Photo by Seth Staskey Shadyside senior Wyatt Reiman runs away from a pair of Newark Catholic defenders Saturday night in a Division VII, Region 27 championship game.

NEW PHILADELPHIA — Shadyside doesn’t have to go too far back in its history to find a game in which the momentum and tide turned in the second half and never relented.

Prior to Saturday night, however, the Tigers, and their droves of fans who came to Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium for the Division VII, Region 27 championship game against Newark Catholic, may have to think a little bit harder as to when a game like that went against them.

Coming off a sterling second-half performance to advance past River last week, the Tigers fell victim to the same type of game this time around.

Shadyside went into the locker room with a 20-14 half-time lead, but the Green Wave seemingly turned it up a notch, capitalized on turnovers, hit some big plays in the passing game and scored three unanswered touchdowns en route to a 35-20 victory.

“You make some mistakes against good teams, whether it’s a thrown ball, fumble, penalty or something else and good teams are going to capitalize on it,” Shadyside head coach Mark Holenka said. “That’s what happened to us. Credit to Newark Catholic. I am not sure they forced us into all of those mistakes because some were self-induced, but mistakes will eventually beat you.”

The win sends Newark Catholic to next weekend’s state semifinal against Warren JFK, while the Tigers see their season end with the region’s silver trophy for the sixth time since 2010. Shadyside finished 11-2 with the OVAC 2A and MOVL titles.

“I am proud of this team because even though we lost this game, (Newark Catholic) knew and we all knew we could play with them,” Holenka said. “I hope these seniors, and this whole team, holds their heads up high. We didn’t accomplish the biggest goals out there, but we accomplished a lot of other goals that many other teams didn’t accomplish.”

The Shadyside list of mistakes included three second-half interceptions. The biggest occurred on first drive of the second half when talented junior Mason Hackett went under a route, picked off the pass and ran it back 44 yards for the touchdown. The ensuing PAT by senior Warren Knowlton gave the Green Wave the 21-20 lead.

On top of those turnovers, Shadyside was victimized by a couple of defensive breakdowns that led to Cole Canter touchdown passes of 36 and 56 yards in the second half, which pushed the game out of reach.

“They beat us on a wheel route and the switch, but when you get beat (for a touchdown pass), it’s a combination of things,” Holenka said. “It’s a team game and I am not going to point fingers at anyone because without these young men, we would have never been on the ride.”

Shadyside played very well in the first half, especially in the first quarter. Every time Newark Catholic made a play, the Tigers had an answer.

After the Green Wave struck first, the Tigers responded when senior Mason VanNest fielded the kickoff at his 12, weaved through some traffic and was gone for an 88-yard touchdown.

Two plays later, the Tigers were back on the board when senior Korey Beckett reeled in a deflected pass and raced it back 40 yards for a pick six of his own. Wyatt Reiman, who was once again a handful on both sides of the ball, sprinted in for the 2-point conversion.

Even after the Green Wave seemed to settle down and stopped their bleeding with a 15-yard touchdown pass from senior Cole Canter to classmate Tristan Gorius, Shadyside had another answer.

Reiman found the end zone from 4 yards out. The run for two failed, leaving the score at 20-14.

The Tigers missed on a golden opportunity to add to their lead in the middle of the second quarter. Senior Ryan Florence, who Newark Catholic simply had no answer for along the defensive line all night long, got a strip-sack of Canter inside the Wave’s 5-yard line. A Tiger player, however, whiffed on the ball as it bounced off the turf and Newark Catholic recovered to retain possession and eventually punted.

“We played well in the first half, but you get greedy because there was a touchdown in our hands down there (on that fumble),” Holenka said. “If it’s not a touchdown, at least we’re down there close (to the goal line).”

Reiman, who rushed for 166 yards on 26 carries, finished his brilliant campaign with 1,765 yards and 29 touchdowns. All told, he scored 253 points, which is the 28th best total in Ohio history.

Beckett, who faced a lot of pressure from the Wave, completed 10 of 24 passes for 82 yards.