Canfield may be unstoppable

The Cards had 217 yards of offense while Watterson managed 73 yards.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MASSILLON -- Columbus Watterson senior quarterback Billy Griffin slowly lifted himself off the turf and walked gingerly back to the sideline, alone, as the Canfield crowd erupted around him.
Seconds earlier, Canfield senior Nick Rousher had broken through the Watterson line, wrapped his arms around Griffin and threw him to the ground for the Cardinals' fifth -- and final -- sack of the game.
"It was crazy," Rousher said. "Before the game, I was joking around with the guys and I said I hoped I ended up with the game-winning sack.
"I never expected to actually happen."
Outstanding defense
But it did, fittingly, as the Canfield defense answered every challenge on Friday night, leading the Cardinals to a 7-3 victory over the Eagles in a Division II regional semifinal at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
"The defense came through," said Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky, whose team became the first in school history to win 12 games. "When we needed the heat, they brought the heat."
Canfield seemingly had the game wrapped up in the final minutes when, on a third-and-1 at the Watterson 49, Cardinals linebacker Justin Wolf broke through the line and sacked Griffin for a 9-yard loss.
But, on the next play, Griffin threw a rainbow to tight end Thomas Kurth for a 36-yard gain to the Canfield 25.
"We just kept our composure," said senior linebacker Kyle Banna. "Me and [senior linebacker Joe] Rosko kept saying, 'Stay focused.' You never know when the next play will be your last play."
Griffin, who was just 7 of 21 for 83 yards, threw an incomplete pass on the next play to bring up second down.
That's when the fun started.
The sacks, losses
Canfield defensive tackle Ryan Pitzer sacked Griffin for a 6-yard loss on second down, then, on the next play, Wolf and defensive end Pat Bellish wrapped up Griffin for a 7-yard loss. Rousher then finished it off, sparking a wild celebration by the Canfield fans.
"We controlled the game when we needed to," Pavlansky said.
When asked if he expected Canfield's pass rush to be so good, Watterson coach Dan Bjelac replied tersely, "No, of course I didn't expect it. If I expected it, I wouldn't have called [the plays]."
Canfield (12-0) advanced to its second regional final in school history and will meet unbeaten Louisville on Friday at a site to be determined.
In 1996, the Cardinals lost to Thornville Sheridan 19-13 in their only other regional final.
"This season has just been surreal," Rousher said. "It's like out of a movie, like 'Friday Night Lights.' The entire community is pulling for the team. It's great."
Canfield senior running back Angelo Babbaro carried 22 times for a game-high 87 yards, including a 2-yard TD run with 8:07 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals managed just two more first downs the rest of the way -- none in the second half.
"We were working hard," said Rousher, who also plays center on offense. "We just weren't getting any push up front."
Slight favorite
Neither was Watterson. The Eagles (10-2) went into the game as slight favorites -- after all, they were making their 17th playoff appearance, including seven straight -- but struggled all night against Canfield's quicker defense.
Watterson managed just 73 yards of offense (Canfield had 217) and were never able to get any momentum going on offense.
Its only score came on a 46-yard field goal by Brian DeLucia with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
"We made a ton of mental mistakes," Bjelac said. "But we knew they had a great defense."
Twenty minutes after the game, Banna still had his pads on, not quite sure what to make of the game, his team and this season.
"Right night, it doesn't feel like [a historic win]," he said. "Maybe a couple years from now, I'll be able to look back and realize how good of a team we have.
"But we still have three games to go."
scalzo@vindy.com