by The 1 seeded Perry Pirates matched up against the 2 seeded Glenville Tarblooders in the OHSAA Region 13 division 4 final where the Tarblooders took home the victory by a score of 35-7. I asked coach Ted Ginn Sr. of Glenville before the game what the gameplan was to getting off to a hot start after starting slow in last weeks win. He answered “We just gotta be us. Sometimes when you try to start fast, you try too hard to not make mistakes, causing you to make them and start slow.” He continued ” We just gotta be us and go out there and do our thing.” And that is exactly what they did. The Tarblooder exploded out of the gate and looked unstoppable in the first half, putting up 28 points and over 230 yards of offense. The defense also looked stellar throughout the game as they did not allow an offensive score and let up just over 100 yards over the course of the game. They look hungry to add another state championship to their trophy case.
Glenville elected to differ after winning the toss, sending out their star studded defense to open the game. The Pirates offense looked strong to open however. They picked up a few first downs before the Tarblooders defense had enough. Linebacker Cincere Johnson applied pressure on a third down, forcing an incompletion, and a punt to follow.
After a nice return the Tarblooders were set up around mid field for their first possession. They looked like their second half selves from last week as they drove right down the field to start this one. Running back Rommel Phillips picked up a huge 30 yard gain to get his team set up in the redzone. From there his half back tandem Chris Newell Jr took in the score from 5 yards out. After the PAT Glenville went up 7-0 with just under 5 minutes left in the first quarter.
On their next offensive drive, the Pirates would be reassured that Buckeye commit Cincere Johnson was a big problem. Johnson put together a tackle for loss and a near interception on the 3 and out drive from Perry.
Glenville started off in good field position once again, and they continued to look impressive. They looked to maybe be slowing down after a quick 3 and out, but they took it to the air on 4th down. Quarterback Arvell Nelson found a receiver 10 yards down field to keep the drive going, They then dinked and dunked down the field to get inside the 10 yard line. Newell Jr took another handoff, this time from 8 yards out and punched it in for his second score of the game. This put the Tarblooders up 14-0 to open the second quarter.
Desperate to stop the bleeding, the Pirates line up to return the kick after the score. Sophomore Traxton Richards was the deep man and he muffed the kick. It bounced a few times before he picked it back up and he wasted no time to get on the move. He found a hole down the middle and busted it to the outside with only the kicker to beat. He barely escaped a shoestring tackle and gave his team life with a miraculous return to make the game 14-7 with 11:30 left in the first half.
The Tarblooders got the ball back after the return and this drive they showed off the last edition to their 3 headed monster at running back. Senior Da’von McDougle tallied up 56 yards on 5 carries on this 80 yard scoring drive. They took it all the way down to the 1 yard line, where on 3rd down Newell took in his 3rd touchdown of the first half to make it 21-7.
After another dominant drive defensively from Glenville, their offense started around mid field after a 3 and out punt. On the first play of the drive Nelson dropped back to pass. He surveyed the field and found senior receiver Joseph Saffold wide open down the sideline. He threw him in stride and Saffold walked into the endzone to extend the lead to 28-7.
The first half would finish with that score after some short drives from both teams. It was safe to say that the Tarblooders flipped the script from last week as they came out blazing hot in this one. They went 4 for 5 on touchdown drives in the first half and picked up 232 yards of offense against a strong Perry defense. The opposite side of the ball was much the same for the Tarblooders. They gave up 2 first downs and 52 total yards of offense from the Pirates. Cincere Johnson, Kaylon Bailey, Jordan johnson and Dion’dre Tarloy are just some of the guys who were flying around for the Glenville defense in the first half.
The Tarblooders started the 2nd half with the ball and they continued to look unstoppable. After some nice runs and a 4th down pick up through the air, they ended up inside the redzone. Nelson dropped back and found senior Pauly Sadler for a 16 yard touchdown pass. They went up 35-7 after the 3 minute, 9 play drive.
The Pirates offense took the field after the score, really needing to score on this drive to keep themselves in the game. They quickly found themselves with a 4th down and where the pass was broken up by senior corner Jordin Johnson, giving their offense the ball back.
The rest of the 3rd quarter consisted of the Tarblooders continuing to dominate on defense, while the offense ran the clock. Glenville missed a field goal and had a turnover on downs late in the quarter, while the Pirates offense continued to not have answers for the Tarblooder defense. Perry looked to be moving for the first time at the end of the 3rd quarter, but a monster sack from Cincere Johnson put an end to their drive.
The 4th quarter continued the slow play as the game had been decided from what felt like the end of the first half. Both teams ran the clock out resulting in Glenville winning the OHSAA region 13 division 4 championship by a score of 35-7.
The Tarblooders move into the Division 4 Semifinal as they will play the Indian Valley Braves for a chance to play in the Division 4 State Championship. As for the Pirates they end a great season and look to be back again next year.
