Steubenville prepares to host a special TOC 2017-18 ceremony where the football team will be nationally recognized by MaxPreps.
MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Steubenville (Ohio) Big Red have officially been named to the 13th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its thirteenth year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Big Red ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Clinton-Massie 50-36 on Saturday, Dec. 2 in the
OHSAA Division IV state championship contest marked the completion of an incredible 15-0 season — and earned Steubenville an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
Big Red scored two quick touchdowns and never trailed in this battle of Titans, building leads of 20 points or more on three different occasions. Jacob Bernard opened the scoring with a 37-yard burst that capped a 90-yard drive on Steubenville's opening possession. Clinton-Massie then fumbled its first offensive snap and moments later Alec Taylor hauled in an 18-yard strike from Javon Davis to put Steubenville up 14-0 less than four minutes into the football game.
Steubenville built leads of 27-7 and 36-14 in the second quarter. But, Clinton-Massey outscored the eventual state champions 9-0 in the third quarter, capping a 15-0 Falcon run, to pull back to within a touchdown at 36-29. Davis, however, scored from 13 and 44 yards out to put Steubenville up 50-29 and sealed the deal for Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia.
Davis completed nine of 13 passes for 213 yards, added another 111 yards on the ground and had a hand in six touchdowns. Besides rushing for the two late touchdowns, Davis hooked up with Taylor on scores of 18 and 26 yards, hit Johnny Agresta from 18 yards out and found Jonathan Blackman on a 60-yard strike. Bernard carried the ball 12 times for 95 yards, while Taylor caught five balls for 83 yards. Agresta and Blackmon caught four balls between them for 130 yards collectively.
Steubenville opened playoff competition with a 49-14 win over Salem. Then, following a 19-14 triumph over Cardinal Mooney, the Big Red upended Perry 33-21 to kick open the door to the Final Four. Steubenville got by Shelby 35-22 in the semifinals to set up the championship match with Clinton-Massie.
Saccoccia's club opened the season with a 37-7 blitzing of Upper St. Clair. Then, 14 games later, Big Red wrapped up its fourth state football championship with an undefeated season. Steubenville, who has played in the last three Division IV state championship contests, outscored its opposition 592-230 and held eight foes to 14 points or less. Big Red is 52-7 over the last four years.
Having gone undefeated in 2017, Steubenville set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Big Red the top team in MaxPreps
Ohio Division IV rankings, Steubenville is the No. 19 team in all of
Ohio. Saccoccia's club is ranked No. 183 in
MaxPreps National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Steubenville Big Red an invitation to the 13th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at approximately 7:15 p.m. during pre-game of the boys varsity basketball game.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
