by PIQUA, OH– With the Springfield Wildcats falling down seven at the start of the fourth quarter, big time plays down the stretch were a must. Both sides of the ball got it done with their season on the brink, sending Springfield back to the Division-I State Championship in Canton next week.
Archbishop Moeller had some chances to regain momentum but they unfortunately come up short to the Wildcats in consecutive State Semifinals. The Fighting Crusaders lost a gut-wrenching 22-21 contest last season.
Heading into the final 12 minutes, the Fighting Crusaders had to boot the ball back to the Wildcats. An area that troubled Springfield was ball security. In total they had five fumbles and lost three of them, with one coming on the punt.
The football took a bounce into a Wildcat returner and Moeller pounced on it at the 13-yard line. On the next sequence, bell-cow running back Jordan Marshall polished off the golden opportunity to go up 21-14 only 22 seconds into the quarter.
If there was one theme surrounding this game it would be resiliency. Despite all of Springfield’s mistakes they were right with Moeller the whole way. That never-quit attitude persevered on the ensuing drive with Dayton Bradley hauling back-to-back catches of 14 and 15. That set up Shawn Thigpen for an eight-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer.
Plaguing the Crusaders were penalties. A holding call retraced their steps to the Springfield 33-yard line which ultimately hampered the possession. For the first and only field goal attempt of the game, Drew Mitchell got it up and barely over the upright from 42 yards out, handing the lead back to Moeller, 24-21.
Schondelmyer and the rest of the offense had to respond and they did so in a matter of 28 seconds. From their own 35, Thigpen bobbled a pass near the sideline but was able to get a foot down and secure the football and move the chains into Crusader territory.
Moeller’s secondary had done a strong job at not allowing too many chunk plays or touchdowns for that matter throughout year. In fact, opposing quarterbacks have averaged 153 yards per game and just 16 touchdowns. Schondelmyer scored four through the air tonight and tossed zero interceptions.
16 passes have been picked by the Crusaders but they could not get any in the crunch time. Anthony Brown found himself all by himself running down the Wildcat sideline for a 48-yard pitch and catch.
Now down four, it was the Crusaders turn to respond. A nine-yard power run by Marshall on third down presented a fourth and one. In perhaps the game-deciding play, Marshall’s number was not called. Instead, Tennel Bryant, who struggled all night, got the ball on a jet sweep and lost five yards.
Bryant had one catch for three yards and two carries for -10 yards to end his high school career.
It was a controversial play-call since Marshall had been shouldering the load with all three touchdowns. He paired that with 27 rushes and 178 yards from scrimmage.
In the early going, he punished defenders in the gaps by bulldozing over most challengers trying to bring down the lean, 198-pound tailback.
Archbishop Moeller had one more crack at it with 2:42 to go. However, Conlan Daniel tossed an interception to Jackson Heims on the first play of the drive following a great defensive stand. The final dagger was a 28-yard carry by Jayvin Norman, who fell down inside the 10 to let the clock run out.
UP NEXT
Springfield will head back to Canton for the second straight year. They will face off with St. Edward in the title game yet again. They will look to avenge their 23-13 defeat. Archbishop Moeller ends another great campaign in the State Semifinal with a 13-2 record.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Springfield Wildcats: QB Bryce Schondelmyer- 16/28 191 YDS 4 TD, 5 RUSH 38 YDS
Great article and I’m still trying to figure out how Schondelmyer is not a finalist for Mr. Football?! Can someone explain that to me?!
I agree that Schondelmyer should be a Mr. Football finalist. Schondelmyer has the same amount of td passes on the year as Joe Burrow (47) had and has more yards passing than Joe ever had and this is in D1. If you look at record leaders (passing yards or tds) on ohsaa you’ll find Shondelmyer on the top of the list when they update the stats.