Coldwater wins again

Mogadore, Massillon Perry defeated in title games

Associated Press

division V

COLDWATER 35 CANTON CC 18

COLUMBUS

Coldwater won its fourth consecutive state championship Friday with a 35-18 win over Canton Central Catholic in Division V.

For the 24 seniors — including 23 together since kindergarten or first grade, according to coach Chip Otten — that meant a clean sweep.

“At the first captains meeting I told the guys we’re gonna go 15-0 because there’s nobody that can stop us, and it held true this year,” senior end Mitch Clune said. “We took on every game as it came, and we got our goal. We got 15-0, and I’m so proud of all the seniors this year to get that accomplished, and I’m really happy to go out on top.”

The Cavaliers never trailed, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions of each half and beating the Crusaders (11-4) in the title game for the second year in a row.

Coldwater quarterback Jack Hemmelgarn completed 18-of-27 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, both to fellow senior Aaron Harlamert, who had seven catches for 142 yards.

Kyle McKibben — another senior — had two interceptions for the Cavaliers defense, which allowed 44 points in five postseason games, and senior Kraig Schoenherr scored two touchdowns on the ground for Coldwater.

The Cavaliers were 5-of-5 on fourth downs, including a backbreaking 33-yard touchdown pass from Hemmelgarn to Harlamert on a fourth-and-3.

McKibben’s PAT kick made it 27-3 with 2:24 to go in the third quarter.

Two plays later, John Colangelo took a screen pass 74 yards for a touchdown for Canton Central Catholic, but Coldwater answered with a 4-yard touchdown run by Schoenherr and two-point conversion on the ensuing drive to get back to a three-score advantage.

Luke Stuffel had eight tackles and a sack for Canton Central Catholic but lamented missed opportunities for the defense on those fourth downs.

“We needed those stops, but I guess we just couldn’t come up with them this morning,” Stuffel said.

Coldwater won its sixth state championship — all since 2005 — and Otten acknowledged playing sports is pretty much a way of life for kids in the area of western Ohio the Cavaliers call home.

“We have great participation in our area,” Otten said. “I guess like you said there’s not a whole lot else to do. If you want to go shopping or to a play or, I don’t know, whatever else other people do, you’ve gotta travel an hour. You’ve got to go to Muncie, got to go to Dayton — they’re all about an hour away. Fort Wayne. So we just play. We play games.”

division VII

fort recovery 33 Mogadore 14

Caleb Martin threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns to lead Fort Recovery.

The Indians (13-2) never trailed in winning their first state title, becoming the seventh team from the powerful Midwest Athletic Conference in western Ohio to accomplish that feat.

“I guess we feel like we belong now,” Coach Brent Niekamp said.

They earned that feeling by dominating a traditionally strong program from the northeast part of the state.

After Will Homan intercepted a Mogadore pass on the first drive of the game, Martin hooked up with Darien Sheffer for a 15-yard score less than two minutes into the contest.

He threw three more touchdown passes before the end of the first half, a 75-yarder to Brandon Schoen and a pair to Tanner Koch (8 and 10 yards).

Mogadore Coach Matt Adorni said the big score by Schoen with 7:05 left in the second quarter was a backbreaker after his team had pulled within 14-7 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Zeddie Pollock to Jarad Dunn less than two minutes earlier.

“We just never seized the momentum back,” Adorni said.

Martin’s fifth touchdown pass was a 30-yarder to Wes Wenning that came one play after the Indians had stopped Mogadore on a fourth-and-4 early in the fourth quarter.

Dunn caught six passes for 120 yards as Mogadore (13-2) lost for the fifth time in eight state championship game appearances.

The last three have been against teams from the MAC with an aggregate score of 150-21.

division II

LA SALLE 42 PERRY 0

Jeremy Larkin scored two touchdowns, helping Cincinnati La Salle defend its Division II state championship.

The Lancers (13-2) scored first when offensive lineman Luke Doerger recovered Jarell White’s fumble in the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 8:24 mark of the first quarter.

Larkin scored his first touchdown on a 7-yard run late in the first quarter, then added a 10-yard scoring scamper with 8:29 to go in the second quarter. He finished with 62 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving.

Keishaun Sims, who was named Ohio’s Mr. Football earlier in the week, ran for 117 yards for the Panthers (12-3).