by CANTON, OH – Bishop Watterson captured the OHSAA Division III State Championship with a thrilling last second come from behind 19-14 victory over Toledo Central Catholic. They responded from a slow start to score all 19 of their points in the final 13 minutes of the game. This was a rematch of last years Division State Championship game when Toledo topped them.
Drew Bellsari wasn’t called on to do too much with is arm, but came through when he had too as he went 5 of 9 for 88 yards and a massive 52-yard touchdown pass. He did damage with his legs as well, rushing for 66 yards on 13 carries including the game winning 9-yard touchdown run. The top rusher for the Eagles was Zack Weber with 136 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
After both teams went three and out to start the game, the Fighting Irish took advantage of a short field when they took over at their own 48-yard line. They went 52 yards in 8 plays while converting on a fourth and goal from the 4-yard line. The touchdown coming on a 4-yard run from sophomore quarterback Ali Beydoun on a scramble. The play was reviewed but found to be correct as it handed the Fighting Irish a 7-0 lead with 3:58 to play in the first quarter. The quarter ended by that same score.
Midway through the second, the Fighting Irish had a nice drive put together, extending over 9 plays for 46 yards when it was halted when Beydoun was picked off. The Eagles couldn’t score off the interception and had to eventually punt the ball back to the Irish.
The fighting Irish used the opening drive of the second half to soak up 6:39 off the clock going 12 plays for 62 yards, but once again turned it over on downs and couldn’t convert it into points. It took a while, but Bishop Watterson finally got on the board when Zack Webber took it up the middle 28 yards to score, tying the game at 7 with 1:06 left to play in the third quarter.
The Fighting Irish didn’t blink as Jermiah Farmer took the next kickoff 87 yards to the house to reclaim the lead for Toledo Central Catholic 14-7 with :51 left in the third quarter. It was a quick momentum change before the Eagles could even celebrate.
Early into the fourth quarter, the Eagles faced a fourth and short near midfield and went for it as they came up with a 52-yard touchdown pass completion to Theado to score. It was their first pass completion all day for Bellisari, but came at the perfect time. They missed the extra point however, and trailed the Fighting Irish 14-13 with 10:04 to play.
The Eagles got one more chance at it and made it count with a beautiful 15 play, 80-yard touchdown drive that soaked up 5:48 off the clock and resulted in a Bellisari 9-yard score. This remarkable push put them ahead 19-14 with 1:29 to play in the game. They hung on for the win from there!
