No. 19 Pickerington Central wins second Ohio high school football state championship in three years

The suggestion holds substantial merit.

Two years after scoring a state finals record six touchdowns in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I state football final, Crenshaw capped a stellar career with another memorable outing and gold trophy on the same field.

In a meeting of nationally ranked teams, No. 19 Pickerington Central beat No. 21 Elder (Cincinnati) 21-14 to claim its second OHSAA D-I state title in three years.

Crenshaw was the catalyst.

“Offensively they were who they were and who they’ve been,” Elder head coach Doug Ramsey said. “They made plays when they needed to.”

Converting all five of their fourth down attempts in the game, the Tigers converted three on a second half drive that salvaged a state title. Down 14-7 after Elder scored on its first possession of the second half, Pickerington Central’s ensuing drive appeared to stall with a fourth-and-10 at the Elder 32-yardline. On the do-or-die snap, Crenshaw was seemingly sacked by multiple Elder defenders. Somehow the signal caller eluded the takedown, scampered right and found senior Justin Canini for a 12 yard gain and first down. On fourth-and-goal from the seven, Crenshaw hit sophomore Tyler Gillison for the game-tying touchdown. The 18-play drive covered 73 yards and lasted 9:01.

“We had the opportunity a couple times to bring him down, but he’s a bug dude,” Ramsey said. “That was a huge play for sure.”

Said Crenshaw: “I knew I had to make a play. It was fourth down. Either get it or it’s a turnover. I just stayed up and tried to make the play. Take the shot. I had to.”

Following an Elder punt on the next possession, Pickerington Central embarked on its game winning drive. This time the Tigers went 66 yards in seven plays, the biggest being a converted fourth-and-1 at their own 43-yardline. Initially Pickerington Central had lined up to punt, but following an Elder timeout, the Tigers decided to go for it.

“We thought about going with the punt team, but then Demeatric stared at me,” Pickerington Central head coach Jay Sharrett said. “We’ve got a pretty good connection and he said ‘coach we can get this.’”

They did. A couple plays later Crenshaw hit Notre Dame commit and junior receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. for the game-winning 49-yard touchdown. “We were in zone coverage,” Ramsey said. “He caught the ball in the middle of the field, planted his foot and away he went.”

Elder advanced to the Pickerington Central 49-yardline before a completion out-of-bounds on fourth-and-10 with 1:50 left turned the ball over on downs.

Crenshaw, undecided on college, finished the game 14-of-16 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 19 times for 62 yards. His 14 completions went to eight different receivers.

On the season Pickerington Central committed just eight turnovers in 15 games.

Defensively, junior linebacker William Dukes and senior linebacker Dom Marasco led the Tigers with eight tackles, while senior linebacker and Ohio State recruit Ty Hamilton added seven.

Elder quarterback Matthew Luebbe – protected in part by senior linemen Jakob James (Ohio State) and Luke Kandra (Louisville) and tight end Joe Royer (Ohio State) – surpassed 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing for the eighth straight game. He finished 10-of-17 for 111 yards and carried the ball 20 times for 118 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Colton Sandhas led the Panthers with 11 tackles.

Elder was trying to win the program’s third state title and first since back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.

Pickerington Central, in the playoffs for the 14th straight season, capped a four-year run in which its senior class went 51-7 with four regional titles and two state championships.

Said Sharrett: “The bad thing about the state championship is that there has to be a state runner-up.”