Wildcats crown wraps OHSAA's 40th annual state football finals; Trotwood-Madison, Cardinal Mooney, Kirland and Marion Local among other champions.
CANTON, Ohio – Last season
St. Ignatius (Cleveland) and head coach Chuck Kyle missed the playoffs for the first time since 1987. This season they made amends for it.
St. Ignatius
Photo by Scott Seighman
A year after having a 22-year playoff streak snapped, the Wildcats rebounded to win their 11th OHSAA Division I state title with a 34-13 win over
Pickerington Central (Pickerington) at Canton's Fawcett Stadium. All 11 titles have come under Kyle's lead.
"I don't know if we've ever had a team that's improved as much as the year went on," Kyle said. "We've had good teams, but these kids started out and just kept improving. They kept saying ‘Hey we have to get better at this' and they did it. That's the thing that impresses you."
Ignatius' performance Saturday was impressive too.
The Wildcats opened up a 13-0 first quarter lead and never trailed. Pickerington Central closed to 20-13 by halftime but the Tigers were held scoreless and managed just 78 yards in the second half.
11th Division I state title
Photo by Scott Seighman
St. Ignatius racked up 431 yards of offense and was led by senior quarterback Eric Williams who completed 19-of-31 passes for 297 yards and two TDs. Junior running back Tim McVey added 107 yards and two TDs on 24 carries.
Defensively the Wildcats held Pickerington Central to 22 yards rushing on 25 carries and forced two turnovers.
"A state championship – that's Ignatius football right there," senior tight end and Ohio State recruit Blake Thomas said. "That was our goal from the start of the year to the end of the year. That's what we've been working on since the final play of last season."
Isreal Green set
at least three
state records.
Photo by Scott Seighman
Led by a state-record setting performance from junior RB Isreal Green,
Trotwood-Madison won its first state title with a 42-28 win over
Avon at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Green ran for a D-II championship game record 327 yards on 35 carries and set state finals records (regardless of division) with six rushing TDs, six total touchdowns and 36 points. In the first half alone Green ran for 229 yards and four TDs on 21 carries. Behind the arm of senior QB Justin O'Rourke, Avon rallied from a 28-7 second quarter deficit to trail just 35-28 after three quarters. Green's last TD and a key fourth down stop on its 30-yardline with 4:02 left sealed the win for Trotwood. O'Rourke completed 27-of-50 passes for 325 yards and three TDs. His favorite targets were senior WRs Jacob Mullins (11 catches, 135 yards, two TDs) and Matt Eckhardt (nine catches, 102 yards, TD).
Central Mooney won its eighth
state program.
Photo by Scott Seighman
beat Springfield Shawnee 21-14 at Canton's Fawcett Stadium to earn the program's eighth state championship. Mooney is now tied for second with Newark Catholic for the most football titles in Ohio history. The Cardinals opened up a 21-7 halftime lead and made it stick, surviving a late drive by Shawnee that ended with an incompletion in the end zone with 71 seconds left. Mooney was led by senior RB Roosevelt Griffin who ran for 120 yards and a TD on 21 carries. Senior QB P.J. Quinn added 38 yards and two short TDs (2- and 1-yards) on 14 carries. Shawnee senior QB Brad Jarzab threw for 122 yards and ran for 161 and two TDs.
Mooney's P.J. Quinn
had two short TD
runs.
Photo by Scott Seighman
Christian Hauber carried the Hornets – literally – to their first state championship with a 28-7 win over Coldwater at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. An Air Force recruit, Hauber carried the ball 30 times for 196 yards and two TDs. Kirtland's run-oriented double-tight stack I scheme dictated play and allowed the Hornets to win the time of possession battle 30:28-17:32. After Coldwater scored with 28 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 14-7, Kirtland responded with another TD drive fueled by Hauber who rushed for 71 yards on the possession and capped it with his second TD – a 5-yard run. Kirtland junior RB Damon Washington added 147 yards and two TDs on 18 carries. Kirtland did not pick up a penalty until the fourth quarter and had two in the game. Coldwater had one. On the season Kirtland's defense allowed just 98 total points in 15 games.
Kirtland celebrates a Div. V title.
Photo by Scott Seighman
won its first state title since 2007 and became just one of nine schools in Ohio history with five or more state football titles by dominating
Buckeye Central (New Washington) 61-21 at Canton's Fawcett Stadium. The Flyers – who play in the rugged Midwest Athletic Conference – instilled their will from the get-go building leads of 21-0 after the first quarter, 34-0 at halftime and 54-7 after three quarters. Sophomore QB Adam Bertke led a Marion offense that gained 487 yards by completing 14-of-19 passes for 278 yards and four TDs. Junior WR Lee Pierron caught six passes for 140 yards and three TDs and senior RB Jake Heitkamp added two TDs and 95 yards on 19 carries. The Flyers returned a fumble and interception for TDs as well. Marion Local's state title marks the ninth straight season that the MAC has won at least one state title. The MAC has more state championships (21) than any other league/conference in Ohio.
