BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
When No. 1 Colerain plays at No. 2 Sycamore tonight, don't look for history to define the game, even though it can.
No, Colerain coach Kerry Coombs sees this as more of a journey into the realm of the unknown.
On the Sycamore side, there are the mysteries posed by a new coach, Tom Adams, who has his offense averaging nearly 40 points per game through two weeks. For Colerain, the question is defense, where the Cardinals have nine new starters this year.
"We have a lot of kids who are starting for the first time in their senior years," Coombs said. "These are the kinds of kids you root for in your program, they've done the things they've had to do to play. You root for them, but you're apprehensive going into the year."
Any fear so far has proven baseless, as Colerain has whipped Oak Hills, 34-0, and Kettering Fairmont, 58-14, in its first two games.
The Cardinals' vaunted triple-option offense, which anchored Colerain's back-to-back city championship teams in 1994 and '95, is once again fearsome. In fact, backs Bobby Askew (27 carries for 259 yards, 3 TDs) and Daryl Robinson (27 carries for 240 yards, 5 TDs) have been so good that Coombs already admits that "from a running back standpoint, I think this is as fine a backfield as we've ever had."
The greater surprise has been the play of the defense.
"We'd like to think year-in and year-out, we play pretty sound defense," said Coombs, who used to coordinate the defense before turning those chores over to assistant Bart Bruner this year. "We're not fancy, but our defense is generally helped by our offense, because they keep the ball."
Only two starters -- safety Jason Miller and linebacker Clint Vilardio -- are back from last year's 7-3 team. But Colerain only allowed Oak Hills 114 yards of offense and Fairmont 234 yards in its first two outings. It has also come up with five turnovers.
"I think the thing that is making them so unexpectedly good is that they have athletes on the defensive side of the ball who can run to the ball," Sycamore's Adams said. "They've got kids that aren't particularly huge, but they run to the ball and they hit you when they get there."
"I think our kids hustle," Coombs concurred. "But we've been fortunate in that we haven't given up many big plays, which I think will be critical this week."
Like Colerain, Sycamore is running the triple-option offense. Coombs likes both their personnel and their scheme, which he says emphasizes putting pressure on the defense from anywhere on the field. "If you make a mistake on an assignment against Sycamore, they'll score, because they have good speed. And you have to play assignment football against their option."
On the flip side, Adams is wary of Colerain's ability to penetrate with its defensive front. "We have to slow their slant and angle guys," he said. "If they get in our backfield, it could be a long night for our guys."
Even though all the personnel is new and Coombs and Adams have never met before in a game, there is a historical angle to consider on tonight's game.
The last time the two schools played was in the 1996 season opener at Sycamore, with the Aviators winning 22-14 to end Colerain's 26-game regular-season winning streak. "I remember they had a big crowd and they just handed it to us," Coombs said.
Colerain went on to a 6-4 season, while Sycamore advanced to its first-ever playoff appearance. Interestingly, Sycamore won last Friday at Troy, breaking a home winning streak for Troy that stretched back to 1994.
