COLUMBUS – Coldwater and Canton Central Catholic met Friday in a rematch of last year’s Division V state title game.
It was a repeat result for Coldwater.
Coldwater exploded in the second half, pulling away from Central Catholic for a 35-18 victory. It is the fourth straight state championship for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers finished the season 15-0. Overall, Coldwater is 65-15 in its playoff history after its sixth state championship.
The first half was tight. While the Coldwater offense was still warming up, its defense did the heavy lifting in the opening half by forcing three turnovers.
Kraig Schoenherr had a rushing touchdown while Aaron Harlamert pulled in a 16-yard pass from Jack Hemmelgarn for the other Coldwater score. The Cavs led 13-3 at halftime.
As often happens, Coldwater broke the game open in the second half. The Cavaliers took the opening drive of the second half 71 yards in 14 plays. Hemmelgarn found Kyle Mckibben for a 33-yard touchdown to end the drive.
After a Central Catholic three-and-out, Coldwater engineered another scoring drive. This time, it took 7 plays and 2:43 to traverse 63 yards. Hemmelgarn found Harlamert again for a 33-yard touchdown. Coldwater led 27-3 with 2:24 left in the third.
Central Catholic tried to keep the game within reach. Dan Platek found John Colangelo over the middle. Colangelo ran away from everybody for a 74-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion made it 27-11 Coldwater.
By this point, the Coldwater offense was firing on all cylinders. Schoenherr ended a 10-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:36 left in the fourth. A double-pass for two points pushed the Coldwater lead to 35-11 and all but ended the game.
Hemmelgarn completed 18 of 27 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns. Harlamert was his top target, pulling in 7 passes for 142 yards and both touchdowns.
Schoenherr had 3 catches for 80 yards while also carrying the ball 20 times for 73 yards.
Platek finished with 6 of 16 passing for 118 yards and a touchdown for Central Catholic. Justin Ditty had 67 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. Colangelo was the top receiver with 84 yards.
The Division V final was the first game of the day at Ohio Stadium. The Division VII game and Division II games will round out play on day two of the three-day championship weekend.
Summary
OHSAA Division V State Championship
Friday, Dec. 4, 2015
@ Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Coldwater 35, Canton Central Catholic 18
Ca…0.3.8.7…18
Co…7.6.14.8…35
1st Quarter
Co – Kraig Schoenherr 2-yard run (Kyle Mckibben kick) 6:39
2nd Quarter
Ca – Dan Mills 40-yard field goal 11:53
Co – Aaron Harlamert 16-yard pass from Jack Hemmelgarn (kick failed) 10:40
3rd Quarter
Co – Chris Post 2-yard run (Mckibben kick) 6:48
Co – Harlamert 33-yard pass from Hemmelgarn (Mckibben kick) 2:24
Ca – John Colangelo 74-yard pass from Dan Platek (Luke Stuffel kick) 2:02
4th Quarter
Co – Schoenherr 4-yard run (Harlamert to Hemmelgarn pass) 9:36
Ca – Justin Ditty 8-yard run (Mills kick) 1:40
Team Stats
PLAYS: Ca 53; Co 63. FIRST DOWNS: Ca 15; Co 16. RUSHING-YARDS: Ca 37-189; Co 36-88. PASSING YARDS: Ca 118; Co 287. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: Ca 6-16-2; Co 18-27-2. TOTAL YARDS: Ca 307; Co 375. PENALTIES-YARDS: Ca 1-12; Co 4-31. FUMBLES-LOST: Ca 1-1; Co. 2-1. TIME OF POSSESSION: Ca 21:03; Co 26:57.
Individual Stats
Rushing (carries-yards): Ca Justin Ditty 13-67 TD; Jack Murphy 5-51; John Colangelo 8-39; Dan Platek 11-32. Co Kraig Schoenherr 20-73 2 TDs; Cory Selhorst 3-11; Chris Post 3-6; Neal Muhlenkamp 1-5; Dylan Thobe 2-2; Brad Giere 1-2; Jack Hemmelgarn 3-(-1); Aaron Harlamert 1-(-3).
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): Ca Platek 6-16-2 118 yards TD. Co Hemmelgarn 18-27-0 287 2 TDs.
Receiving (catches-yards): Ca Colangelo 2-84 TD; Ditty 2-14; Murphy 1-11; Luke Stuffel 1-9. Co Harlamert 7-142 2 TDs; Schoenherr 3-80; Zach Homan 3-16; Kyle Mckibben 2-38; Muhlenkamp 2-10; Post 1-1.