Jonathan Alder head football coach Brett Glass (center) talks to his team at the end of a practice session last week. Also pictured is assistant coach Craig Kyle (right). Alder will face Columbus Bishop Hartley on Friday, 7 p.m., at Hilliard Darby High School in the Division III regional championship game. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The Jonathan Alder High School football team has risen to a level it hasn’t seen for a few years.
For the third time in school history and the first time since 2011, the Pioneers (12-0) will play for a regional championship.
No. 2 JA will make the short trip to Hilliard Darby High School for Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff against No. 1 Columbus Bishop Hartley (11-1).
The winner will advance to the Division III state semifinals on Friday, Nov. 29.
“I really like the location of the game,” said Alder coach Brett Glass. “It’s not very far away and I think we will have another good crowd of support.
“I talked to the guys earlier today,” Glass told the Journal-Tribune Sunday afternoon. “This is going to be a huge game and it’s going to be a great experience for all of them.”
Jonathan Alder first appeared in the regional championship game back in 2006.
Guided by then-head coach Steve Coate, the Pioneers went 9-1 during the regular season and finished as the No. 1 seed in Region 16 of Division IV.
Alder knocked off Oakwood, Lemon-Monroe, and Blanchester to capture the regional championship.
The Pioneers rolled past Oak Harbor during the state semifinals and fell to Youngstown Cardinal-Mooney, 26-12, in the state championship game.
Jonathan Alder made a return trip to the regional finals in 2011.
JA played in Region 12 of Division III that year, also under the tutelage of Coate.
The Pioneers were the third seed in the region that year and went unbeaten during the regular season.
Alder downed Logan Elm and Jackson during the first two weeks of the post-season and fell to Springfield Shawnee, 21-10, in the regional title contest.
“We’ve had a long, storied history of football at Jonathan Alder, but we haven’t been in the regional finals for eight years,” said Glass. “This is very important for our program.”
Glass said the excitement continues to mount within Pioneer Nation.
“There’s more buzz now than there was last week,” he said. “The school and community are supporting us very well.”
The Pioneers had to change their weekly practice schedule just a bit prior to last Friday’s game against Jackson.
A preview of January-like weather forced them to work out indoors on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Bo Jackson Indoor Facility located between Plain City and Hilliard.
The weather is expected to be more seasonal all this week, meaning Alder will be able to practice outside at home.
“We’re not expecting any arctic blasts,” said Glass. “That’s a good thing.”
Preliminary forecasts for game night include a temperature in the mid to upper 30s with a 50-50 shot of rain.
The Alder coach said he wasn’t aware of any special activities that have been planned this week within the school or community leading up to Friday night’s game.
“We’re just going to go through business as usual,” said Glass. “There’s no reason to change anything.”
That includes a bit of grooming, or rather a lack of it, by the sixth-year head coach.
A superstitious fellow, Glass said he stopped trimming his beard six weeks ago.
“I stopped doing it the seventh week of the season,” he said. “That was right before the Bellefontaine game.”
The Chieftains handed Alder one of its four losses last season and kept the Pioneers out of the state playoffs.
They also ended JA’s hopes for a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division championship.
Jonathan Alder got revenge by beating Bellefontaine 31-21 six weeks ago en route to a perfect regular-season record and a divisional title.
Glass feels that by not trimming his beard, he has given the Pioneers good luck.
The coach hopes he doesn’t have to pick up the scissors for the next few weeks.
“I’m not going to trim my beard until our season is over,” said Glass.