Four traditional powers moving on
The four area teams that advanced in the playoffs on Friday have one thing in common: Tradition, and lots of it.
Take Pickerington Central, which beat Westerville Central 38-7 for its fifth straight Division I regional title.
The Tigers are chasing a third state championship in four seasons, and that would put them in rarefied air among big schools in Ohio. No team since Cleveland St. Ignatius — which won five straight titles and seven in eight years from 1988 to 1995 — can make that claim.
In 21 playoff appearances, Central now has made the final four nine times and owns a 45-18 postseason record.
The Tigers will face a familiar foe, Mentor, in a state semifinal at New Philadelphia on Friday. Central beat Mentor 56-28 in the 2017 state championship game and knocked off the Cardinals 2821 in a semifinal last season.
When the Central Catholic League decided that three of its teams (Watterson, Desales and Hartley) would play a round-robin, home-and-home series in hopes of creating a bubble of sorts to combat a potential spread of the coronavirus, it opened up a distinct possibility of a third meeting since all of them play in Division III, Region 11.
It happened, as Desales and Hartley will square off for the third time – believed to be a first in Ohio high school football history – after regional semifinal wins Friday. Both beat previously undefeated opponents.
With 355 yards rushing, Desales whipped Jonathan Alder 31-6. Quintell Quinn ran for 179 yards and three TDS and Jonathan Thompson added 126 yards in the win.
Hartley used an old-school approach to edge Thornville Sheridan 10-6. With 240-pound Marcelis Parker gaining 153 yards on 36 carries, the Hawks strung together three drives of more than seven minutes. Sheridan managed only seven first downs in five series.
“It was the best game we've played all season,” Hartley coach Brad Burchfield told Sam Blackburn of the Zanesville Times Recorder.
“This wasn't the defense. Even though we scored only 10 points, it was
the offense that won this game. The offense just held the ball the whole time. We went in saying we were going to give the ball to Marcelis and Sumo (Kesselly) and try to wear them down because Sheridan is so physical. Our philosophy has always been the more physical the team, you have to match their physicality … you have to win the line of scrimmage.”
The Stallions swept the Hawks by scores of 24-21 and 16-14 in the regular season. Both bring impressive resumes into the three-match, so to speak.
In 27 playoff appearances, Desales is 57-23 with three state championships and five runners-up in 11 final fours.
Hartley has four titles and two runners-up in its 10 final fours over 19 playoff appearances. The Hawks' postseason record is 47-14.
Tradition also reigns in Division VII, where Newark Catholic upset unbeaten and top-seeded Glouster Trimble 35-19 and returned to the regional finals. The Green Wave will play host to Shadyside, a team it beat 40-0 in a 2019 regional
semifinal. The site is still to be determined since White Field, Newark Catholic's home field, is under construction.
Newark Catholic holds the state record for playoff championships (eight), final fours (25), appearances (37) and wins (77). The Green Wave also was a runner-up six times.
Two-time defending state runner-up Massillon Washington got a programrecord 324-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance from Willtrell Harrison to defeat Westerville South 45-36 in a Division II regional semifinal. The Tigers led 42-9 late in the third quarter.
In the other semifinal, Olentangy put up a great fight before losing to topseeded Massillon Perry 14-10.
A fourth-down pass from Kaden Doup to Jace Middleton on the sideline in the end zone was dislodged as time expired.
“We did everything but win the game,” Olentangy coach Mark Solis told Dave Purpura of Thisweek News. “They just made one more play than we did.”
Top performances
• Peter Pedrozo passed for 337 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a TD pass on a flea-flicker in Westerville South's defeat. Kaden Saunders made nine receptions for 169 yards and two TDS and had a 45-yard run.
• Big Walnut's Cayden Williams rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries in a 28-0 regularseason win over Central Crossing.
• Quarterback Garner Wallace ran for 131 yards and three TDS and passed for another to lead Pickerington Central over Westerville Central.
• Ryan Poly made two interceptions, returning the second 85 yards for a TD, to pace Newark Catholic's win.
• Cayden Dougherty made eight catches for 85 yards and returned a punt 43 yards for a score in Worthington Kilbourne's 29-6 regular-season win over Thomas Worthington. Teammate Terrique Gray rushed for 110 yards and two TDS.
sblackledge@dispatch.com