Columbus-area high school football: 5 things we learned in OHSAA state semifinals
Central Ohio high school football teams went 1-2 in Friday’s state semifinals, with Watterson emerging as the last team standing.
The Eagles (14-1) face Toledo Central Catholic (15-0) in the Division III title game at 3 p.m. Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. It will be Watterson’s sixth championship appearance. After losing the first three, the Eagles won titles in 2002 and 2010.
Hilliard Bradley and Harvest Prep lost in Division I and Division V semifinals, respectively.
But regardless of the results, there was something to be learned about each team that played for a trip to Canton.
Here are five things we learned in the state semifinals:
1. Quarterback McAninch plays vital role for Watterson
While defense has seemingly defined Watterson’s success all season, coach Brian Kennedy said the Eagles’ offense gave his team momentum in Friday's 27-14 state semifinal win against Celina at Xenia.
And, for Kennedy, Watterson would not have been able to do it without quarterback A.J. McAninch.
“Oh my gosh,” Kennedy said. “That kid. I mean, he’s going to be a really good pitcher at Marshall, man, but that kid is a high school quarterback. He’s done a phenomenal job. He makes plays when we need plays.”
The Watterson offense came out slow, gaining only 4 yards through the first quarter. But McAninch helped turn things around, and he finished with 266 yards passing and a touchdown — a 9-yarder to Cal Mangini in the second quarter — while completing 15 of 22 attempts.
McAninch said Celina’s defense locked down the outside, forcing him to extend plays with his feet and wait for openings on rollouts.
“When you are making running-around throws and you are getting first downs, that’s going to juice the guys up,” McAninch said.
2. Hilliard Bradley might have found its next QB
Starting freshman Declan O’Neil at quarterback in Bradley’s first state semifinal was no one’s plan, but the Jaguars (13-2) had to do just that by necessity when an ankle injury sidelined senior Bradyn Fleharty, a Mr. Football finalist.
O’Neil acquitted himself well after some early struggles against two-time defending state champion Lakewood St. Edward, completing 12 of 24 passes for 101 yards in a 26-3 loss at Arlin Field in Mansfield. He completed six throws of 10 yards or more, including three in a row on the final drive of the first half.
O’Neil had played in only one game before Friday, completing all three of his pass attempts Sept. 1 during a 31-15 win over Westerville Central.
“He’s real cool, calm and collected. I don’t think this was too big for him,” Bradley coach Mike LoParo said. “Bradyn has done an excellent job mentoring him. He drives him everywhere. They go out to eat together. They talk the game. They do everything they can. He’s done everything he can to mentor Declan and have him ready.”
3. Harvest Prep comes up short
Moments after a 22-8 loss to Perry in a state semifinal at Shelby, Harvest Prep coach Milan Smith was asked to reflect on his team’s success this season.
Playing in its fourth state semifinal, Harvest Prep (12-2) fell behind 16-0 early on and failed to complete a comeback. The Warriors trailed 16-8 early in the third quarter before Perry sealed its first state title game berth with a touchdown early in the fourth.
“That’s a tough question right now,” Smith said. “I’m proud of my seniors. I’m proud of my leadership. I’m proud of my coaches. Everybody has done a great job. It’s a difficult task right now to try to weigh out how good and how bad things were.
“I just didn’t like the way it unfolded (Friday). We didn’t get a chance to be our best version of ourselves and that stinks, but it is life. We’ll go on.”
Harvest Prep, which played an independent schedule this season after leaving the MSL-Ohio, had key regular-season wins over Bloom-Carroll and Wheelersburg. The Warriors also beat Wheelersburg 22-0 in the Region 19 final Nov. 17.
Harvest Prep also lost in state semifinals in 2021, 2019 and 2016.
4. Former Dublin Jerome coach Gecewich leads Perry to state final
Bob Gecewich, who coached Jerome from 2015-20, is preparing Perry (15-0) to play for its first state championship. The Pirates will face another undefeated team in Liberty Center at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Gecewich, a graduate of Euclid in suburban Cleveland, went 39-23 at Jerome, including 28-10 in OCC play with three league titles. Jerome made four postseason appearances, reaching regional semifinals in 2016 and 2019.
Perry is about 25 miles northeast of Euclid.
“This would have been cool at Jerome; it’s cool here,” Gecewich said. “The key thing is, we know every single one of these kids in the program. Every one of these kids grows up in the school district, they play in the school district and it’s awesome to see their investment. And what’s been really cool the past couple of weeks is to see the community come out and support our guys.”
Perry’s only other trip to the state semifinals came in 2016, when it lost to Steubenville 51-27 in Division IV.
5. By and large, favorites get to Canton
Ten of the 14 state finalists were top seeds in their regions, including two that are seeking their third consecutive championships in St. Edward and Maria Stein Marion Local.
Two more finalists were No. 2 seeds and another was fourth.
The lowest remaining seed is Springfield, which was 12th in Region 2 and outlasted Cincinnati Moeller 26-19 in overtime of a Division I semifinal at Piqua to create a third consecutive championship matchup against St. Edward.
The Wildcats are the second-lowest seed to reach a state final. Mentor Lake Catholic was 14th in Division IV, Region 13 in 2020 and lost to Van Wert in the championship.
All teams were eligible for the playoffs in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The postseason field was officially expanded from eight to 16 teams per region in 2021.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football playoffs: Central Ohio takeaways from state semis
