AP Photo/Phil Long
Coldwater receiver Caleb Siefring gets past Kirtland defender Joe Godec for a short gain during the third quarter of the Ohio High School Division Vfootball championship game at Paul Brown Stadium, in Massillon, Ohio, on Saturday.
MASSILLON (AP) – In an OHSAA Division V state football championship game rematch from a year ago, No. 1 Coldwater defeated defending champion No. 2 Kirtland, 10-9, in a defensive struggle at Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
With 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter and Coldwater clinging to a 10-9 lead, Kirtland began a drive that ended with senior quarterback Scott Eilerman throwing a pass intercepted by a diving Brody Hoying (So.), sealing a hard fought victory by the Cavaliers.
In its fourth straight trip to the state championship game Coldwater (15-0) left as a state champion in 2012, with the school’s third overall football title. The Cavaliers two previous titles came in 2005 and 2007.
Defensively the Cavaliers were led by Associated Press All-Ohio co-defensive player of the year, senior linebacker Zach Dickman, who accounted for 10 tackles. Dickman was accompanied by fellow senior linebacker Derek Collett, also totaling 10 tackles. Coldwater had 12 players record one or more tackles.
Offensively, Coldwater totaled 319 total yards, led by AP All-Ohio co-offensive player of the year senior quarterback Austin Bruns, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 233 yards and ran for 97 yards.
For all of the offensive yardage output, Coldwater could only capitalize on two occasions, scoring one touchdown and a field goal. Junior receiver Mitch Schoenherr caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bruns late in the first quarter and Kyle Bergman provided a crucial field goal as time expired in the first half to account for the Cavaliers’ points.
In the back and forth game, defending state champion Kirtland (14-1) mustered 199 yards of total offense led by sophomore fullback Adam Hess, who ran 24 times for 86 yards and Eilerman, who was 4-11 passing for 25 yards and a touchdown.
The Hornets were able to pull within one point of Coldwater with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter when sophomore defender Sam Skiljan sniffed out a Cavalier bubble screen on the one-yard line to record a safety for Kirtland.
In their second appearance in the title game, coming in back-to-back years, the Hornets finish as state runner-up for the first time.
For a complete box score and statistics, please visit www.ohsaa.org.