 28-20, aided by a strong defensive stand following a Mark Miller interception.  The Panthers built on their lead in the second half, on TDs by Tim O'Conner, Adam Brown, and linebacker Corey Mason, who returned an interception 30 yards for a score.

The Colerain Cardinals visited Elder Stadium for the first time for Game 2, a game which was telecast live on ESPN.  Colerain had lost its first game of the season the previous week, to St. Xavier by a score of 16-0.  In spite of that loss, the Cardinals were still ranked No. 13 nationally.  The Pit is always a tough place for opponents to play, and this game was no exception.  Mark Miller completed 19 of 27 passes for 225 yards and two TDs, one each to Selby Chidemo and Tim O'Conner.  Senior kicker Tony Miliano added two field goals of 22 and 37 yards, while the defense held the Cardinals to one second quarter touchdown.  Final score:  20-7.

In Game 3, the Panthers welcomed Louisville Trinity to The Pit, and Miliano kicked a school-record four field goals en route to a 26-7 victory.  The field goals, of 32, 26, 31 and 23 yards, were combined with Alex Welch's first TD reception (41 yards) and a 2-yard Coffaro run.  Jake Fishburn and Alex Taylor contributed interceptions for the Panthers.

The Panthers traveled to La Salle for Game 4, and were given all they could handle by the Lancers, but held on for a 23-13 win.  Ben Coffaro led the ground game with 28 rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown.  Mark Miller ran for one TD and fired a 15-yard pass to Tim O'Conner for another.  Tony Miliano kicked a 40-yard field goal to complete the scoring for the Panthers.  Jake Fishburn stopped a late Lancer drive with another interception on the 2-yard line.

The Panthers took a 24-0 lead in the first half and coasted to a 38-14 win over the Lakewood St. Edward's Eagles in Game 5.  Miller completed an amazing 25 of 27 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns, two to senior Justin Maxwell and one each to Alex Welch and Tim O'Conner.  Tony Miliano added five extra points and a 24-yard field goal. The Panthers suffered a major loss in this game, losing senior offensive lineman Pete Bachman for the rest of the season to a broken leg.

Now undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the City, the Panthers faced No. 2 St. Xavier on the Bombers home turf in Game 6.  Having lost the previous week to Highlands by a 12-7 score, the Bombers came out determined to redeem themselves, and they succeeded, toppling the Panthers, 17-7.  Tim O'Conner suffered a fractured wrist on the Panthers' first play from scrimmage, while completing a 35-yard pass reception, and missed the rest of the game, and ultimately the rest of the regular season.  (Ironically, both Bachman and O'Conner had been recruited by Indiana University, and both ended up attending the school and playing football there following their graduation from Elder.)  The Panthers scored in the first quarter on a 9-yard Miller-to-Welch pass following a St. X field goal, but were shutout the rest of the way. 

Reeling from the loss of two of their strongest contributors to season-ending injuries, the 5-1 Panthers hosted the 6-0 Moeller Crusaders in Game 7, carrying a 16-game home winning streak. In a rain-soaked Elder Stadium, the Panther defense just couldn't stop Moeller running back Jeff Aubin, who rushed 32 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns, anchoring the Crusaders' 35-13 win.  The Panthers could only muster two Miliano field goals in the first quarter, of 33 and 42 yards, and one Ben Coffaro 1-yard TD run late in the game. 

Elder bounced back in Game 8, defeating the Columbus De Sales Stallions, 34-24.  Leading 7-3 at the half, Mark Miller engineered the offense to score four TDs in the second half, one on a 21-yard pass to Alex Welch, and three on Ben Coffaro rushes (of 1, 3, and 1 yards).  Miller ended the game with 15 completions out of 21 attempts for 209 yards; Ben Coffaro rushed 23 times for 106 yards.

Following a Week 9 bye, the Panthers hosted the Western Hills Mustangs for the final game in their annual series which had stretched back to 1929.  Elder once again dominated the Mustangs, winning by a score of 42-0.  Mark Miller threw two TD passes in the contest, giving him a career total of 46, setting a new school record.  Ben Coffaro scored three touchdowns, Adam Brown scored two, and Selby Chidemo scored one to end the regular season on a high note.

Elder finished fourth in the final Harbin rankings, and would host fifth-ranked Huber Heights Wayne in the first round of the playoffs.  Junior Ben Coffaro went on a tear, scoring four touchdowns, two rushing and two receiving, to lead the Panthers to a 35-14 win.  Tim O'Conner returned from his wrist injury to spark the offense, scoring the Panthers' first touchdown on a 42-yard pass from Mark Miller.  St. Xavier defeated Centerville 37-12 and would be the Panthers' next opponent.

The rematch between the Bombers and the Panthers was held at UC's Nippert Stadium, attended by upwards of 20,000.  The Panther defense held the Bombers scoreless for the first three quarters, while the offense built a 17-0 lead on TDs by O'Conner and Coffaro and a 37-yard Miliano field goal.  But St. Xavier scored twice within six minutes in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-14.  Miller and the Panthers controlled the ball for the remaining three minutes to seal the victory.  Next, the Panthers would face Anderson who had defeated Middletown earlier in the day.

The 12-0 Anderson Redskins returned to Division I this season following a Division II state championship in 2007 and a Division II state runner-up finish in 2008. The surging Panthers had last faced the Redskins in the Playoffs in 2003, on their way to their second consecutive state championship. The game was again played at UC's Nippert Stadium, and again the Panthers built up an early lead, this time 21-0 in the first half.  But Anderson recovered and scored late in the second quarter, and again after halftime, to make it 21-14 late in the third quarter.  Miller hit Tim O'Conner with a 14-yard TD pass with 9:13 left to put the Panthers up 28-14. The Redskins responded and scored with 2:55 left.  Ben Coffaro recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Panthers were forced to punt.  Alex Taylor's interception on the Anderson 35-yard line sealed the victory for the Panthers, who returned to the state semi-finals for the second consecutive season, and the fourth time this decade.

On its way to the state semi-final game, the 11-1 Hilliard Davidson Wildcats defeated Dublin Coffman 22-7, making its third appearance in the state semi-finals in the last five years.  At Dayton's Welcome Stadium, the Panthers led 20-14 entering the fourth quarter, on three Ben Coffaro touchdowns.  But a Davidson field goal, and a 2-yard TD run with 33.7 seconds left, gave the Wildcats the win, ending the Panthers' thrilling, up-and-down season. 

 

HONORS
ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-OHIO ALL STAR TEAM
First Team	Tony Miliano
Second Team	Ben Coffaro
Tony Miliano is the only player in Elder Football History to be named First Team All-Ohio in consecutive seasons.
SWOFCA  ALL-DISTRICT ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense	Ben Coffaro, Tony Miliano
Second Team Offense	Alex Welch, Mark Miller
Second Team Defense	Jake Fishburn
Honorable Mention	Corey Mason, Tim O'Conner, David Peters, Erich Vogelsang
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ALL-CITY ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team Offense	Ben Coffaro, Tony Miliano
Honorable Mention	Jake Fishburn, Robert Williams, Corey Mason, Danny Mohs, Rakhim Johnson, Alex Welch, Tim O'Conner, David Peters, Erich Vogelsang
Player of the Year	Mark Miller
Coach of the Year	Doug Ramsey
G.C.L. SOUTH ALL-STARS
First Team Offense	Ben Coffaro, Tim O'Conner, Mark Miller, Alex Welch
Second Team Offense	Danny Mohs, Robert Williams
First Team Defense	Jake Fishburn, David Peters, Erich Vogelsang
Second Team Defense	Rakhim Johnson, Corey Mason
Academic All-Star	Mark Roser
Offensive Back of the Year	Mark Miller
Kicker of the Year	Tony Miliano
TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable Player	Ben Coffaro
Best Offensive Lineman	Danny Mohs
Best Defensive Lineman	David Peters
Best Offensive Back	Ben Coffaro
Best Defensive Back	Jake Fishburn
Best Linebacker	Corey Mason
Best Receiver	Tim O'Conner
Most Improved Player	Alex Taylor
Mr. Panther	Tim Gruber
Mr. Z. I. P.	Mark Miller

 

Final Regular Season Individual Leaders (9 Games)

 

 

Team Roster

Underlined Players' names are links to their statistics.

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