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St. Ignatius holds down Olentangy Liberty for state final return, 24-14

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St. Ignatius advanced to the OHSAA Division I state championship game with its 24-14 victory against Olentangy Liberty. The Wildcats will face Cincinnati St. Xavier.

MANSFIELD, Ohio – Olentangy Liberty coach Steve Hale left Mansfield’s Arlin Field certain no team gave St. Ignatius a fight like his Patriots.

The Wildcats’ defense left with a similar sentiment.


The difference is St. Ignatius is headed to Columbus next week to play for a Division I state championship.


St. Ignatius never trailed and its defense held Ohio State recruit Brendon White in check Friday night for a 24-14 victory in an OHSAA Division I football semifinal. The Wildcats (13-1) will face Cincinnati St. Xavier next Friday night at Ohio Stadium.


This will be St. Ignatius’ first trip to the state finals since winning it in 2011. It also follows last year’s 5-4 season in which the Wildcats missed the playoffs.


“This is a special one,” senior middle linebacker John Velotta said. “Being where we were last year to working out at this time of year to being where we are now, this is an unbelievable experience.”


Velotta and Co. became the only team to beat Liberty, which ran through the Columbus area and won the Region 2 crown last week with a come-from-behind win against Lorain. St. Ignatius jumped to a 14-0 second-quarter lead before the Patriots nipped at that advantage.




Much of the Wildcats’ success came from holding their foe to just 53 yards rushing.


Liberty rallied when it went to the air, and moved White to quarterback after sophomore starter Mitchell Okuley left late in the first half because of an injury.


“I don’t think they’ve been hit like they were hit tonight,” Liberty’s Hale said. “Our linebackers were filling and plugging and smacking guys.”


They kept St. Ignatius to just 224 yards of offense, but Patrick Ryan’s 69-yard touchdown jaunt early in the fourth quarter provided a 21-7 cushion.




Liberty pulled within a touchdown and got the ball with 2:22 left. The Patriots won their Week 1 game against Pennsylvania’s North Allegheny by going for two, and Hale acknowledged they would have considered it Friday.


However, two White incompletions and two more runs ended the drive short of its starting point. St. Ignatius ran out the clock until Hale took his last timeout with 18 seconds left, forcing Matt Trickett to hit a 39-yard field goal and clinch the game.


“They’re a good running team,” St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said. “They’re usually balanced, and we did a good job there. They probably had to throw more than they wanted to.”


Okuly completed 5-of-9 passes for 64 yards before his exit. White finished 4-of-14 for 91 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 47 yards.


“He was a shifty guy, so we had to get used to it and slow down a little bit,” senior linebacker James Leyden said. “He opens up when you make gaps for him. We kept him in front of us and got the win.”


The defensive front struck first. Many times it was senior Joe Gibbons, the 6-1, 260-pounder, who linebacker Adam Shibley said made the plays of the night.


“They make us look good, too,” Leyden said.


Another one didn’t play much defense.


Senior receiver Kevin Ward isn’t used much outside of special teams, but Kyle said he played the role of White for the scout team during practice. Ward put on a red skull cap, lined up at quarterback, running back and receiver.


“He took that challenge on,” Kyle said, “and that’s important.”


It sets up St. Ignatius for a matchup with a team it already prepared to play. St. Xavier, which beat Pickerington Central in Friday’s other semifinal, 29-27, met the Wildcats in Week 9.


St. Ignatius won that meeting, 31-14.


Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.


Cuyahoga Heights football remains unbeaten and reaches state championship game with 30-14 win over Newark Catholic

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Cuyahoga Heights defeated Newark Catholic 30-14 in an OHSAA Division VI state semifinal Friday night

ORRVILLE, Ohio – Brett Lowther put Cuyahoga Heights on the board twice early and the Redskins defense held on when it needed to for a 30-14 win over Newark Catholic in an OHSAA Division VI state semifinal Friday night at Red Rider Stadium in Orrville.

Lowther, a senior quarterback for Cuyahoga Heights (14-0), found Matt Harris for an 11-yard touchdown pass to cap off the first drive of the night for the Redskins and then he took one in himself from 1 yard out in the second quarter.


On the first play for Newark Catholic after the Lowther rushing touchdown, junior Lucas D’Orazio set his sights on a pass from Newark Catholic quarterback Hunter Chapman and intercepted it, returning it 39 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead.


“I was kind of down (because) I didn’t run the ball well on the drive before,” D’Orazio said. “Someone asked if I was okay and I said I will be after this pick-6. I kind of called it.”


Newark Catholic tried to mount a comeback when Chapman ran for a touchdown from 2 yards out at the end of the first half and then found Tanner Lake for a 24-yard touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter.


But it was the running attack of the Redskins that kept control of the game in the fourth quarter as Cuyahoga Heights drove down for a field goal to make it 23-14 and then a D’Orazio touchdown run from 1 yard out that gave the Redskins the final margin of 30-14 with 3:44 left.


“We felt like it was worth going back and trying to run the ball,” Cuyahoga Heights coach Al Martin said. “We were able to run the ball and get down the field and run some clock at the same time.”


The Redskins, the top seed in Region 21, stepped up the defensive pressure when it needed it most in the second half, causing a fumble and a turnover on downs in the third quarter with Newark Catholic in the red zone and threatening.


“The red zone defense was what won the game,” Martin said. “They got down there and we didn’t slow them down much, but inside the red zone we got the one turnover and the one stop.”


Plays that changed the game:


On the first drive of the game and Cuyahoga Heights facing a 3rd-and-5 from the Newark Catholic 18, Lowther ran for five yards and was awarded the first down after a measurement.


With Cuyahoga Heights driving in the second quarter, Lowther found Joey Stefanko on a pass down to the 1. Lowther scored a couple of plays later.


On the final drive of the second quarter for Newark Catholic, Chapman ran around the right side for 2 yards and the first touchdown of the game for the Green Wave.


With Newark Catholic driving in the third quarter, the Redskins defense forced a fumble that was recovered by Lowther.


Chapman hit Tanner Lake for a 24-yard touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter to cut the lead to 20-14.


Mark Shafer hit a 24-yard field goal for Cuyahoga Heights to make it a two possession game at 23-14 with 7:36 left in the game.


And then there was one: The win leaves Cuyahoga Heights just one win away from winning its first state championship. The Redskins will go after that title when they face Maria Stein Local at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Friday, Dec. 2 at 10:00 a.m.


“We have never been there, we have been to this spot one time in school history,” Martin said “It’s one more opportunity for these kids to go out there and play together.”


Ryan Isley is a freelancer from Akron. For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

No miracle finish for Hudson football in 14-3 Division II state semifinal loss to Massillon Perry

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Perry will face defending champion Cincinnati LaSalle next weekend in a rematch of last year’s Division II state title game.

UNIONTOWN, Ohio—Desperately searching for another miracle, the Hudson Explorers came up short.

After making a habit out of falling behind and then coming back to win, Hudson couldn’t hold off the power running game of Massillon Perry Friday in a Division II state semifinal football game, losing to the Panthers, 14-3.


Perry will face defending champion Cincinnati LaSalle next weekend in a rematch of last year’s Division II state title game.


Hudson held a 3-0 lead at halftime, and the team’s defense appeared up to the task of stopping Perry’s vaunted running attack. In fact, the Panthers had only two first downs and 51 yards in the opening half.


But the second half was a different story, as Perry tightened up its formations and turned power running into a formula for victory. The Panthers rushed for 215 yards in the second half, with the duo of Nick Myers and quarterback Max Baker doing almost all the damage. Myers led the team with 129 yards on 20 carries, followed closely by Baker, who gained 123 yards on 20 attempts and scored the game’s only touchdowns.


“I think they made a couple adjustments,” Hudson coach Jeff Gough said. “They didn’t have the extra split guy, they had two wings. It was an adjustment that we had to adjust to, and we adjusted too late. There were a number of different plays that they didn’t run in the first half.”


The plays basically came down to Myers running either a sweep or a counter, and Baker taking a shotgun snap and then picking his hole and powering through it. Nothing complex, but Hudson couldn’t find an answer to it.


Missed opportunity


While the second half was all Perry, Gough said the game changed late in the first half when Hudson failed to take full advantage of a great scoring opportunity, getting the ball all the way to the Perry 1 before settling for Jonah Wieland’s 18-yard field with 2 seconds remaining in the half.


The score was set up by senior Evan Westerbeck, whose second interception of the half gave the Explorers the ball on the Perry 27 with 2:11 remaining. Dawson Wervey, who had 47 yards on just seven carries, ripped off runs of 12 and 6 yards, followed by consecutive runs by Kevin Callahan that got the ball to the 1.


However, Wervey was held to no gain on a sweep, and then quarterback Colt Pallay overthrew Greg Mailey, who was open in the corner of the end zone. With just a few seconds remaining, Gough decided for the sure three points rather than risk attempting to get a touchdown.


“I think we gave them the momentum there late in the first half when we weren’t able to punch it in,” he said. “They used that momentum in the second half.”


Quick turnaround


It took Perry only four plays to score after the second-half kickoff. A big chunk of the drive came on a 40-yard run by Myers in which he appeared to be stopped several times but managed to stay on his feet before breaking away. Baker did the same thing on his 12-yard TD run, plowing right through several Hudson defenders.


“I don’t know if they wore us down,” Gough said. “I felt we were pretty fresh. We just weren’t making the tackles that we normally make.”


After the teams traded punts, Perry was at it again, with Myers and Baker alternating getting large chunks of yardage. The drive culminated on a 19-yard run by Baker, giving the Panthers a 14-3 lead with 8:25 to play.


After Hudson punted once again — the Explorers were forced to punt six times — Perry put together perhaps the game’s most important drive, although it didn’t result in any points. With Hudson desperate to get the ball back to put together another miraculous finish, the Panthers set out on a 12-play drive that took more than 6 minutes off the clock. The drive ended with Baker fumbling the ball inside the Hudson 10, with Westerbeck recovering and returning it to the 34.


The Explorers methodically moved the ball down the field, but there just wasn’t enough time and the margin was too big. They got all the way to the Perry 33 before Pallay was intercepted in the end zone with 9 seconds to play.


It was the third consecutive year that the Explorers reached the state semifinal, but they have yet to take the next step.


“It was a heck of a ride,” Gough said. “You’ve got to give it to our the seniors who led us all year. I am so proud of them. You look at the body of work that they put together the last three years and how they’ve elevated this program. I can’t wait to see the legacy that they’ve left behind and what the next class decides to do with it.”


Reasons Cavs are defending champs and Mavs are NBA's worst show in 128-90 Cleveland win

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Kevin Love scored 27 points and the Cavs eviscerated the Dallas Mavericks Friday night.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At virtually any moment during the third quarter, if not the second, one could easily envision Dallas coach Rick Carlisle frantically searching under the bench chairs muttering "there's got to be a white towel around here somewhere."

Had he found it, he'd have thrown it in the Cavs' general direction.

The defending NBA champs and the league's worst team played their respective roles to a T in Cleveland's 128-90 trouncing of the Mavericks Friday night at The Q.

LeBron James and the Cavs (12-2) can now board that plane for Columbus and Saturday's Ohio State-Michigan game in peace. (As an aside, what was higher, the Cavs' final point total or the number of times The Q's game ops people played "Hang On Sloopy"?)

This was the Cavs' largest margin of victory this season. They drained 20 3-pointers to Dallas' eight. You do the math.

Staying hot from his 40-point outburst Wednesday, Kevin Love again led the Cavs with 27 points and added 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 25 points in the first quarter. James chipped in 19 points and 11 assists.

All of this, mind you, was in three quarters of work. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue pulled four of his five starters with 1:48 left in the third and Cleveland ahead by 42. It was 72-38 at halftime so, yeah, a running clock in the second half would've been fine for Carlisle.

The Mavericks are now 2-13 and have lost eight straight. They have lots of players you've heard of, names like Dirk Nowitzki (15 points), Deron Williams (four points in 15 minutes), and former Warriors Harrison Barnes (12 points) and Andrew Bogut (two points, 11 rebounds. Heck, they even have a Curry -- Seth, not Steph, which didn't stop the 20,562 at The Q from booing every time they heard the surname.

Injuries have taken a toll on Dallas, but it's arguably been worse for the Mavericks than this one. They once scored 63 in a game this season. This was Williams' first game after missing four straight with a calf strain. Nowitzki has only played five games all season. They're still missing J.J. Barea and Devin Harris.

And the Cavs showed no mercy.

Irving opened the game scoring those 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting (with four 3-pointers) in the first quarter, and made his first 10 shots overall. That's how good things are for Cleveland right now -- one of its best players explodes for 19 points and it's no big deal. Shoot, Love scored 34 in the first quarter Wednesday.

The Cavs led by 20 after one, a reminder of how immediately this one turned hilarious, or ugly, depending on the side.

Love was 8-of-14 from the field; James 6-of-13. Tristan Thompson added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

There was one Cavs starter who really struggled -- the one Lue chose to leave on the floor for a few more seconds in the third -- and his name was J.R. Smith. Poor Smith was just 1-of-11 from the field (1-of-10 from 3-point) for three points.

This was James' 1,000th-career game in the regular season. He's the 11th active player with at least 1,000 games.

Entering play Friday, he was averaging 28.3 points, 7.3 boards, and 6.3 assists in 24 regular-season games against the Mavericks. Dallas is one of nine teams against which James is averaging at least 28 points.

Channing Frye, the Cavs' sixth man, is out indefinitely after losing his father Thursday night. Frye's mother died of cancer about a month ago.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Lue said. "It's tough. Anytime you lose one parent, but then to lose two, it has to be tough and taking a toll on him. But we're going to be here as family and support him with anything he needs. Take his time and when he's ready to come back he's ready to come back."

NEXT: The Cavs play in Philadelphia for the second time this month at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Mount Union rallies past Johns Hopkins in D3 playoffs

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Mount Union rallied to defeat Johns Hopkins, 28-21, in the second round of the Division III football playoffs on Saturday.

BALTIMORE, Md. - No. 8 Mount Union rallied for 28-21 win at No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship at Homewood Field.

Mount Union (11-1) advances to the national quarterfinals and will play at No. 15 Alfred (N.Y.) next Saturday. Alfred was a 30-24 winner over Western New England on Saturday.

Mount Union freshman quarterback Dom Davis (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) completed 15-of-26 passes for 159 yards with two touchdowns, both to Jared Ruth. Ruth had five catches for 75 yards and his 30-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter turned out to be the game winner.

Mount Union rushed for 222 yards as Bradley Mitchell and Dwayne Aaron (Cleveland/Lakewood St. Edward) both rushed for 64 yards and Jawanza Evans-Morris had a rushing touchdown.

Mount Union allowed 269 yards in the first half but the defense clamped down in the second half and held Johns Hopkins to 38 yards in third quarter and had 5.0 sacks in the second half. Danny Robinson (Massillon/Massillon Washington) had 10 stops and Mike Vidal had three sacks

Johns Hopkins (11-1) quarterback Jon Germano was 30-for-49 for 355 yards with three touchdown passes.

The Raiders held Hopkins to a punt on the first possession of the second half and tied the game on a 14-play drive that Davis finished with a 4-yard run for a score.

(From Mount Union sports information department)

Everything Urban Meyer said after Ohio State's 30-27 double OT win over Michigan

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A complete transcript of Urban Meyer's postgame news conference after Ohio State's win over Michigan.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A complete transcript of Urban Meyer's postgame news conference after Ohio State's win over Michigan.

Urban Meyer opening statement: Thanks for coming. And incredible gratitude to Buckeye Nation to supply that energy in that stadium. That's as good as I ever heard. Someone told me 110,000 people. Going to ask Gene to put more seats in there, man.

That was an exciting win. (Cell phone ringing) that's my wife. I'll get right back to you. I'm at the press conference. All right. Bye. (Laughter) she said, bring a gallon of milk home on the way home. (Laughter) I'll take questions.

Q. You guys had chances to tie it in the fourth and in overtime in critical situations and you have fourth-and-one, and you decided to go for. It didn't even look like you hesitated both times. I know that you guys like to go for it on fourth-and-one. But on two situations like that, did you hesitate, can you take me through your thought process?

I don't remember the first one. I lost my brain cells there.

Q. On the drive where Durbin missed for a chip shot at the end of it but it was earlier on.

Yeah. The last one, it was not very far, and my AD at Florida actually used to always tell me, said: If you can't get that far you're not a championship team.

We used to talk about that all the time, and I agree with him. So that actually crossed my mind -- if you can't get that we're not a championship team anyway.

And I know it's a very good defense, a rugged defense, but I've got players like our J.T. Barrett.

Q. The other question I have is: There are the games that you are able to play or might play, have been played now; and we've asked you about the playoff and this team's positioning now, having won this game today, if you guys don't go to the Big Ten Championship, is this a playoff team and do you have anything to say about it?

I don't know. I don't know. I think we're one of the top teams in the country. Once again, I don't really know that. I go week to week, and I love my players.

Q. Before that fourth down, when Curtis Samuel is getting strung out, going to the right there, do you guys call that a busted play? What would you call it? What was happening there?

To be honest with you, I don't remember. I think he came back -- I can't remember what the play was -- just a T swing, if I remember right. But I don't -- it was not designed for a great athlete to run around that way. That's called recruiting.

Q. Just remember the whirling dervish after that. Do you have any memory what was going through your mind as that play actually unfolded when it did?
COACH MEYER: I was worried we were going to be knocked out of field goal range and lose the game. But things happen. He's one of the best players I've ever been around, and it's good to see the ball in his hands near the end of a game.

Q. What does it mean to you to be at the part of this game, this kind of classic, and when it was 17-7 and your offense was very stagnant, what did you think your chances were?

I don't know. We won the game, Bill, thanks.

Q. To be part of this game.

It's awesome. I've said that many, many times. I'm very humbled to be a part of it. And you can't ask for better efforts. They have great players; we have great players. They're a very well-coached team and so are we. And it's good for the country to see the Big Ten in action like that.

Q. What did come alive with the offense there at the end? Was it just guys making plays more than anything else?

J.T. didn't start out very good. We had some misfires. We weren't playing very well. The first drive was great. I think we hit a field goal or something. We had some protection issues. And the pass game is a constant. It's either protection issues or a misfiring, and I thought the receivers played decent. I know Parris had a drop. They just keep swinging. It's a very, very good defense we faced.

Q. Did you talk to Durbin after the second miss? Did you have any words with him at all?

I just hit him on the rear end and said -- I didn't really say much to him.

Q. Did you call the fake punt or was that --

I called it.

Q. What was your thinking during that?

On the last play, we ran a stretch to the left. It's a 20-man lead is the call, and Curtis scored.

Any more questions about the fake punt? It was - we motioned the tight end across, two backs in the backfield; we expected them to bring their defense and pressure and the left tackle, Jamarco, did a nice job sealing it. Tailback led Mike Weber and Curtis scored, and we won.

Q. You looked more animated than normal. How is your health? You were bent over. You (indiscernible) -- is that just part of this game, or how are you feeling?

Curtis. (Laughter).

Q. 29 lead has been good to you all this year?

29 leads averaging. Is my pregnant daughter here? Curtis scored and Curtis went to the left and scored.

Q. It's been good to you all this year, right?

Yeah, for the most part. He scored.

Q. On the double overtime, J.T. sneak, did your heart stop as you waited for that ball to be spotted?

It wasn't a sneak. That stopped the heart for a second. When the official said they're buzzing me for the spot. And I thought, oh, my goodness.

Q. In real time, did you think he had it when you first saw it?

Yeah, I was standing right there. I thought he had it.

Q. Right after the game, I believe you were down on the turf. Somebody helped you up; and then did somebody carry you off? Did you walk off? What happened?

I don't know. Curtis scored going to the left.

Q. Do you remember anything from after the game?

Yeah, Curtis scored. (Laughter). I remember that Neil Diamond song. That was great. Weird life, man.

Q. This legitimately is one of the great games in the history of this rivalry, 113 years. People do want to hear about sort of how it transpired during the game: The things you did, did you feel like, hey, maybe they're playing a little better than us; we need a spark; we need to push it? What was that feeling like as you're trying to get your team going?

That's why you run a fake punt. That's why we were trying to get the ball downfield and we just weren't hitting them.

And, yeah, we were trying -- we needed sparks, you're right. But then our defense kept hanging in there, hanging in there, and they provided sparks. And the offense kind of took over in the fourth quarter and overtime.

So it's a game -- and I'm not being disrespectful. That is one of the classic games of this rivalry that will forever be, because I know this rivalry as well as anybody.

That game is right in there. I'm not saying it's the greatest, because that's disrespectful for the other players that have played in it. But that's an instant classic between two great teams. We knew going in it was going to be that way. That's one of the best defenses we've ever gone against.

Q. You guys play a lot of games where you're clearly the best team. That just happens with your team. In a game like this, it felt like for a while that Michigan was going to win this game. When you're in a spot like that with your guys and you find a way, what does that tell you about this team and players?

Kind of happened at Wisconsin. Down by 10 and we came back. I just love these players. It's young. That's an old team we play. 17 senior starters or something. We have one.

And I was concerned about that going into it: How are the guys going to handle those -- bunch of first-year players out there. But they're veterans now and they did something that -- Pat Elflein just got his fifth pair of gold pants. Special time.

Does J.T. Barrett think he got the controversial overtime first down? 'I wasn't 100 percent certain'

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"Honestly, when I got hit, I wasn't 100 percent certain, to be honest with you," Barrett said after the game. "When I fell, I fell on top of people. So I didn't know exactly what it was going to be."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The game could have been over. 

If the refs would have spotted J.T. Barrett's fourth-and-short run in overtime a fraction of an inch differently, the game is over. Michigan wins. 

But the referees called Barrett's rush a first down. And after they reviewed the Barrett's run, the call stood.

One play later, Curtis Samuel rushed for 15-yard touchdown and ended the game: Ohio State 30, Michigan 27. Final. Double overtime. 

"Honestly, when I got hit, I wasn't 100 percent certain, to be honest with you," Barrett said after the game. "When I fell, I fell on top of people. So I didn't know exactly what it was going to be. But I'm glad I got it. 

"The review said it was good." 

You can watch the play yourself below: 

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was very critical of the refereeing in his postgame news conference, and the spot on Barrett's run was one of the main sources of his criticism.

"It was not a first down," Harbaugh. 

What do you think? 

 

Was Jim Harbaugh right to rip officials after Ohio State's win over Michigan?

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Harbaugh was not happy with how Ohio State's win over Michigan on Saturday was officiated. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Harbaugh said Ohio State should have been called for more holds, was "gifted" a pass interference call and came up short on a pivotal fourth-down run in overtime.

He had one target during his postgame news conference after Ohio State's 30-27 double-overtime win over Michigan -- the officials. The loss kept Michigan out of the Big Ten Championship, and ended the Wolverines' playoff hopes.

Does Harbaugh have a right to be griping about the calls? We answered that in the video above. Watch it to hear our answer, and what this means for Harbaugh moving forward in the rivalry.

Here is video of Harbaugh's postgame news conference from The Lantern TV:

Some of the highlights from Harbaugh's postgame remarks:

"Two penalties called all day. Multiple holding penalties let go, multiple false starts. The official on my side who's supposed to be watching that is concerned about whether our coaches are in the white or not in the white. Their coaches were on the field, practically in the huddle at times. I'm bitter."

* On J.T. Barrett's fourth-down run in overtime that looked like it might have been short of the marker, but was ruled a first down after video review:

"It wasn't a first down. By that much (he said extending his arms). It wasn't a first down. I'm bitterly disappointed in the officiating today."

"That spot, the graphic displays and interference penalties. One not called on us on Grant Perry who was being hooked before the ball got there and then a previous penalty they called on Delano Hill, the ball was uncatchable and by the receiver. I'm bitterly disappointed in the officiating. Can't make that any more clear. My view on that first down is that it was short."

Did Barrett make the first down marker?

* On a fourth-quarter pass interference call against Michigan that extended the drive on which Ohio State sent the game to overtime:

"They got a gift interference call, a gift. The ball was uncatchable, past the receiver when Delano Hill made contact."

* On being assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped set up Ohio State's touchdown in the third quarter. Harbaugh threw his play sheet onto the field in anger after Michigan was called for an offsides penalty:

"He could've been watching the game rather than being concerned (about me). So, if you throw a hat or your script toward your sideline, that's a penalty? I asked him that and he said 'well it is in basketball.' "I said 'well this isn't basketball.' And he told me he officiates basketball. I don't know the relevance (there). He said it would've been a technical in basketball."

Make sure you're reading MLive.com for the Michigan side of things from this game.

Mlive breaks down Harbaugh's news conference


Urban Meyer's fake punt call - What was Ohio State's coach thinking?

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Punter Cam Johnston was stopped on a run deep in Ohio State's territory, setting up a short Michigan touchdown drive. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Why did he do it?

If you want to know how Urban Meyer was feeling about Ohio State's chances Saturday in the thick of this 113th rivalry game with Michigan, a fake punt try from the Ohio State 19-yard line early in the third quarter should tell you.

He was either sagely searching for a spark and willing to make the gutsy move the Wolverines were never expecting. 

Or he was desperate. 

"I called it," Meyer said.

And then he didn't say much. 

Meyer dropped to the ground on his face, laid out like a fighter knocked out with a right cross, after Curtis Samuel reached the end zone in the second overtime to give the No. 2 Buckeyes a 30-27 win over the No. 3 Wolverines. Meyer rose from the Ohio Stadium turf with a smile on his face.

He carried that into the postgame news conference, parrying questions about anything that had gone wrong during the game with answers about how good the blocking was on that Samuel run.

But that call isn't the kind of call you can forget about.

Ohio State trailed 10-7 with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter when Meyer called for the kind of fake that almost no other coach would call for. 

Ohio State had managed just 114 yards of offense on seven drives to that point.

Meyer felt like the Buckeyes needed something. Even something that risky. He took the risk for a spark.

"That's why you run a fake punt," Meyer said. "We needed sparks. You're right."

This didn't turn out to be that spark. In fact, it allowed Michigan to extend its lead.

Punter Cam Johnston, one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award as the best punter in the country, took off running to his left instead of punting on fourth-and-6. Defensive end Sam Hubbard, one of the two punt protectors on the play, had a block on Michigan's Jordan Glasgow, but Glasgow broke free and made the tackle on Johnston three yards short of a first down.

(This is a tweet from a former Buckeye All-Big Ten cornerback under Jim Tressel.)

 

"At that point, I think we did need something special, something to happen," linebacker Jerome Baker said. "It was a great call, it just didn't work out too well. We just needed something and he just tried to provide that spark."

Michigan took over at the Ohio State 22-yard line, Meyer forced to trust his defense. The defense's reaction?

"Do your job," Baker said. "That's how you feel. Do your job."

Five plays later, Michigan reached the end zone, the 22-yard drive giving the Wolverines a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter, with 21:37 left in regulation.

That was 21:37 for an Ohio State offense that hadn't done much to now get two scores. The search for the spark left the Buckeyes in a tough spot.

The spark hadn't saved them. Other things would.

So Meyer could smile through the questions about the fake. If Michigan had won, there would have been a lot more questions about taking that risk 20 yards from your own end zone. And very different answers.

But when you beat your rival, sometimes a smile is the only answer you want to give. 

Breaking down Ohio State's win over Michigan: When did you think the Buckeyes had it?

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Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Ari Wasserman break down Ohio State's win over Michigan. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Was it when Ohio State got three chances to tie or take the lead in in the fourth quarter? Did you think then that Ohio State would find a way to win Saturday's game against Michigan?

Or maybe it was when Ohio State efficiently scored a touchdown using only two plays in the first overtime that made you think Ohio State would win the thing.

Perhaps you weren't certain until Curtis Samuel ran in from 15 yards out to seal Ohio State's 30-27 win in double-overtime.

Or maybe you knew from the beginning.

Michigan looked like the better team for long stretches of Saturday's game in Ohio Stadium. In the end, the Buckeyes found a way to win, buoyed by another strong defensive performance -- especially in the second half -- and finding the few big offensive plays they needed them late in the game.

When did you think Ohio State had it sewn up? Let us know in the comments section and watch the video to hear cleveland.com's coverage team give their answer and break down the game.

Penn State is headed to the Big Ten Championship: Should Ohio State be in the College Football Playoff?

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"I believe we belong in there," Billy Price said. "A conference championship does hold a lot of weight, I believe, with the playoff committee in their decisions, but our record and our reputable wins and who we played with top 25 matchups, I think that body of work stands for itself." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- We've reached the debate portion of Ohio State's football season. 

With Penn State's win over Michigan State on Saturday evening, the Nittany Lions officially punched their ticket to the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis next weekend as the East Divison's representative. 

That means that Ohio State, despite its big double-overtime win over Michigan, will be sitting at home next weekend while two other teams plays for its conference championship. 

But is Ohio State's complete body of work -- even without a conference championship -- worthy of playing for a national title as one of the four College Football Playoff teams? 

"I'm going to speak freely," Ohio State offensive guard Billy Price said. "I believe we belong in there. A conference championship does hold a lot of weight, I believe, with the playoff committee in their decisions, but our record and our reputable wins and who we played with top 25 matchups, I think that body of work stands for itself.

"We beat a very good Wisconsin team, Oklahoma team, (Michigan), Nebraska. All these teams, those are very quality wins and body of work shows it. Yes, there might have been some struggles with some certain teams, but a victory is a victory. In the Big Ten, you're not given wins. Our body of work shows that we belong in this playoff picture." 

Many are just assuming that regardless of what happens next weekend in the Big Ten Championship that Ohio State is going to be the Big Ten team in the playoff, even if Penn State wins the conference. 

In last week's rankings Ohio State was ranked No. 2 and Penn State was ranked No. 7, and playoff committee chair Kirby Hocutt said that there's a large gap between the two teams right now. Right now doesn't matter, though. It's about what the rankings will look like next Sunday. 

Ohio State only created some more distance between itself and Penn State by adding another top five win to its resume with the Michigan win. 

But here's where it's unclear: Can Penn State get close if it wins the Big Ten? 

Ohio State, Penn State and how the committee views them

Hocutt refuses to speculate on how the committee will view things in hypothetical situations, but Penn State is really coming on strong, even if it has two losses. It beat the Michigan State team that almost beat the Buckeyes last weekend by 33 points. The Nittany Lions are also on a eight-game winning steak, have the head-to-head win over Ohio State, play an extra game (the conference title game) with the chance to earn another quality win over Wisconsin and could be conference champions. 

Is Ohio State going to the playoff over Penn State an open-and-shut discussion?

Doesn't sound like it. 

"I mean it's really out of our hands," quarterback J.T. Barrett said. "At this time I think we are one of the top four teams in the country, personally, but I think that, like I said, it's up to the committee to do their thing.

"Hopefully everything works out in our favor." 

Things probably will. 

But it's going to be a debate. 

Ohio State wins the greatest of The Games against Michigan in 2 overtimes -- Bill Livingston (photos)

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Ohio State rallies to force two overtimes and wins on key runs by Barrett and Samuel.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Late on a Saturday afternoon that grew colder in the gathering darkness, Michigan players scissored their arms frantically. With Michigan leading by a field goal, they were signaling that Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett had come up short on fourth-and-1 from Michigan's 16-yard line, securing a 27-24 Michigan victory.

Repeatedly, the players on the nation's top-ranked college defense swung their arms back and forth, like giant blades trying to sever a skein of 11 losses in the last 12 games against the Buckeyes.

It would not happen. Ohio State, second-ranked in the College Football Playoff standings, would survive, 30-27, against third-ranked Michigan in double overtime.

The controversy

Barrett had faked to H-back Curtis Samuel on a sweep to the right, then lunged up the middle. Barrett's forward progress seemed to reach the yellow television graphic that was the demarcation line between the end of the game and its continuation.

But there is no such line on the actual field.

Barrett was savagely hit by safety Delano Hill. Defensive end Taco Charlton knocked him farther backward. In the welter of players Barrett fell atop, including his own blocker, tight end A.J. Alexander, it was impossible to determine his success or failure.

Human frailty

The biggest decision in The Game, like so many plays in it, would come down to human frailty.

The Buckeyes had tied the score, 17-17, on a 20-yard field goal with one second remaining in the fourth quarter by Tyler Durbin, who had missed two make-able attempts already in The Game.

Ohio State's first regulation-play touchdown came on a 16-yard pick-six by safety Malik Hooker off surprise Michigan starter Wilton Speight.

Its second was the result of a 13-yard, penalty-aided drive, following an interception of Speight and 22-yard return by linebacker Jerome Baker from Benedictine.

Speight also lost a fumble at the Ohio State 1-yard line.

After the game, for fans of poor losers everywhere, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines' headset-smashing, ranting, raving, cussing, fussing, unsportsmanlike conduct penalty-drawing coach, went all Bo and Woody, furiously berating the officiating.

Heart-stopper

On Barrett's jolting fourth-down run, referees had signaled first down.

"Honestly, when I got hit, I wasn't certain," said Barrett. "I looked at it, but when I fell, I fell on a lot of people. So I didn't know exactly what it was going to be."

"They're buzzing me for the spot," an official told Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, meaning the ref should initiate replay review.

"That stopped the heart for a second," said Meyer. "I thought, 'Oh, my goodness.'"

The X's didn't mark the spot

The Michigan players' arms kept swinging during the long replay review, forming  sweeping X's, like the ones with scarlet tape that masked every letter "m" anywhere in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during the week of The Game.

With one angle on the replay board drawing roars of approval from a Horseshoe record crowd of 110,045  and a different angle silencing them, the tense replay ended with no evidence strong enough to overturn the call.

"The review said it was good," said Barrett.

"My AD at Florida used to tell me, 'If you can't get that, we're not a championship team anyway.' I agree with him," said Meyer.

They got it. Barely.

"I know it's a very good defense, a rugged defense, but we have players like J.T. Barrett," Meyer said.

Prolonging the game

The Buckeyes also had Samuel, who got them close enough to gamble on fourth down with an improvised dash on third-and-9.

"It was a screen and No. 5 (Michigan's star defender Jabrill Peppers) scraped over the top. I guess he had Curtis in man (defense)," said Barrett.

Samuel took the pass and headed right, braked when confronted by Peppers,  turned his back to the scrimmage line, and, while heading the other way, banged into his own lineman, Jamarco Jones.

We pause with Samuel, several yards behind the original scrimmage line, for Meyer's aghast reaction.

"I was worried we were going to be knocked out of field goal range and lose the game," he said. "It was just a T swing. It's not designed for a great athlete to run around that way. That's called recruiting."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Samuel disentangled himself from Jones and ran onward to the left. His dive nudged the ball almost to the first-down stake.

Winning The Game

The play that followed Barrett's first down is called "29 Lead."

Samuel headed left, got a crushing block from center Pat Elflein and then Samuel's last cut was the deepest, hurting far more than all Michigan's empty, hopeful scissor motions. Both Peppers and safety Dymonte Thomas over-pursued, running back Mike Weber wiped out both,  and that left no one to protect against the cutback.

"I don't get the ball to gain 2 yards or 3 yards. I'm given the ball to score," said Samuel.

Samuel joyously skipped across the goal line. After scoring the winning touchdown in the only overtime game in the series, in The Greatest Game of all The Games, he would have flown if he could.

In the retelling years from now, he probably will do just that.

See Ohio State's mob scene after Michigan win, follow Pat Elflein through crowd (video)

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The Buckeyes beat Michigan 30-27 and fans rushed the field, with the senior center among the players who had to work their way through the crowd. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State fans rushed the field after Saturday's double overtime win over Michigan. It's a scene the Buckeyes don't face all that much, but when it happens the players, students and fans come together in one mass.

And then the Buckeyes have to get to the locker room.

First the fans on the field sang Carmen Ohio with the players, who were gathered as usual in the corner of the south stand in front of the band. There were fans everywhere for that.

Then Sweet Caroline started up.

After the game, Urban Meyer was so delirious with joy about the 30-27 victory over Michigan, he said he could barely remember anything.

"Curtis scored," Meyer said. "I remember that Neil Diamond song. That was great. Weird life, man."

He remembered it because many Buckeyes were still in the swarm as it played.

That included captain and center Pat Elflein, the only senior starter for the Buckeyes.

Follow Elflein in this video as he makes his way from the center of that mob of fans on the field and through a back tunnel before finally finding his girlfriend and celebrating that he ended his career 5-0 against Michigan.

Curtis Samuel's insane play that saved Ohio State's season: What was he doing?

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"I know the coaches gave me the ball to make plays. They don't give me the ball to go three yards, two yards or four yards. They gave me the ball to go out there and score." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Curtis Samuel lost his mind in Ohio State's 30-27 double-overtime win over Michigan on Saturday. 

He just doesn't remember losing it. 

That's kind of what happens in the heat of action with an athlete like Samuel. Forget sanity, just do anything possible to make a big play. 

So when J.T. Barrett threw a swing pass to Samuel on third-and-9 in double overtime with Ohio State trailing by three -- how terrible was that call, by the way? -- Samuel had to do something insane. He had to do something crazy. 

Samuel ran back and forth all over the field to avoid Michigan defenders, and at one point found himself nine yards behind the line of scrimmage. 

"I was worried we were going to be knocked out of field goal range and lose the game," Urban Meyer said. "But things happen. He's one of the best players I've ever been around, and it's good to see the ball in his hands near the end of the game." 

Ohio State had to at least get a field goal in that situation to not lose. The original line of scrimmage was at the 24, and at one point during the play, Samuel was back around the 33. What if he got tackled or tripped there? Ohio State would have had to either go for it on fourth-and-18 or kick a 50-yard field goal with a walk-on kicker who had already missed two field goals. The Buckeyes probably would have lost. 

"I don't really think about that," Samuel said. "I know the coaches gave me the ball to make plays. They don't give me the ball to go three yards, two yards or four yards. They gave me the ball to go out there and score.

"I felt like I caught the ball, No. 5 (Jabrill Peppers) was in front of me, I felt like I had to make a move. I felt like I had a great shot going back across the field because there were probably D-linemen over there running. 

"I ran to the outside, a bunch of stuff was going on, I was running back and forth, but I knew the defense was probably tired, so I just had to keep on moving."

Samuel weaved back and forth and ran about 75 yards total to pick up eight yards and set up a fourth-and-short. Ohio State went for it -- Barrett picked up the first on a controversial call -- then Samuel ended the game on the following play with a 15-yard touchdown run. 

Watch the craziness below: 

Ohio State kicker Tyler Durbin found redemption on senior day: Buckeyes notes, quotes and nuggets

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Durbin missed two field goals before hitting the one that sent Saturday's game between Ohio State Michigan into overtime.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Until the make, a couple of wide lefts off of the foot of Ohio State kicker Tyler Durbin were likely all Buckeyes fans were going to remember from a loss to Michigan.

Durbin had been everything you could possibly ask of a walk-on kicker this season (remember his game at Wisconsin?) But that would have defined his short career here: Two misses, on senior day, in a loss to Michigan.

He found redemption in a 23-yard field in the final seconds of the fourth quarter that sent Saturday's game to overtime, where the Buckeyes eventually won 30-27.

Durbin would have went from a player who was nameless in the mind of Urban Meyer (not really, but Meyer likes to joke about it) to a guy on the wrong side of the many players whose names and careers are defined by what they do this rivalry.

That's a lot riding on a chip shot field goal in the fourth quarter.

Imagine the nerves Durbin, who's only been playing football for a couple years and never kicked in a game (at any level) before this season, was feeling. Before his game-saving kick, he got a pep-talk from J.T. Barrett:

"I just told him he's got this. I mean, when I think about it, there's times I miss passes and there's times when he misses field goals," Barrett said. "That's our job, that's our role. I'm supposed to complete passes and he's supposed to kick field goals and they're supposed to go in. That's very clear. When it doesn't happen, it's almost like the end of the world. But it's OK ...

But the simple fact is that's in the past and we've got to move on and play forward, and that was something that I was trying to expressing to him, it's OK. We believe in you. You go right out there and you put it right through the pipes like he always told us."

So Durbin left Ohio Stadium, after the only game he'll ever play against Michigan, knowing that he has a pair of gold pants coming his way.

And it was interesting that Meyer would put things on the foot of a kicker who had missed two earlier field goals, especially when Ohio State has a scholarship kicker in Sean Nuernberger standing on the sidelines, and the stakes were so high. 

"I just hit him on the rear end and said -- I didn't really say much to him," Meyer said.

He just stuck with him, showing confidence in a kicker that Meyer doesn't usually show. Remember, he did go for a couple of other fourth-down tries. Meyer doesn't kick field goals unless he absolutely has to.

He had to against Michigan. In the end, Durbin delivered.

Here are more notes, quotes and nuggets from Ohio State's win over Michigan:

* The announced attendance of 110,045 was the largest in the history of Ohio Stadium, and that mark could stand forever. Planned renovations to the stadium will decrease its capacity by nearly 3,000 seats by 2018.

* This was the first overtime game in the history of the Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry.

"That is one of the classic games of this rivalry that will forever be," Meyer said, "because I know this rivalry as well as anybody."

Meyer has never lost an overtime game, and is now 8-0.

* Malik Hooker's pick-six in the second quarter was his third interception return for a touchdown this season. That set a new Ohio State record, breaking a mark held by Hooker and 10 other players coming into Saturday.

* Jerome Baker had a career-high 15 tackles. Chris Worley had a career-high 11 tackles. Raekwon McMillan tied a career high with 16 tackles.

"We just try to get out there and do our job," Baker said. "We didn't have our heads down. The offense had the momentum. They had their ups, we just had to go out there and play."

* Pat Elflein, a fifth-year senior, beat Michigan for the fifth time in his career.

"It's a testament to our coaches and to our program and how we never stop swinging," Elflein said. "That's how we practice all year round. To come out a few times, like at Michigan State and Wisconsin, and never stop swinging. This is such a great game to send the seniors off with."


Archbishop Hoban rallies past Columbus DeSales, 23-14, returns to Division III state final

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Archbishop Hoban will return to Columbus and defend its OHSAA Division III state championship, but it took a comeback and Saturday’s 23-14 win against Columbus St. Francis DeSales.

MANSFIELD, Ohio – With a smile, Archbishop Hoban football coach Tim Tyrrell said an assistant told him he’s getting too soft.

His Knights will return to Columbus and defend their OHSAA Division III state championship, but it took a comeback and Saturday’s 23-14 win against previously unbeaten Columbus St. Francis DeSales at Mansfield’s Arlin Field.


Tyrrell didn’t think it was so bad at halftime, when his Knights (13-1) trailed 14-3.


“We were playing very physical, we just were making mistakes,” he said. “We had two costly turnovers.”


Senior running back Todd Sibley carried the ball 37 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns.


Those two scores, which came in the third quarter, successfully completed a challenge issued by Tyrrell.


“Our coach challenged us to get two defensive stops and us to get two scores,” said Sibley, who put the Knights ahead on a 41-yard run late in the third quarter.




Check back later for more video highlights and reaction.


All game long, quarterback Danny Clark turned to hand the ball off to his Sibley.


The holes shrunk in front of DeSales’ big four-man front, which included 6-foot-5, 320-pound Indiana commit Derrius Mullins. But Sibley and Co. began to chip away for bigger holes.


“He ran like a man,” Tyrrell said. “The offensive line really kind of imposed their will in the second half. We were a little banged up. R.J. Kelly was cramping a little bit, but they just wouldn’t come out.”


Not with a chance to return to the state championship game.


Hoban will face Trotwood-Madison, which ran past Toledo Central Catholic for a 36-0 victory in the other semifinal Saturday at Lima Senior.


The title game will be 3 p.m. next Saturday.


As Hoban’s players gathered around Tyrrell following their win, he told them making it back makes them “a program.” They survived two rounds without him because of a suspension for an OHSAA recruiting violation.


Other injuries — including a hip-pointer Saturday to defensive back Will Collier that brought in freshman Deamonte Trayanum — added to the challenge.


“This game makes it sweeter,” Sibley said. “It’s the toughest game and biggest comeback I’ve been a part of.”


DeSales (13-1) took a 14-3 halftime lead behind the running of Alonzo Booth. The 6-1, 245-pound senior rumbled into the end zone from 11 yards out on the Stallions’ first possession, made possible by a Clark interception on Hoban’s second play.


Grant Kersh answered with a 48-yard field goal later in the first quarter, but a 15-play, 80-yard drive pushed DeSales’ lead further.


It ended with Ty Van Fossen barreling his 6-2, 200-pound frame into the end zone.


DeSales didn’t score again.


Booth, who rushed for 73 yards in the first half, managed only 24 more the rest of the way.


“At halftime, there wasn’t a lot of screaming and yelling,” senior defensive lineman Daeshon Martin said. “We needed to find what we do best, and that’s play football. We found our heart.”


Tyrrell pointed to his heart as he told them afterward they became, “not just a team but a program.”


"From Day 1 we had a ton of adversity," the coach said. "It was little things. Kids getting sick, the whole OHSAA thing, and they became stronger every single time something happened."


Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.

Canton Central Catholic football edges Milan Edison, 24-14, to advance to third straight Division V state title game

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Canton Central Catholic scored 24 consecutive points to defeat Milan Edison in the Division V state semifinals.

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — A 24-point run helped send Canton Central Catholic’s football team to its third straight state championship game.

The Crusaders overcame an early deficit to defeat Milan Edison, 24-14, on Saturday in the Division V state semifinal at Pat Catan Stadium in Strongsville.


After the Chargers scored a touchdown on the opening drive, Canton Central Catholic (10-3) scored the next 24 points. Among them was a 79-yard touchdown pass from Jack Murphy to Jaret Cummins on the Crusaders’ first play from scrimmage.


“It was huge because we obviously got the slow start,” Murphy said. “Our offense knew. They said, ‘It’s time to go now.’ And we knew from right off the bat.”


Murphy threw for 147 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for a game-high 83 yards and a touchdown for CCC.




Sam Mills’ 26-yard field goal later in the first quarter gave CCC a 10-7 lead, which lasted until halftime. Brady Thompson rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and Murphy scored from 43 yards out early in the fourth quarter to cap the Crusaders’ 24-point run.


“Our kids have been resilient all year,” Canton Central Catholic coach Jeff Lindesmith said. “Our kids don’t panic. They’re a group that has matured throughout the course of the year. That’s what we challenge them on as coaches throughout the course of the year is maturing, staying in the moment. They did that, they stayed in the moment and got better as the game went on.”


Edison (12-2) scored on the game’s opening drive with a Sam Stoll 33-yard touchdown. But after that drive, the Chargers’ triple-option mustered just 151 yards of total offense, and they committed two turnovers.


“You get that offense some minus yards, that helps you,” Lindesmith said. “We started penetrating a little bit. We got some backside angles, I thought, that hurt them a little bit on some of their dives.”




Edison QB Braden Ehrhardt added a touchdown with about 6:30 left in the game to cut the deficit to ten.


The win sends the Crusaders back to the Division V state championship game for the third year in a row. They will face Coldwater once again, which beat them in the previous two meetings.


Coldwater beat Coshocton, 33-14, in the other Division V semifinal.


This year’s senior class will have played in three straight state title games and 44 games in the past three seasons when they take the field on Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.


“This football program was a great tradition long before I took over,” Lindesmith said. “They understand what it means to be a Crusader. We always pride ourselves on effort and preparation. And this group has gotten better at that process.”

Cleveland Monsters lose second straight to Grand Rapids, 6-2

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The Cleveland Monsters lost for the second time in two nights to the Grand Rapids Griffins, 6-2, in an American Hockey League Central Division game Saturday night at The Q.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored twice in each period Saturday night to beat the Cleveland Monsters, 6-2, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland's second loss in two nights to Grand Rapids dropped them to 6-10-1-1, in eighth place in the American Hockey League Central Division. The Griffins improved to 11-6-0-0.

After a sluggish start that followed the teams' overnight bus ride from Grand Rapids, Martin Frk broke the ice for the Griffins with a power-play goal at 12:05 of the first period, and Tomas Nosek scored at 13:53.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scored twice Friday night, fired a power-play goal from the left point to put the Monsters on the board at 19:28, with assists by John Ramage and Daniel Zaar.

Brett Gallant battled in the paint to score his second goal in two games and tie the game for Cleveland at 4:02 of the second period, with assists going to Daniel Zaar and Jordan Maletta. But that ended the scoring for Cleveland.

Matthew Ford put Grand Rapids back in the lead with a short-handed goal at 13:03 of the second frame, and Kyle Criscuolo followed with an even-strength marker at 16:55.

Dominic Turgeon scored his first goal of the season for the Griffins at 14:44 of the third period, and Matt Lorito notched a power play goal at 17:02.

Anton Forsberg relieved Joonas Korpisalo in net for Cleveland late in the second period, and stopped 13 of 15 shots he faced. Korpisalo stopped 13 of 17 and took the loss.

Eddie Pasquale stopped 29 shots in getting the win for Grand Rapids.

Next up for the Monsters is their third consecutive game with the Griffins, in Grand Rapids at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30.

DMan's NFL Week 12 best 'bets' ATS: Cleveland Browns will dig deep vs. Giants

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I expect the Buffalo Bills to play well at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday as part of NFL Week 12.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- OneUp Sports called to ask about my preferred picks against the spread for NFL Week 12.

I went 2-1-1 in Week 11, part of 12-7-1 in the past five weeks.

Complete NFL Week 12 picks

I am already 1-0 in Week 12 best 'bets' -- entertainment purposes only, of course. I had the Steelers (-8 1/2) over @ Indianapolis, and the Steelers won, 28-7.

Turnovers doom Browns in 27-13 loss to Giants that drops them to 0-12

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The Browns turned the ball over three times, and two resulted in touchdowns in a 27-13 loss to Giants. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hue Jackson was so upset about the Browns falling to 0-12 after their 27-13 loss to the Giants Sunday that he well up with tears in his post-game press conference.

"I'm going to be very honest with all of you,'' he said. "I don't know how to (take time off during the bye) because being 0-12 is probably the hardest thing ever.''

With that, Jackson stopped, fought back tears, pursed his lips and tapped the side of the podium to compose himself.

The 0-12 season has been hard on everyone, but especially Jackson, who came here to win a Super Bowl.

"This will be the last time that we ever feel the way we feel this year,'' Jackson said. "I know that in my heart. If you are going to get us, you better get us now because I am not feeling like this next year. There is no way. Uh-huh. I am a fighter. I have never lost many fights. We're going to keep swinging.''

Jackson met with upper management for about 40 minutes after the game and apologized for being late to his post-game press conference. But he assured everyone that his job is safe and that the meetings take place weekly. "I'm going to be here,'' he said. "In these times of crisis, you have to have good, strong conversation,'' he said. "That's how you don't go through these things in the future.''

The Browns are now down to just four more chances to avoid going 0-16. They've lost 15 straight, 22 of their last 23, and 30 of their last 33.

"I've never been through this, but I'm not going to fall off a cliff,'' said Jackson. "You can beat yourself up - and I do that enough - or you can push through this.''

The Browns, who trailed only 14-6 at the half, lost because they turned the turned the ball over three times and the Giants scored 13 points off those miscues, once on a fumble by Isaiah Crowell in the second quarter and once on a sack-fumble by Josh McCown in the fourth. They also lost because they got inside the 10 twice in the first half and came away with only two field goals.

"Our inability to finish in the scoring zone kind of outdid us today,'' said Jackson. "Our defense for the most part did some good things. They held these guys in check.  They had some big turnovers at key times against us.''

The Browns lost despite a big game by Terrelle Pryor, who caught six passes for a game-high 131 yards, and a late touchdown catch by Corey Coleman that pulled the Browns to within 20-13 with 8:17 left in the game. They also got a spirited performance by their defense, which forced nine punts.

But Eli Manning (15 of 27, 194 yards, sacked once, 115.4 rating) finished with three touchdown passes, including two by Odell Beckham Jr. (6 catches, 96 yards). Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul dominated, with seven tackles, three sacks, one 43-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and a forced fumble. Many of those times, he stormed past right tackle Austin Pasztor.

Josh McCown's two strip sacks

McCown was strip-sacked twice in the fourth quarter, including once when Pierre-Paul recovered for the 43-yard TD that made it 20-6. McCown's arm was hit by defensive end Jonathan Hankins on a 7-yard sack, and JPP caught the loose ball and returned it for the score. On the sack, Hankins beat guard Alvin Bailey, who had replaced an injured John Greco (foot) in the third quarter.

The TD wasted a 54-yard catch by Pryor on the drive. McCown was also strip-sacked with 52 seconds left when the game was out of reach. He's now fumbled seven times and lost four in his 15 quarters, but Jackson took the onus off of him.

"Josh McCown is playing as hard as he can play,'' said Jackson. "He's battling, and there's nothing he can do about the sack-fumbles as a starter. He's getting hit and the ball comes out. I don't want people to get the idea that this guy is a turnover machine or something because he is not. That's not who he is. He is put in some tough spots. Sometimes it does not come up the right way and it has not this season.''

McCown was sacked seven times by a Giants defense that had 18 coming in for 29th in the NFL. Last week, the Browns were sacked eight times by a Steelers defense that headed in last in the NFL.

Pryor's big game

Pryor headed in extra fired up because of a midweek snub by cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who told Giants reporters he wasn't a big challenge and that he was "another receiver.''

Pryor responded with his third 100-yard game of the season and became the first Browns player to record at least five receptions in five consecutive games since Kevin Johnson in 1999.  He leads the Browns with 855 yards, and is on pace for 1,140 in his first year as a receiver.

He admitted after the game that he was angry about Jenkins' remarks. He also said he didn't care much about his 131 yards.

   

"My performance wasn't good enough because I didn't do enough to contribute for us to win,'' he said. "No touchdowns, which is most important. I don't care if I have 5, 6 yards if I'm scoring touchdowns and helping the team. Putting points on the board would be a big game for me.''

Pryor also apologized for calling out the blocking last week.

"I made a minor mistake coming at a lot of guys, because it's not just those guys missing blocks last week,'' he said. "There were a couple of times where I needed to get open and there were a couple of times the quarterback held the ball trying to go to me so I wanted to make sure I put that out there because I've got to hold myself responsible as well. This week I also wanted to commend and give our line praise because I thought they did a great job vs. Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul and I thought our quarterback had time to sit in the pocket and felt comfortable to throw the ball. I gave those guys a little love hug and I thought they played awesome today and they kind of responded I felt to the criticism, not by me but just a lot of the talks and stuff like that from our quarterbacks getting hit and I thought they did an awesome job.''

After the game, Jenkins ripped Pryor on Twitter

On the Browns defense

The defense gave up only 14 points in its own right and 13 others came off the turnovers. Crowell fumbled deep in Browns territory to start New York at their 31, and Manning threw a 13-yard TD past Dwayne Harris two plays later for a 7-0 Giants lead.

"The way our defense played today, you can win a game that way,'' said Pryor. "We could have beat that team. It's sad. Games that we can win, against a very good team, they have three losses. We could've won that game and offensively, we just didn't do it. I don't know what it is. Whatever it is, we need to fix it because our defense is out there playing their butts off.

"They gave up points too, but if you were watching the game rather than just looking at the score, you'd be like 'damn, our defense is playing good.'  It was getting Eli Manning, a two-time Pro Bowler off the field. So we've got to score points and help them. That is why it's a team game. I just think we didn't do well on offense.''

Pryor lamented the Browns penetrating the 10 twice and coming away with field goals. In the past four games, the Browns have averaged less than 10 points.

"You can't win this game with field goals,'' he said. "We've got to help (the defense) and score. We put the ball on the ground, Crow never does that. He's an awesome player. We turned the ball over right there and that's when they scored first and it kind of spiraled on us so we have to start scoring more touchdowns. You can't kick field goals. It's not going to win a game. I think everybody knows that.''

Bye-Bye

The Browns will practice on Monday and Tuesday and then have the rest of the week off for the much-needed bye.

"It's important to get away from the game for a little bit,'' said Joe Thomas. "We have to come back hungry and with new motivation.''

The Browns might also come back with a new quarterback. Robert Griffin III (shoulder) is getting closer to playing and could be cleared in time to face the Bengals Dec. 11th.

John Greco injured

Greco left the game late in third quarter with a foot injury and did not return. He left the stadium in a boot and on crutches. It appeared to be serious.

 Tramon Williams inactive

Williams was inactive with his knee injury, but cornerback Ed Reynold was active with his his.

Next

The Browns have a bye next weekend and face the Bengals Dec. 11th at 1 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium.


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