FREMONT — Chagrin Falls senior quarterback Chris Trinetti hit every valley and peak along the 48-minute rollercoaster in the Tigers' 20-14 Division IV state semifinal match-up against Ottawa-Glandorf on Saturday night.
With the win, Trinetti will get another chance to ride the rollercoaster of emotions when the Tigers (14-0) travel to Canton's Fawcett Stadium for the state championship game against defending champion Kettering Archbishop Alter (14-0).
"It's the best feeling in the world," Trinetti said of going to the state championship. "We have truly dreamt about this. We knew that our team was something special. We knew that if we performed, did everything right and trained hard that this could be a reality. It's still hard to believe."
"We didn't play a perfect game tonight," said Chagrin Falls coach Mark Iammarino. "When it came down to it, we stopped them when we had to; we punched it in when we had to. That's just grit and determination of some really good seniors."
While getting to the state championship game may be hard to believe, surviving the state semifinal was no easy task.
The Tigers found themselves in a 7-7 game at halftime and trailed 14-7 early in the third quarter after Ottawa-Glandorf marched down the field for the go-ahead score. However, Chagrin Falls settled the nerves and stayed within the game plan.
Aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty against Ottawa-Glandorf, Trinetti led the Tigers on a 65-yard scoring drive. On first-and-15 from Ottawa-Glandorf’s 31-yard line, Trinetti took the snap and fired the ball into the end zone for Pat Nadeau. Nadeau caught the ball nearly on his back and rolled over in the end zone but managed to maintain possession and secure the score.
"It was a four-vertical," Trinetti said. "We had to read the front side safety and one guy went with our guy coming up the field. Pat Nadeau was wide open. I couldn't see at all. I was looking for the ref to throw up his hands and it was best feeling in the world."
Trinetti worked his magic once again with 8:26 remaining in the game. This time, Trinetti marched the Tigers 74 yards on 10 plays for the go-ahead touchdown.
Trinetti had a pair of big runs to extend the drive. He moved the ball down to Ottawa-Glandorf's 11-yard line with a 13-yard scramble around right end, but was hurt on the play. After sitting out for a play, Trinetti came back into the ballgame and took a snap on second-and-two. Though the right defensive end had a hold of Trinetti's jersey, the senior spun out and got the ball to the one-yard line. Running back Bobby Winkleman later the scored the touchdown.
"Someone twisted my ankle," said Trinetti. "I just felt it pop. It went the wrong way. It went numb and it was painful for a little bit, but thankfully, I'm OK. Not even if I sprained it or broke it, I had to play the rest of the game."
"Throughout this year, we've been faced with adversity every day," he added. "Against Woodridge last week, they recovered a fumble and went down to the 1-yard line. We knew no matter what happens, we've got to stick with it and take it to them."
Trinetti's heroics could have been nullified had Ottawa-Glandorf scored a touchdown late in the game. The final extra-point try for Chagrin Falls was blocked after a missed placement of the hold.
Ever the team leader, Trinetti accepted responsibility for the miscue.
"That was 100-percent my fault," Trinetti said of the snap. "When I put it down, it skimmed the left side of the tee."
2. Scare in Findlay: After Coldwater's 35-24 win in the Division V state semifinal Friday, coach John Reed collapsed on the field. Reed was able to regain his strength and walked to the locker room under his own power. Reed is beginning treatment for esophageal cancer this week, according to the Toledo Blade.
3. Glenville rewrites history: The Glenville Tarblooders advanced to the Division I state championship game with a 31-17 win over Massillon-Washington last weekend and will play Hilliard Davidson for the top prize in Ohio high school football Saturday night in Canton's Fawcett Stadium. Glenville is the first Cleveland public school to play in the finals.
4. Massillon strong: Despite the loss to Glenville, three Massillon Tigers earned first-team Division I All-Ohio honors. Senior defensive back Bo Grunder was the co-Defensive Player of the Year, due in large part to his team-high 88.5 total tackles and nine interceptions. Grunder also forced four fumbles and defended 14 passes this season. Grunder was joined on the All-Ohio team by junior receiver Devin Smith and senior offensive lineman Jeff Meyers.
5. Ohio Coaches of the Year: Along with the announcement of the All-Ohio teams came the selection of the state's top coaches. Dick Cromwell (Toledo St. Francis), Brian Cross (Lewis Center Olentangy Orange), Mark Crabtree (Dublin Coffman), Rick Robertson (Springfield) and Jason Krause (Middletown) were named the top leaders in the state.
Top performers:
* Findlay basketball player Ashley Miller scored eight points in the fourth quarter in a 52-40 Trojans win over St. Ursula last weekend. Miller finished with a game-high 17 points.
* In Clay's 53-26 win over Fremont Ross, Nicole Steinmetz led the way with 13 points, while getting 10 from teammate Meghan Scharer. On the strength of Steinmetz and Scharer's scoring, the Eagles led 16-3 after the first eight minutes and 26-5 at intermission.
* Audrey Thorbahn led the Woodmore Wildcats to an exciting 47-46 victory over Port Clinton. Thorbahn scored 15 points in the win, including seven in the fourth quarter.
Looking ahead:
* Glenville vs. Hilliard Davidson, Division I football state championship game Saturday night. Davidson is looking for its second state title in four years, the first coming in a 36-35 overtime win over the Mentor Cardinals in 2006, while Glenville is looking to keep the championship in Cleveland in back-to-back seasons. Cleveland St. Ignatius won the 2008 Division I state championship.
* Norwalk St. Paul vs. Delphos St. John's Saturday afternoon. One of two state championships to feature undefeated teams could be decided by who has the ball last. Norwalk St. Paul has rolled through the postseason with ease, but will have to go through Delphos St. John's, the defending Division VI state champion.
* Hiland at Malvern girls basketball Wednesday. Under coach Dave Schlabach, the Hawks are looking to get back to the Division IV state championship game and that journey starts on the road. Hiland lost to Columbus Africentric in the state championship game last season.
Recruiting
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Revere baseball standout John Galbraith has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Cleveland State University. Over two varsity seasons, Galbraith has hit .367 and driven in 40 runs while also starting on the basketball team.
Matt's minutes
Though the cities of Massillon and Canton will hold the football state championship games over the next few seasons, future championship contests will go out for bids. Columbus is expected to make a strong case now that Ohio State's Ohio Stadium has artificial turf and has begun to host high school games during the season. If all six games would be played at Ohio Stadium, it would be a good idea, seeing as most other state titles are won in Columbus and it is centrally located in the middle of the state.
However, if the games would be split between Ohio Stadium and Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew Stadium, it would be bad for the sport. While all teams will be happy to play in the state championship, playing in a soccer stadium built to fit 22,555 as opposed to Ohio Stadium, which has a rich history and can fit 100,000-plus, would make for a difficult sell.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports show host for WOBL and WDLW.
