COLUMBUS – After Steubenville defeated state-ranked Clinton-Massie in week two, many people assumed the Big Red were destined to win the Division IV state championship.
Bishop Hartley had other plans.
Hartley got a Ben Hawk field goal with 4:57 remaining Saturday night to defeat Steubenville 31-28 in the Division IV state championship game.
The talented Big Red (13-1) had two opportunities to retake the lead in the final minutes.
After the field goal, Mandela Lawrence-Burke returned the kickoff 30 yards to the Big Red 46. Steubenville marched inside the Hartley 25.
Johnny Blue, who had three touchdowns on the night, carried the ball to the Hartley 23. On fourth and one, Blue got the carry again, but Rian Anderson stopped him a yard shy of the first down with 1:12 remaining.
Hartley got the ball back, but they failed to run the clock out. Thanks to two Big Red timeouts and one run out of bounds, the Hawks punted with 44 seconds remaining.
Steubenville started on its own 37, with one timeout remaining. On the first play, Collaros was picked off by Cody Kirkbride at the Steubenville 45. Hartley had clinched its third state title.
Richard Jones III led Hartley in rushing with 121 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Quri Hickman carried the ball 30 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Hawk quarterback Jake Ruby didn’t throw much, but he completed 4 of 5 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown to Anderson.
Collaros, the younger brother of former UC quarterback Zach, completed 6 of 15 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Lawrence-Burke had 54 yards receiving and a touchdown to go with 40 yards rushing.
Blue had a huge game for the Big Red. He had 24 carries for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
Hartley’s strategy was to simply keep the ball away from the vaunted Steubenville offense. Hartley had the ball for 28:52 to Steubenville’s 19:08.
In the first half, the disparity was even greater. Hartley had the ball for 9:20 in the first quarter and 9:00 in the second quarter. For 18:20 out of 24 minutes, the Hawks’ offense controlled the ball. Even so, they only led 21-14 at halftime.
The game was tied at 28 with 10:20 remaining. Hartley went on a 12-play, 44-yard drive taking 5:23 off the clock. The Hawks drove to the Big Red 23. That’s when Hawk trotted out and booted a 40-yard field goal through the uprights.
Summary
OHSAA Division IV State Championship
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015
@ Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Hartley 31, Steubenville 28
H…7.14.7.3…31
S…7.7.7.7…28
1st Quarter
H – Quri Hickman 1-yard run (Ben Hawk kick) 4:52
S – Johnny Blue 7-yard run (Mark Smith kick) 2:12
2nd Quarter
H – Hickman 1-yard run (Hawk kick) 6:16
S – Blue 1-yard run (Smith kick) 3:22
H – Rian Anderson 8-yard pass from Jake Ruby (Hawk kick) 0:06
3rd Quarter
H – Richard Jones III 64-yard run (Hawk kick) 1:50
4th Quarter
S – Mandela Lawrence-Burke 42-yard pass from Dimitri Collaros (Smith kick) 10:25
H – Hawk 40-yard field goal 4:57
Team Stats
PLAYS: H 61; S 53. FIRST DOWNS: H 17; S 17. RUSHES-YARDS: H 56-247; S 37-189. PASSING YARDS: H 51; S 123. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: H 4-5-0; S 6-16-1. TOTAL YARDS: H 298; S 312. PENALTIES-YARDS: H 3-25; S 9-56. FUMBLES-LOST: H 2-1; S 0-0. TIME OF POSSESSION: H 28:52; S 19:08.
Individual Stats
Rushing (carries-yards): H Richard Jones III 10-121 TD; Quri Hickman 31-92 2 TDs; Rian Anderson 3-14; Jake Ruby 8-11; Nick Cone 2-7; Nick Onega 1-4. S Johnny Blue 24-115 3 TDs; Mandela Lawrence-Burke 6-47; Dimitri Collaros 4-20; Jalen McGhee 3-7.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): H Ruby 4-5-0 51 yards TD. S Collaros 6-15-1 123 yards TD; Lawrence-Burke 0-1-0.
Receiving (catches-yards): H Anderson 4-51 TD. S Lawrence-Burke 2-54 TD; Niko Petrides 2-43; Anthony Zorne 1-19; Devin Ferguson 1-7.
