See a photo gallery from the game here. MASSILLON — Talk about finishing.
See a photo gallery from the game here.
MASSILLON — Talk about finishing.
What a finale.
"Finish" has been the rallying cry at Maple Heights since it lost in last year's state football final. Despite a horrendous start to Friday's Division II state championship game, the Mustangs closed with a flourish to beat Trotwood Madison, 45-33, in front of 3,987 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The state championship is Maple Heights' first in football and the school's first since legendary wrestling coach Mike Milkovich won his 10th and final title in 1974.
Maple Heights (15-0), which lost to Winton Woods by 30 points in 2009, is the first Division II team to win a football championship a year after being the runner-up.
Maple Heights trailed, 13-0 and 26-7, then scored on six consecutive possessions while getting two key defensive stops in the fourth quarter.
"Last year, I felt we gave up in the state championship game. This is a totally different team," quarterback Shaq Washington said.
Washington, as he has done for two years, led the way. The Cincinnati recruit threw three touchdown passes in the first half and scored four rushing touchdowns in the second half, tying a Division II record for rushing TDs.
Washington (5-9, 170), who has always played bigger than his frame, ran the football on Maple Heights' final 19 plays.
In the end, his toughness was matched by his flamboyance.
Following his final snap, he stripped to his waste in the north end zone and hopped over to the Maple Heights cheering section to show off a new chest tattoo that reads "Mr. Maple Heights" from shoulder to shoulder and "216" on his pectorals, which is Maple Heights' area code.
"That's cool," tackle Donovan Garner said, chuckling. "He is the leader of this team. Got to give him his props."
As it would happen, 216 also was Washington's number of yards passing, completing 11 of 19 attempts. He finished with 174 yards rushing -- 148 in the second half.
"When we get the ball in our hands, we will live and die with Shaq Washington every single time," coach Todd Filtz said.
Washington fulfilled a promise he made in the early weeks of the 2009 season, back when no one outside the East Side suburb had even heard of him. He said then this talented group would win a state title.
"I've played with this team since seventh grade," said Washington, who attended Glenville in Cleveland for three months in 2008. "We knew we had one of the best teams around and we proved it today."
Wideout Andre Stubbs, a 5-5 senior, caught seven passes for 170 yards, a Division II record. He scored two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder that sparked the comeback late in the first half.
Maple Heights finished with 406 yards offense, and it needed 44 plays covering 355 yards to dig itself out of a 13-0 hole in the game's opening moments. Washington's 2-yard touchdown run gave the Mustangs a 37-33 lead to complete the comeback with 9:41 remaining in the game.
None of it would have mattered had the Mustangs not stopped Trotwood Madison on fourth-and-2 at the 3-yard line in the second quarter, and on the Rams' first two drives in the fourth quarter.
"If we didn't make those stops, we probably would not be celebrating right now," Garner said.
The game did not start well for Washington. After Trotwood scored on the opening possession, he fumbled his first snap, which led to another Rams TD and the 13-0 deficit.
DeVonte' Ransom returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards, setting up a 3-yard TD pass from Washington to Dana Day, but Trotwood scored the next two TDs.
Washington threw two touchdown passes to Stubbs before halftime, cutting the margin to 26-19.
Maple opened the second half with a 51-yard scoring drive. Stubbs converted a third down with a 14-yard catch at the 9, and Washington ran it in on the next play. Kadeem Clark's extra-point was blocked, his third straight miss, preserving Trotwood's 26-25 lead.
Trotwood answered for the last time with a 17-yard TD pass from Marcus Graham to Wisconsin recruit A.J. Jordan for a 33-25 lead in the third quarter.
Washington capped the next three drives with TD runs of 4, 2, and 9 yards.
"It couldn't have happened in any better way," Filtz said. "We were told all year we couldn't do it because we had to replace the offensive line. We were told our schedule was too weak. We were probably told when we were down, 26-7, we couldn't win. But guess what, we came back, we're state champions and it was a perfect season."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: twarsinskey@plaind.com, 216-999-4661