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Turnovers, penalties prove costly as Hoban falls to Massillon in OHSAA state championship
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- Turnovers, penalties prove costly as Hoban falls to Massillon in OHSAA state championship
CANTON — The Archbishop Hoban football team had its share of opportunities to win the Division II state championship Thursday night.
Instead, Massillon won its first state title in the OHSAA playoffs era with a 7-2 victory before a crowd of 14,846 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
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Hoban (13-2) put the ball on the field five times. The Knights recovered three of their fumbles, but a blocked punt and lost fumble proved costly as the Tigers (16-0) added a trophy to the 24 poll state titles won between 1909 and 1972.
Massillon junior Mylen Lenix scored the lone touchdown of the game in the second quarter and senior Vincent Keller made the extra point. Tigers senior Chase Bond blocked a punt to set up the TD.
Hoban junior Tanner Mintz and senior Cartier Williams combined to tackle Massillon senior quarterback DaOne Owens in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter for the Knights' lone points.
Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell expressed how proud he was of his team, and especially his seniors.
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Tyrrell also talked about how frustrating the game was as Hoban finished as Division II state runner-up for the third year in a row after winning Division III state championships in 2015 and 2016 and Division II state titles in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
"We expected what we saw [from Massillon]," Tyrrell said. "Our biggest problem was we had turnovers. You can not have turnovers. I said it all week to our team: 'If you turn the ball over, you are not going to win.' We turned the football over.
"They kept battling and going as hard as they possibly can. They gave themselves a chance to win at the end."
Massillon tried a fake punt on a fourth-and-3 at its 40-yard line, but Hoban senior defensive lineman Jordan Pritchard-Sewell tackled Tigers senior running back Shon Robinson after a 2-yard gain.
Hoban running back Caleb Jones rushes for a first down against Massillon during the Division II state championship game Nov. 30 in Canton.
Hoban took possession at the Massillon 42 with 7:33 left in the fourth quarter. Knights senior running back Caleb Jones and junior quarterback Tylan Boykin each ran for a first down on the drive.
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Boykin nearly threw a game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-8 from the Massillon 17-yard line, but sophomore wide receiver Jackson Callaway couldn't haul in the pass as Tigers senior Dorian Pringle defended with 1:22 left.
"Juice did a great job of scrambling and hitting the wide receiver," Tyrrell said. "You gotta make those plays."
Massillon ran out the clock as Owens kneeled on the ball twice.
"The game of football is just, not to sound too cliché, but it's a game of inches and we just didn't get those inches today," Tyrrell said. "We were able to do what we needed to do. We just couldn't capitalize on things and just from the first play of the game to the very last, we just didn't make the play that we needed to.
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"... We had an ability to win the game. We just didn't make that play."
Hoban cornerback Elbert Hill has seen an already busy recruiting schedule get even more frantic thanks to his terrific play and unrivaled dedication.
Jones paced Hoban's offense with 86 yards on 15 carries and also played defense. Boykin ran for 37 yards on seven carries, and completed 3 of 9 passes for 19 yards and one interception to Massillon junior Vito McConnell.
Hoban sophomore Elbert Hill IV ran for 36 yards on five carries and senior Xavier Williams ran for 13 yards on six carries.
"It was definitely a pretty hard-hitting game," Hoban senior Devin Bell said. "Massillon came with it every play and we came with it every play. So, when you have got two teams like that, you are not going to stop fighting."
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Hoban's defensive leaders were seniors Rickey Williams (nine tackles), Tysen Campbell (six tackles) and Cartier Williams (five tackles) and junior Eli Lee (six tackles).
Hoban defensive end Jordan Pritchard-Sewell, right, yanks on the face mask of Massillon quarterback DaOne Owens on fourth down during the first half.
"I think we have the best defense in the state of Ohio," Tyrrell said. "The one turnover [that led to the touchdown], our punter dropped the ball, perfect snap, perfect everything, but it's kids. Kids do that. They're 14 to 18-year-old kids. So, we put the defense in a bad situation with a turnover off of a special team. They really weren't able to drive the ball other than that, and that's a huge thing for our defense. That's an offense that scores more than 50 plus a game. And if we don't have that turnover, I think it's a 2-0 game, but it is what it is and those types of things happen.
"... Anytime we did something great, we'd have an 8- or 10-yard run and we would move and move, and all of a sudden there was a penalty or a turnover. Defensively, Jordan just put his hand out. It is a great play. He just put his hand out and instead of grabbing a shoulder pad, he accidentally grabbed the face mask [of Owens to extend the drive that ended with a TD]. He didn't do it purposely.
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"To me, he is one of the best defensive lineman in the state of Ohio. So, that doesn't define Jordan, but again, it's one of those opportune situations that just didn't go our way today."
Hoban's first drive of the game ended with a fumble that Pringle recovered. The Knights fumbled three times in the second half, but retained possession each time.
"Yeah, it's the most frustrating [of Hoban's eight state finals], definitely, especially offensively that we were able to move and do things," Tyrrell said. "We just repeatedly killed ourselves, and we've done that a couple times this year and we've been lucky enough to still win. And I really thought at the end we were going to. I thought that was going to be an ugly win."
Massillon quarterback DaOne Owens sheds a tackle from Hoban linebacker Cartier Williams during the second half of the OHSAA Division II state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Canton.
Owens ran for 78 yards on 16 carries and completed 3 of 11 passes for 17 yards.
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"I'm so happy for our kids," Massillon coach Nate Moore said. "I'm happy for our coaches who worked so hard and are so dedicated to our players. I'm so happy for the city of Massillon.
"... It was an incredible performance by our defense. Hoban's defense was great tonight, too. They made things difficult for us offensively. One of the biggest differences in the game was that we did a better job taking care of the ball and I would say the penalties."
Lenix finished with 15 yards on seven carries and junior Jacques Carter had two catches for 12 yards.
"We all played our hearts out and we all did exactly what we needed to do," Mintz said. "Sure, there were some mistakes here and there, but we all played with the aggressiveness that we have played with all year. Just wasn't the outcome we wanted. ... Their offense is good, there is no doubt about that. Our defense, we have heart."
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Pringle led Massillon's defense with 14 tackles (four solo, two for loss). Seniors Ryan Page (13 tackles), Cody Fair (nine tackles), Adonis Vaughan (eight tackles) and Maverick Clark (eight tackles) were also solid.
"We just had to have a perfect game, but everything is not perfect and bad things happen when you make mistakes," Hoban junior Nick Crawford said.
Said Campbell: "We may not have made the plays we wanted to, but our guys didn't give up. Like Coach T always says, we have that heart."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
Hoban's Cartier Williams, left, celebrates after helping Tanner Mintz bring down Massillon QB DaOne Owens in the end zone for a second-quarter safety.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban loses to Massillon 7-2 in OHSAA football state championship
