Steubenville, Ohio -- It is a mantra as old as "On any given Sunday," but significantly more poignant. It goes like this: "The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win."
Steubenville, Ohio -- It is a mantra as old as "On any given Sunday," but significantly more poignant.
It goes like this: "The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win."
After keeping mistakes to a manageable number through 13 games, Mogadore had an uncharacteristic 14th game Friday and lost to Shadyside, 28-13, in a Division VI state semifinal game in Harding Stadium.
If there is a silver lining in losing in the state semifinals, it's that the Wildcats (13-1) won't have to worry about playing powerful Delphos St. John's in next week's state championship game in Canton's Fawcett Stadium.
Delphos, a five-time state champion and the top-ranked team in the state, humiliated Sidney Lehman Catholic, 49-0, in the other semifinal.
Despite blocking two punts, three-time state champ Mogadore failed to make it to the state championship game for the eighth time in the school's storied history simply because it made too many mistakes. Instead, Shadyside (13-1) will try to win its first.
The Wildcats, at a distinct size disadvantage along both lines, kept things competitive for the first 24 minutes, but the Tigers scored 21 straight points in the second and third quarters and had a 28-6 lead before hard-running Jake McAvinew scored on a 3-yard run for Mogadore with 6:42 to play.
Errors, physical and mental, did just as much to rob the Wildcats of an opportunity to keep things closer. They came in the form of nine penalties for 64 yards, two fumbles lost and eight dropped passes. Shadyside turned the ball over once.
"It probably wasn't one of our cleanest games of the year," said Mogadore coach Matt Adorni, who had his team in the playoffs for the 12th year in a row.
"We didn't make the plays we were able to make during the rest of the year. Still, we didn't let them get crazy and run away with it. Some nights the ball doesn't bounce your way, but there are a lot of kids who'd give anything to be standing here at 13-1. Tonight was just not our night."
McAvinew, who has played in more than 40 Mogadore victories during his workhorse career, led the Wildcats with 81 yards on 18 carries as the Tigers, from Belmont County, keyed on the 5-10, 210-pound senior.
Quarterback Adam Schrack completed 8 of 23 passes for 107 yards and probably deserved a better fate as his receivers had trouble holding onto the ball.
Shadyside quarterback Ellis Brown gave the Wildcats fits most of the night. The 6-0, 152-pound senior's statistics were not overwhelming -- he gained 30 yards on eight carries and completed just two of 11 passes for 55 yards -- but he avoided several sacks and kept drives going by picking up first downs.
Senior Brendon Sedinger led the Tigers with 102 yards on 29 carries, mostly in the second half when Shadyside slid into ball control mode.
The Wildcats got off to a rocky start when Shadyside's Matt Duda returned the first punt of the game 54 yards to the Mogadore two-yard line with the game less than four minutes old. Fullback Evan Marling (6-0, 235 pounds) bulled for the touchdown, and Taylor Brown -- no relation to the quarterback -- easily converted a two-point conversion.
Junior place-kicker Alex Roebken accounted for Mogadore's first-half points when he kicked field goals of 39 and 37 yards into the wind.
His second field goal came after junior Zach Heigelmann blocked a Shadyside punt, giving the Wildcats the ball at the Shadyside 9. They failed to get to the end zone after a Chance fumble on what looked like a promising option play lost 14 yards.
Shadyside capitalized on a Mogadore fumble when D.J. Shoemaker stripped the ball from Schrack during a sack in the second quarter, and Taylor Brown picked up the fumble and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.
Sedinger gave Shadyside a 21-6 lead on a 10-yard run in the third quarter after the Wildcats were called for one of three personal fouls on a punt return that gave the Tigers possession at the Mogadore 19.
Brown completed the 21-point spurt when he threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Duda with 2:23 left in the third.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com; 216-999-5169