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Looking back at central Ohio's high school football state champions: See who won it all
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- Looking back at central Ohio's high school football state champions: See who won it all
Ohio high school football state championships have not always been decided on the field.
Until 1972, they were determined purely through statewide polls.
But for the past 52 years, titles have come down to head-to-head matchups.
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The Ohio High School Athletic Association switched from the Class A, AA and AAA format to five divisions, I through V, in 1980. The playoffs were expanded to six divisions in 1994 and the current setup of seven in 2013.
With Olentangy Liberty and Watterson hoping to join this prestigious group Friday, here is some information about the 15 central Ohio teams that have won state championships since 2000, followed by a list of title winners from 1972-99. (Spoiler: Newark Catholic leads the way with eight, seven of which were won under J.D. Graham .)
Poll: Vote for central Ohio's best football state championship victory since 2000
Amanda-Clearcreek celebrates its 2000 state championship.
2000: Amanda-Clearcreek (Division V)
The defending champion Aces (12-3) had to overcome several midseason injuries and institute some position changes just to reach the final, and they pulled off a huge pass play for the clinching touchdown against Bedford Chanel at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
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Trailing 10-7 early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Scott Hinton's 47-yard pass to Kyle Martino on third-and-27 set up Thad Helber's 22-yard touchdown run, and converted lineman Nick Lee added a 10-yard score in the final two minutes for a 21-10 win.
Upper Arlington celebrates after beating Solon in the Division I state final in 2000.
2000: Upper Arlington (Division I)
Later that night at Canton's Fawcett Stadium, the Golden Bears became the first Columbus-area school to win a big-school championship on the field.
Mr. Football winner Jeff Backes ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, made a key interception at the goal line with 46 seconds left and UA (15-0) held off Solon 15-9. To that time, central Ohio had been 0-3 in the Division I or Class A finals.
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Backes, who amassed a then-state record 3,353 yards, went on to play at Northwestern. Defensive end Simon Fraser was part of Ohio State's 2002 national championship team .
Watterson coach Mike Golden holds up the 2002 Division III state championship trophy.
2002, 2010: Watterson (Division III)
The Eagles' first state championship also was a last for the program, as in the last game for 15-year coach Mike Golden.
Shaun Swearingen and Andrew Murray caught touchdown passes from Dan DeLucia, Swearingen returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown and Wes Gilliland ran for a score as Watterson (11-4) thumped Cleveland Benedictine 28-7 in Massillon.
Eight years later in what was their most recent finals appearance before last season, the Eagles (13-1) overcame six turnovers – three fumbles and three interceptions – to come from behind and stun Akron Buchtel 13-12 in Massillon.
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Ray Cook ran for the winning touchdown from 3 yards with 10:50 left, and Brad McCurdy intercepted a last-minute pass at the 5-yard line to seal the win.
Columbus Academy's Carlton Walker holds up the ball after recovering a fumble in the final seconds of the 2003 Division V state championship game against Amanda-Clearcreek.
2003: Columbus Academy (Division V)
The first all-central Ohio final was played amid rain and sleet in Massillon, and the Vikings did not need their high-flying offense to hold off fellow MSL team Amanda-Clearcreek.
Academy (13-2), which averaged 48.1 points and 445 yards entering the final, maximized its 165 yards and made a late goal-line stand to win 13-9.
Steve Butt's first-half touchdown passes to Jamie Neuhoff (12 yards) and Ray Jones (10 yards) stood up to give Academy its second and most recent title, 16 years after the first.
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This was the third of Amanda's four finals appearances in six seasons. The Aces lost to St. Henry in 2004.
The running of Antoine Roberts helped Brookhaven win the Division II state title in 2004.
2004: Brookhaven (Division II)
The first, and to date only, state championship for a Columbus City League team went to an undefeated Bearcats squad that played only two games decided by fewer than 20 points.
Marvin Jones returned an Avon Lake fumble on the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Antoine Roberts rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown as Brookhaven doubled up defending champion Avon Lake 42-21. The Shoremen had won 29 straight games but never were able to keep up with a Bearcats team still heralded in City League circles to this day .
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Hilliard Davidson's Spencer Delande (14) celebrates after intercepting a pass in the final seconds of the 2009 Division I state final.
2006, 2009: Hilliard Davidson (Division I)
Six years after UA broke the Division I glass ceiling for central Ohio, Davidson added itself to the list in dramatic fashion – and then repeated the feat three seasons later.
Bo Delande ran for the winning two-point conversion in the second overtime of the 2006 final to give Davidson a 36-35 win over Mentor. And in 2009 against Cleveland Glenville, Bo's younger brother, Spencer, scored on a 2-yard run with 1:04 left before quarterback Jake Trubiano took an option pitch for the winning conversion in a 16-15 thriller at Fawcett Stadium.
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Spencer Delande also made the clinching interception of future Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones in the end zone with 12 seconds to go.
Big Walnut's Nicholas Heiden (17 middle) celebrates by raising the ball after intercepting a Licking Valley pass late in the fourth quarter of a 17-10 win in the 2007 Division III state final.
2007: Big Walnut (Division III)
The second all-area final pitted the Golden Eagles against Licking Valley, and Big Walnut (14-1) pulled out a workmanlike 17-10 win in Canton for its only championship and the first for Delaware County.
Big Walnut's three first downs and 109 total yards were offset by five Panthers turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. Joe Reed returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown and a fumble 59 yards for the winning score with 9:25 to play.
Newark Catholic celebrates its Division VI state title in 2007.
2007: Newark Catholic (Division VI)
The Green Wave (13-2) overcame 309 passing yards from Bascom Hopewell-Loudon, holding their opponent scoreless on four trips inside the 25-yard line to post a 28-14 win in Canton.
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Newark Catholic stormed to a 28-0 halftime lead thanks to three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Mark Elwell and another from tailback Mark Nichols. That tandem combined for 261 yards on the ground. The championship was the Green Wave's eighth all-time but first since 1991. It came in the sixth season under Bill Franks , an NC graduate who played on three championship teams (1984-86) and currently coaches at Newark.
Hartley's Noah Key slips away from Chagrin Falls' Jack Campbell and scores a touchdown during the Division IV state final in 2010.
2010, 2015, 2016: Hartley (Division IV)
In addition to Watterson's title, a banner day for the CCL in 2010 also included the Hawks winning their first championship since 1986 and the first of what would become three in seven seasons.
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Hartley routed Chagrin Falls 34-13 in the 2010 final in Massillon and won the next two at Ohio Stadium. The Hawks edged Steubenville in the other two finals, 31-28 in 2015 and 24-21 in 2016 to cap a run that was the program's best since reaching the state tournament three times from 1984-88 and winning the Division IV championship in 1986.
Among the many notable players throughout the title runs, Noah Key rushed for 2,885 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2010 and Mattio Agriesti kicked the winning 31-yard field goal in 2016 as time expired. Ben Hawk made the clinching kick from 40 yards with five minutes left in 2015.
Pickerington Central's Demeatric Crenshaw scores against Mentor in the Division I state final in 2017.
2017, 2019: Pickerington Central (Division I)
A wildly successful era for the Tigers, mostly under coach Jay Sharrett , included two championships in three seasons.
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Central also reached the finals in 2006, 2011 and 2020, the first of which was in Division II, and won nine regional titles from 1999-2020.
The most prominent thread between both championships was quarterback Demeatric Crenshaw , who ran for six touchdowns in a 56-28 win over Mentor in 2017 and totaled 259 yards (197 yards and two scores passing, 62 yards rushing) in a 21-14 win over Cincinnati Elder in 2019 .
Central Ohio's 20th century on-field champions
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1976:West Jefferson (Class A)
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1978:Newark Catholic (Class A)
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1982:West Jefferson (Division IV), Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1983:Ready (Division IV)
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1984:Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1985:DeSales (Division III), Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1986:Hartley (Division IV), Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1987:Columbus Academy (Division IV), Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1991:Newark Catholic (Division V)
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1995:Dublin Scioto (Division II)
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1997:DeSales (Division III)
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1998:DeSales (Division III)
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1999:Amanda-Clearcreek (Division V)
Central Ohio pre-playoff poll champions
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1966:Watterson (Class AA)
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1967:Upper Arlington (Class AA)
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1968:Upper Arlington (Class AA)
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio's high school football state champions through the years
