Tigers Fall In Regional Final
Trending
NEWARK -- Newark Catholic and Shadyside punched each other in the mouth early on Friday night, but then the defenses tightened up and scoring was at a premium. As happens in big games, special teams plays a key role in determining the outcome.
The fifth-seeded Greenwave (7-3) used a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Auer with 6:01 left to play for a hard-earned, 10-7, triumph over No. 7 Shadyside (6-4) in the Division VII, Region 27 championship game on the artificial surface at White Field. The senior's season-long kick followed a weird series of events and lifted the hosts to the state semifinals against Warren JFK, which blanked Lucas, 21-0, last night.
"It was a good game … back and forth," Shadyside head coach Mark Holenka said. "It's unbelievable that that the fumble was right there. We get it called our way and then it slid out (and they recovered). They wouldn't have kicked that field goal. That shows you the man upstairs must not have wanted us to win."
Holenka was referring to a 2nd-and-16 play when Newark Catholic quarterback Cole Canter was sacked and the ball came loose. A Shadyside defender appeared to have pounced on the leather, and an official signaled that way. However, after a brief discussion, it was ruled the Greenwave had retained possession but lost 12 yards on the play. An illegal shift made it 3rd-and-33 from the Shadyside 40, but the Tigers were called for pass interference that advanced the ball to the 25. A 2-yard run by Kyle Langenbrunner preceded the field goal.
Shadyside got the ball back twice in the waning moments, but the first drive ended with a three-and-out, while the second was thwarted by an interception.
"I tip my hat to this crew. Nobody thought we would be here (the regional championship game)," Holenka said after an 0-2 start. "We have tremendous coaches and tremendous young men. There's a reason why we've been here this many times. It's a testament to them."
The Tigers are now 4-8 all-time in regional title tilts. Their last regional championship came in 2010 when the Tigers defeated Bridgeport at Red Devil Stadium in St. Clairsville.
Shadyside won the opening coin toss and elected to defer until the second half. Newark Catholic took the ball and marched 75 yards on five plays as Langenbrunner swept around his left end from 5 yards out to cap the 1:27 drive. Auer's placement was good for a 7-0 lead. It was Langenbrunner's 34-yard run on the second play of the game that keyed the march.
The Tigers were pinned back to their 8 after the ensuing kickoff. However, they responded with a drive for the ages. They went 92 yards (112 if you count two 10-yard holding penalties) on 23 plays and chewed up 10:21 of clock time. Workhorse tailback Wyatt Reiman dove over from 2 yards out. Mason VanNest's PAT tied it at 7 with 2.4 seconds left on the first-quarter clock.
Shadyside converted 6 of 7 third down attempts on the time-consuming drive and moved the sticks on fourth down the time they didn't.
The second quarter was a punting match between Canter and VanNest. They punted twice each before VanNest went high into the air to pick off a Canter pass near midfield with a little more than a minute left in the half.
Rhys Francis intercepted a pass early in the third quarter but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Tigers moved them back to their own 10.
They eventually punted and Tanner Elwell, who had trouble fielding punts all night, bobbled the ball before picking it up and finding a convoy of blockers down the near sidelines. He went 52 yards for a touchdown, but an unnecessary block-in-the-back flag brought the ball back to the Tigers' 40.
A 4th-and-1 run from the 15 was stuffed by the interior of the Shadyside defensive line, but after collecting three first downs, the Tigers were forced to punt.
Two plays later, freshman linebacker Andrew Osman gave the Tigers the ball back when he recovered a fumble. However, on Shadyside's second offensive snap, Ryan Poly stepped in front of a Francis pass and returned it to the Tigers' 17.
"Even when we were on the field with them, we played with them," Holenka said of his team's effort. "It wasn't that we wanted to keep them off the field. Late there in the game our defense had to step up and they did to force that field goal.
"Our defense played super. Sometimes you get caught by the opponents speed because your scout team at a small school like ours can't replicate that. Once we were able to adjust, they did a heckuva job."
Newark Catholic held a slim, 203-199, advantage in total yards. Langenbrunner carried 22 times for 157 yards. Reiman finished with 24 attempts for 71 yards.
The Tigers were flagged nine times for 90 yards while the Greenwave drew five flags for 35.
Shadyside is now 0-6 all-time against Newark Catholic.
Ohio Division VII, Region 27 Championship
(at White Field, Newark)
Newark Catholic 10, Shadyside 7
Shadyside 7 0 0 0 -- 7
Newark Catholic 7 0 0 3 -- 10
N -- Langenbrunner 5 run (Auer kick)
S -- Reiman 2 run (VanNest kick)
N -- Auer 40 FG
Rushing: Shadyside 44-136-td (Reiman 24-71-td, Francis 12-37, VanNest 2-15, Visnic 6-13). Newark Catholic 31-155-td (Langenbrunner 22-157-td, Mummey 1-7, Hess 1-4, Gorius 1-0, Buchanan 1-(-6), Canter 5-(-7).
Passing: Shadyside 7-13-63-2x (all by Francis). Newark Catholic 3-8-48-2ints (all by Canter).
Receiving: Shadyside 7-63 (J. Joseph 2-21, VanNest 2-21, Ka. Tsoras 1-16, Reiman 1-7, Visnic 1-(-2).
First Downs: Shadyside 11. Newark Catholic 9.
Penalties: Shadyside 9-90. Newark Catholic 5-35.
Fumbles: Shadyside 0-0. Newark Catholic 5-1.