Every weekend in the fall, thousands of high school football times line up and take their shot at prep glory. The Sunday morning Prep Tracker is your final stop for the names, numbers and scores that mattered to Ohio State's recruiting efforts.
INCREDIBLE SEASON, CAREER COMES TO DISAPPOINTING END FOR BURROW
The numbers are silly. 69 total touchdowns. Over 5,100 total yards. Joe Burrow has had a senior season has been nothing short of incredible. The one number that is likely to haunt Burrow, at least for now, is 14-1. His Bulldogs, lining up against a Toledo Central Catholic team that was bigger, faster and two or three times as deep, fell just short in the Division III state championship game on Thursday night, losing 56-52.
The Irish bullied Athens with a power running game that amassed over 500 yards, and at each turn Burrow and his team responded, each team driving up and down the field for almost four hours. Central, who has now won two of the last three state titles, relied heavily on the legs of sophomore Michael Warren, Jr. and senior quarterback Marcus Winters. The Bulldogs took a 52-49 lead with just under three minutes to play when the Irish went back to work. A methodical, tumultuous game-winning drive ensued. On three separate occasions Central went for — and converted — fourth-downs to keep themselves in the game, including a 4th-and-1 from the Athens nine-yard line with 23 seconds left on the clock. The Irish could have kicked a game-tying 26-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, but instead it was Winters who went off left tackle for the game-clinching touchdown.
Central's 2016 linebacker Zach Sandwisch and 2017 defensive end James Hudson — who was the talk of the game from a recruiting standpoint — were in the Athens backfield all night. The 6-foot-2, 220 pound Sandwisch broke his hand in the contest but played through it, harassing Burrow and hitting him more than he'd been hit all year. Still, the future Buckeye quarterback showed incredible poise and composure in the pocket, bouncing back from each big hit with a big play of his own. This was a game where the cliché "it's too bad someone had to lose" was absolutely true.
LARKIN, LA SALLE RUN OVER NORDONIA
Nordonia and Ohio State commitment Denzel Ward entered Friday night's Division II state title tilt 14-0, rolling through their competition with an explosive offense and an opportunistic defense, buoyed by timely turnovers. La Salle, 13-1, had relied heavily on Mr. Football finalist Jeremy Larkin most of the year and did nothing different en route to a 55-20 win against the Knights of Nordonia.
"It's disappointing," Ward told Eleven Warriors. "We definitely wanted to earn a ring. We just couldn't stop the run. We were in position to finish plays and we'd miss a tackle and then break out a big play. They might've thrown it five times."
Larkin, a junior for the Lancers, had over 100 yards rushing in the first half and scored twice. Ward, playing in his future stadium, was active on offense himself, collecting 100 yards total offense, mostly in the first half.
BAKER, LAYNE LEAD BENEDICTINE TO TITLE WIN
Jerome Baker scored two touchdowns, including a game-winner in the fourth quarter, as the Benedictine Bengals knocked off Kettering Alter 21-14 to win the Division IV state championship.
The Bengals (14-1) controlled much of the first half, coming out of the gate fast and taking a 14-0 lead on the strength of a Baker touchdown run and a 49-yard pick six by junior Justin Layne. The Alter offense found a little rhythm in the second and third quarters, evening out the score at 14 through three quarters. Then, Baker — committed to Ohio State — found Layne for a big 36-yard completion early in the final quarter, a play that pushed Alter's defense to the brink. Baker, from the wildcat formation, scored a 14-yard touchdown with 10:45 remaining in the game to clinch the school's seventh state championship.
GIBSON ADVANCES TO STATE TITLE GAME
On a rainy night in Florida, Torrance Gibson knows he didn't play his best game. The bottom line though is that Gibson and his American Heritage Patriot teammates won their ninth straight playoff game and have advanced to the state title game next weekend. Gibson, with the rain impacting his passing, finished just 2-10 through the air, but he accounted for both of his team's touchdowns on the ground in the second quarter, giving his team a 17-7 halftime lead.
Bishop Moore (Orlando) fought back and tied the game
"People are saying I played the worst game of my career," Gibson told 11W. "I didn't play my best."
Still, Gibson has a chance to become a state champion for the second straight year. His focus now is to remove the taste of Friday night's struggles from his mouth and get another ring. The Patriots will face Tallahassee Godby High School next Friday.
"I have to keep my composure and play within our scheme," Gibson said. "I think we can (win another title). We have to limit mental mistakes, myself included. There's a lot to work on for Monday."
