Canfield moves on to play for state title

Tallmadge's coach called the Cardinals' defense 'very impressive.'
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
TWINSBURG -- Last December, Canfield senior Angelo Babbaro was one of a dozen Cardinals who traveled to Massillon to watch Columbus Brookhaven beat Avon Lake in the Division II state final.
"Yeah, I bought a ticket last year," said Babbaro, whose team lost to Brookhaven in the first round. "I'm not buying a ticket this year. I got the best seat in the house."
Or the best house in the seat, as Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky once said. Thanks to two Babbaro touchdowns and another incredible defensive game, the Cardinals are headed to their first-ever state final after dropping Tallmadge 17-14 in a Div. II state semifinal Friday at Twinsburg Tiger Stadium.
"How does it feel? How do you think it feels?" Pavlansky said. "You never expect this. You only dream about this."
The Cardinals (14-0) will meet Toledo Central Catholic/Dayton Carroll at 7 p.m. Friday at Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
"Their defense looked very good on videotape and even better in person," said Tallmadge coach Joe Vassalotti, whose team had just 15 rushing yards and 144 total. "The most impressive thing about them is their speed. And not just their DBs, but their defensive line and linebackers.
"It's very impressive."
Cutting the lead
The Cardinals seemingly had the game in control until early in the fourth quarter when Canfield senior Tommy Hudson couldn't field a punt, allowing Tallmadge to take over on its own 40 with the Cards leading 17-7.
On the next play, Tallmadge senior running back Jamel Miller took the ball on a halfback option and rolled right. Blue Devil senior Kyle Harrison snuck past Cardinal defensive back Frank Ross, caught Miller's pass in stride and ran the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown to make it 17-14.
"Hey, that happens," Pavlansky said. "Frank didn't hang his head. We just focused on the next play."
The Cardinals went three-and-out on their next offensive possession, then held Tallmadge to just one yard over its next three plays to force a punt. Canfield got the ball back on its own 34 with 5:43 left and never gave it back.
The key play came on a third-and-10 at the Canfield 46 with three minutes left. Backup quarterback Sean Baker, who hadn't thrown a pass all night, found Chris Ulery for a 34-yard gain down the middle.
"We always felt we had a passing game," Pavlansky said. "We came through when we needed to."
Four plays later, on fourth-and-one, the Cardinal fans started chanting "We want Banna." They got him. Banna bulled forward for a 3-yard gain to give the Cardinals a first and goal at the 8, effectively ending the suspense.
Moving on
"We knew it was all about tonight," Banna said. "There's no tomorrow."
And yet, there is.
The Cardinals, who had never made it past the regional final before last week, have a chance to win their first state title.
"It's an indescribable feeling," said Babbaro, who has played the last three games with a severely injured ankle. "It's been a magical season."
Babbaro, a first-team all-district selection, made arguably the game's biggest play early in the third quarter. On a third-and-6 at the Canfield 36, Tallmadge quarterback Allen Price tried to hit Jonathan Mathis despite tight coverage from Cardinal corner Damon Buente. Babbaro, however, read the play from his safety position, stepped in front of the pass and took it 76 yards to give Canfield a 17-7 lead.
"They ran that play two times before, and I didn't run in front of the drag route," Babbaro said. "That time I did, got three or four good blocks and took it to the house."
Team effort
Babbaro -- who holds school records for most yards in a season, touchdowns in a season and carries in a season -- finished with 22 carries for 64 yards. He also scored on an 8-yard run early in the first half, and Adam Jones had a 22-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half to make it 10-7.
"It was a team effort," Babbaro said. "The team wins, not me."
Canfield had 179 yards rushing. Baker finished 2 for 2 for 43 yards and also had 18 yards rushing. Banna added 54 yards on eight carries, and Joe Rosko had 41 on eight.
"But it was the offensive line that got it done," said Pavlansky, who lost tackle Nate Brode with a fractured ankle in the second half. "As our offensive line goes, we go."
And, more accurately, as the Canfield defense goes, the Cardinals go. Canfield, which gave up 3 points in its first three playoff games, held a Tallmadge offense that averaged 40.4 points per game and 408 yards a game to season-lows in yardage and points.
"The thing is, when they get a hold of the ballcarrier, they get him down," said Vassalotti. "They make plays."
Miller, a Miami (Ohio) recruit who had run for more than 2,000 yards this season, finished with 33 yards on 14 carries.
And as the Cardinals celebrated in their locker room, Pavlansky harkened back to last year's state final, shouting, "Ain't nobody buying a ticket this year!"
scalzo@vindy.com