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Ohio high school football: Watterson routs London in Division III state semifinal
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- Ohio high school football: Watterson routs London in Division III state semifinal
ASHVILLE – Friday night's Division III state semifinal began as a clash of wills between London and Watterson, central Ohio's last two undefeated high school football teams.
Seemingly in the blink of an eye in the second quarter, Watterson took the air out of the Red Raiders and proceeded to ride back to its second consecutive state final in overwhelming fashion.
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Three London fumbles in less than seven minutes, including two in a three-play stretch, opened the floodgates for a 28-0 run to end the half for Watterson and 49 unanswered points in all as the Eagles routed the Red Raiders 56-21 at Teays Valley.
Watterson running back Zack Weber celebrates a touchdown during a Division III state semifinal win over London on Nov. 29 at Teays Valley.
"They had us on our heels … but I'm proud of how we responded when we got punched in the mouth," Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. "That's how you flip the script in the game. That was a crazy quarter, but it's a credit to our kids. We needed plays and they made big plays."
Watterson (15-0), which will face defending champion Toledo Central Catholic at 3 p.m. next Friday in the title game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, trailed 14-7 early in the second quarter but scored on five consecutive possessions.
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Zack Weber tied the game on a 34-yard run, a Caden Mangini fumble recovery set up Drew Bellisari's 41-yard touchdown pass to Jake Uhlenhake that made it 21-14, and Watterson extended the lead on Bellisari's 24-yard strike to Cal Mangini with 53 seconds left in the half.
Then the game took a wild turn.
Weber recovered a fumble on London's next offensive play, and Bellisari threw a 42-yard touchdown to Tommy Haley.
London fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and two plays later Dominic Theado bobbled and caught a pass from Bellisari and ran 42 yards to the end zone as the half expired to make it 42-14.
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"That's how you beat a team like that," said Bellisari, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 269 yards and four scores. "They gave us a lot of man coverage and we have a lot of amazing receivers who can win those matchups."
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Weber finished with 198 yards rushing on 21 carries. His other touchdowns were from 37 and 1 yard.
"When you have playmakers all over the field like we do in so many different spots, it can go south for the other team quickly," Weber said. "I had full faith that we were going to make some plays out there and it turned out like that. Once you push the snowball down the mountain, it keeps rolling."
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Watterson lost last year's state championship game 27-7 to Central Catholic.
Coach Brian Kennedy and Watterson prepare to face London in a Division III state semifinal Friday night at Teays Valley.
Watterson recovers from rare adversity
Despite trailing with 8 minutes left in the second quarter, Watterson managed to invoke the running clock for the 13th time in 15 games.
The Eagles rolled up 483 yards of offense – 221 on the ground and 262 in the air — and held London to 215 yards, all on the ground, and less than half of the 45.4 points it averaged through the first 14 weeks.
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Despite the multiple ways London runs the ball, whether with counters, sweeps or double wings, Watterson defensive end C.J. Youell said his unit noticed a tendency.
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"They only ran one way for a lot of their success and when they switched it up, we were able to get to the ball," Youell said. "Eleven guys to the ball, that's all you really need."
Weber, who also is a linebacker, said the defense hit the figurative reset button with the game tied in the second quarter.
"We came together as a defense when we had a little bit of time on the field and we just told ourselves, 'we've got this,' " Weber said. "Play together and play as a team. We've been in tough situations before and it is just about fighting back."
Watterson's Carter Bellisari takes down London's Chris Mason during the Division II state semifinal.
London checks big picture after loss
Red Raiders coach Kyle Cutler's first words to his team after the game were meant to remind it not of the result but how it reached 14-0 for the first time and made its first state semifinal since 1994.
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Cutler did point to the scoreboard as a reminder of the dedication he said the players will need in the offseason.
"Three turnovers that lead to three big plays in a championship(-type) football game will not work out well for you," Cutler said. "We felt we could play London football, but we would have to bring our best game. Once it flipped, we never recovered."
Touchdown runs of 34 yards for June Turner and 8 yards for Steven Gravely staked London to a 14-7 lead with 9:40 left in the first half.
Turner finished with 59 yards on 10 carries and Gravely had 38 yards on nine carries to pace London, which was trying to reach its first state final.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football: 3 takeaways from Watterson's state semifinal win
