Monday, December 5th, 2016
Crusaders end Cavaliers' title run
Division V State Championship Game
By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater head coach Chip Otten, center, and Cavalier senior football players watch as Canton Central Catholic receives the Division V state championship trophy after the Crusaders won 16-13 on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
COLUMBUS - Just when it looked like Coldwater did enough to bring home another state championship, Canton Central Catholic came up with the big plays.
Tee Rupp's 55-yard touchdown reception with 58 seconds left in the game snapped the Crusaders' two-year losing streak to the Cavaliers in the Division V state championship game with a 16-13 win on Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.
Canton Central Catholic, which had lost to Coldwater in the previous two title games by a margin of 97-39, claimed its third state title in school history and first since 2000 in finishing 11-3.
The Cavaliers (13-2) saw their run of state championship victories ended at four in taking home the runner-up trophy for the sixth time in school history.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate Coldwater on a great season," CCC coach Jeff Lindesmith said. "We said all week long if you're going to beat Coldwater, something special was going to have to happen. You have to keep after them. They're a team that I've known for a long, long time. They never die."
"Certainly, if you're a fan, that's the game you want to see," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. "Lot of good plays. Lot of big plays. Unfortunately, there were some missed opportunities for us. Real proud of our guys. It went down to the wire.
"It's been a good respectful rivalry that last three years," Otten continued. "Good respect for (CCC). Good kids. Coach Lindesmith has done a good job."
The first half was a defensive battle. Coldwater was able to get near its end zone but was shut out on three straight series. With regular kicker Neal Muhlenkamp limited on offense and defense, Dylan Thobe tried a 28-yard field goal on the Cavaliers' first series but was short. Coldwater's second series stalled at the Crusader 17 when Thobe's fourth-and-10 pass to Nate Rindler was incomplete. The final drive for the Cavaliers got inside the 10 thanks to a Crusader personal foul. A false start and a loss of two yards put the Cavaliers back at the 15, where Thobe was picked off by Harris Stuffel.
"That's frustrating," said Otten of the trouble scoring. "We've had a good run the last 6-7 weeks finishing drives. We didn't do it."
"Our defense in the first half was enormous," Lindesmith said. "They were inside the 35 (yard line) two or three times and had a missed field goal."
The Cavaliers shut down the Crusaders on their first three possessions. They forced punts on the first two. The other ended when Andrew Siefring and Ryan Knapke teamed up to sack CCC quarterback Jack Murphy on a fourth-and-14 from the Cavalier 34.
On the final posssession of the half, Murphy led the Crusaders on a scoring drive. Murphy converted two third downs on a 10-play drive that got to the Cavalier 21, but a sack and fumble put the Crusaders at the Coldwater 31 with six seconds left. Dan Mills, the Crusaders' all-state kicker, booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired to make it 3-0 at the half. The field goal broke the Division V title game record for longest field goal.
Going on offense to start the third quarter, Coldwater tried to get something going on its opening possession after starting on its own 15-yard line, but the CCC defense was still feeling the momentum as Tee Rupp picked off Thobe and gave the Crusaders a short field to work with on the Cav 27. Murphy turned the turnover into six points, hitting Cameron Ruffin for a 12-yard touchdown strike with 7:09 left in the third quarter. Mills' PAT was missed to make it 9-0 Crusaders as the Coldwater coaches looked to find something to get the Cavalier offense sparked.
"We had a little momentum and came out and hit a big pass after stopping them," Lindesmith said. "(But) you could see that Coldwater was going to flex their muscles."
The Cavaliers came back firing on their next drive. Thobe drove Coldwater 60 yards over seven plays and finished with a 22-yard pass to Muhlenkamp to make it 9-7 after Thobe made the PAT.
Pumped up by the score, the Coldwater defense shut down CCC on the ensuing drive and forced a punt, but was unable to move the ball and had to punt.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers scored the go-ahead touchdown. Thobe converted a fourth-and-two from the Crusader 40 with a four-yard run and then hit Zach Klosterman for a seven-yard pass. Thobe missed Klosterman near the end zone but caught a break when CCC was called for pass interference, setting up the Cavaliers with a first-and-10 at the CCC 12. Thobe pushed Coldwater inside the five and then ran in the final four yards to put Coldwater in front. The Cavaliers tried for two, but the pass to Klosterman was no good to make it 13-9 with 8:31 left in regulation.
"At the beginning of the game, you could tell I was a little nervous," Thobe said. "Second half, I calmed down a little bit."
CCC went three-and-out on its next drive while Coldwater moved the ball to its 45 while taking time off the clock. Thobe hit a perfect punt that was downed at the Crusader eight-yard line with just 2:49 left in regulation.
"It felt like we finally got it under control," Otten said. "We had a great punt down to the 10."
Murphy went to work. After two incompletions and a three-yard run, Murphy converted on fourth down with an eight-yard strike to Rupp. The Crusaders methodically moved the ball towards midfield, but the Cavaliers appeared to have stopped the drive when Murphy was sacked by Andrew Siefring for a 14-yard loss. Facing second-and-24 from their own 30, Murphy fired a pass to Rupp that was defended well, but the Cavaliers were called for pass interference, moving the ball to the CCC 45 with 1:09 left. Murphy passed to Rupp on the sidelines, but instead of going out of bounds to stop the clock, Rupp shook off his tackler and tiptoed up the sidelines before breaking inside to avoid the defense for the final 25 yards for the touchdown. Mills' PAT made it 16-13 with 58 seconds left.
"We looked in the huddle and you could see it in everyone's eyes. We knew it was going to happen," Murphy said of the winning drive. "Our line was great. We had great receivers. Tee made a great move."
"It was originally to be a five-yard comeback. I caught the ball and was supposed to go out of bounds," Rupp said of the winning catch. "(The defender) hit me and I just kept running. I was waiting for the whistle. My teammate threw a great block downfield."
"Give it to (CCC). They had a (92-yard) drive," Otten said. "Heckuva play on that reception."
With no timeouts left, Coldwater got the ball at their 31. Thobe converted on third down with a 17-yard sideline pass to Klosterman and later hit his tight end again for a 10-yard pass on third-and-four to the CCC 34. After three incompletions, Thobe left fly a Hail Mary with time running out, but Brady Thompson picked off the pass in the end zone to end the game.
"To tell the truth, I wanted our defense on the field," Lindesmith said of the end of the game. "That's the backbone of us. They played incredible."
"We tried to get down close," Otten said. "Neal is our regular kicker but got hurt last week so we didn't have much of an opportunity at the end with a long kick."
Murphy finished 18-of-29 for 214 yards. Rupp had three catches for 73 yards and Cameron Ruffin added 72 yards on eight receptions.
Thobe closed out his football career 15-of-29 for 157 yards and rushed for 101 yards on 25 carries to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Klosterman finished with 117 receiving yards.
"Even though it didn't end the way they wanted it, it's a great experience to play here at the 'Shoe," Otten said.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater players celebrate after Dylan Thobe, 7, gets into the end zone to put Coldwater ahead 13-9 over Canton Central Catholic in the Division V state championship game. The Crusaders rallied, however, to beat the Cavaliers 16-13 to claim the championship.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Cody Giere, 52, chases down Canton Central Catholic's Brady Thompson.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Andrew Siefring, 59, grabs hold of Canton Central Catholic quarterback Jack Murphy as teammate Ryan Knapke, 44, comes in for the assist during Saturday's Division V state championship game at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Coldwater's Zach Klosterman, 98, goes up for a catch as he is defended by Canton Central Catholic's Jared Sanford, 28, and Luke Ezzo. Klosterman had eight catches for 117 yards in the Cavaliers' 16-13 loss to the Crusaders.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
The Coldwater football team brought home the runner-up trophy in the Division V state tournament Saturday morning. The Cavaliers lost the game 16-13 to Canton Central Catholic at Ohio Stadium.
