St. Edward, Kirtland win state titles

Steubenville falls to Bishop Hartley

Combined dispatches

Columbus

DIVISION I St. Edward 45 Huber Heights Wayne 35

Huber Heights Wayne coach Jay Minton was on the verge of an epic victory, but instead the Warriors suffered another heartbreaking defeat in the Division I title game, losing to Lakewood St. Edward.

Wayne was down 17 points when they rallied in the fourth quarter, but St. Edward’s Cole Gest ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 1:19 to play, putting the Eagles ahead, and added a 51-yard rushing score 12 seconds later for a 45-35 win and a second straight division title.

“It could have been one of the neatest comebacks in the history of this tournament, but we didn’t finish it,” Minton said.

St. Edward (14-1) won their third championship since 2010, beating Wayne each time. They won 31-21 last year and 35-28 five years ago.

After the first Gest TD, St. Edward recovered a squib kick, and Gest broke free on the first play to ensure the win. He had 128 yards on 23 carries.

“I couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” Gest said. “It’s really emotional. Not many kids can say they’ve won back-to-back.”

St. Edward quarterback Jimmy Keefe passed for 419 yards to tie the Division I title game record.

“I’m not known as a passing coach,” first-year St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo said. “I’ve got to start rethinking that.”

Lombardo is the first coach to win titles at two schools, following a championship at Mentor Lake Catholic in 2001.

DIVISION VI Kirtland 22 Marion Local 20

Kirtland rallied behind running back Joey Bates to defeat beat four-time defending champion Maria Stein Marion Local in the Division VI state final.

Bates ran for 161 of his 206 yards and two touchdowns in the second half when the Hornets (14-1) overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to win their third championship. Kirtland won titles in 2011 and 2013 and was runner-up last season.

“The offensive line opened up big holes for me,” Bates said.

Marion Local (13-2) had a state-record 24-game playoff win streak snapped. Its previous two titles came in the small-school Division VII.

Bates went 57 yards up the middle on a fourth-and-1 with 2:08 left to give the Hornets a 20-13 lead and quarterback Owen Lewis passed to Evan Madden for a 2-point conversion.

Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde said he was going for it on fourth down even though Marion Local (13-2) would have had great field position if the Flyers made the stop.

“We wanted to go for the win there,” he said.

Marion Local still had time and the Flyers scored with 1:22 remaining on an 11-yard pass from Cole Griesdorn to Hunter Wilker, but could not recover an onside kick.

Division IV

Bishop Hartley 31, Steubenville 28

Ben Hawk’s 40-yard field goal with 4:57 to play propelled Bishop Hartley past Steubenville.

The Hawks’ defense made the lead stand up as they claimed their third state championship in school history.

The back-and-forth matchup went to halftime with Bishop Hartley leading, 21-14.

Big Red running back Johnnie Blue scored on a three-yard run late in the third quarter.