Football: Eagles' run ends with state runner-up finish
Friday, December 1, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Bishop Watterson’s Mark Biagi returns the second half kickoff during the Eagles’ loss to Toledo Central Catholic in the Division III state championship game Dec. 1 in Canton. Photo: John Hulkenberg
As it began to sink in that they’d finished as Division III state runners-up Friday night, it was easy for the members of the Bishop Watterson football team to recognize the season’s inflection point.
The Eagles, who lost 27-7 to Toledo Central Catholic in the title game before 4,342 fans in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, were regional runners-up last season and won their first nine games this fall.
A 27-24 loss to DeSales in Week 10 forced a three-way tie for the CCL title with the Stallions and Hartley, but Watterson responded by reeling off five consecutive victories to reach its first state final since winning the 2010 state title.
Central Catholic finished 16-0 and has won 31 consecutive games — including last year’s Division II championship.
“We had a team meeting (after the DeSales loss because) we weren’t in the right mental state after that game,” said senior linebacker Dominic Purcell, whose team finished 14-2. “After that game, we got everything straightened out.”
Purcell was more than up to the task against Central Catholic, recording a title-game record 21 tackles, but three Fighting Irish touchdowns were set up by Watterson mistakes.
Nevertheless, the game remained within the Eagles’ reach until midway through the final period.
With 9 minutes, 46 seconds remaining and the Eagles trailing 21-7, freshman defensive lineman Jack Schuler forced a fumble that was picked up by Braxton Rundio at the Watterson 30.
Eagles senior quarterback A.J. McAninch completed six passes on the ensuing drive to move his team to the Irish 12. On third-and-6, McAninch hooked up for what was first ruled a touchdown pass to Jake Uhlenhake, but it was ruled incomplete after replays showed Uhlenhake trapped the ball.
Bishop Watterson’s Dominic Purcell celebrates a defensive stop against Toledo Central Catholic in the Division III state championship game Dec. 1 in Canton. Purcell set a new state final record with 21 tackles. Photo: John Hulkenberg
On fourth-and-6, McAninch was sacked for an 11-yard loss by senior lineman Michael Cannings II, a co-Northwest District Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
On the first play of Central Catholic’s ensuing drive, senior running back Marquan Braswell – the co-Northwest District Offensive Player of the Year – burst for a 72-yard run to the Watterson 5. Four plays later, Jaylen Watson ran for a 2-yard touchdown to complete the scoring with 2:58 remaining.
“We made some mistakes,” coach Brian Kennedy said. “They were able to capitalize on them. That’s a really good team, and you don’t want to give them opportunities, and I thought we did that tonight. There were a few plays that could have gone either way, and unfortunately they didn’t go our way.
“We’ve dealt with adversity. Our kids have done a really good job dealing with adversity. Our last three playoff games, we’ve been down at some point. It wasn’t a situation where we were worrying about their mental state. It was us shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Watterson took a 7-0 lead with 5:46 to go in the opening quarter when freshman running back Ben Uhlenhake ran for a 6-yard touchdown that began at the Central Catholic 42 following a short punt.
The Irish tied it at 7 with 8:44 to go in the first half on a 6-yard touchdown run by Braswell. Central Catholic began the drive at the Watterson 49 following an interception by Kevin Arnold III.
Then with 1:20 left in the first half, Leyton Marsh recovered a muffed punt at the Watterson 19. Six plays later, quarterback Terry Collins connected with Sharard Vaughn III for a 6-yard touchdown that made it 14-7.
Bishop Watterson’s A.J. McAninch (7) and Toledo Central Catholic’s Michael Cannings share a moment following the Eagles’ loss in the Division III state championship game Dec. 1 in Canton. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Central Catholic took a 21-7 lead with 8:22 to go in the third quarter on a 7-yard run by Braswell that capped a drive which began at the Watterson 22 following a bad snap on a punt.
“Bishop Watterson is a great football team with great coaches,” said Central Catholic coach Greg Dempsey, who has guided the program to five state titles in 24 seasons. “We were very fortunate to overcome some of our own mistakes, and we were very fortunate to take advantage of some of their miscues. I thought it was a hard-fought, very physical game. Some might say the score might not be that indicative of how close of a score it was. It was a great effort by two very good football teams.”
After running backs Ben Uhlenhake and junior Zack Weber helped Watterson produce a strong running game throughout the playoffs, the Eagles were limited to (minus)-6 yards rushing on 20 attempts against an opponent that Purcell acknowledged was the fastest his team faced all year.
McAninch completed 20 of 39 passes for 145 yards.
Braswell finished with 169 yards on 22 carries and Collins went 7-for-11 passing for 71 yards to lead the Central Catholic offense.
“We played very hard and our kids did not give up,” Kennedy said. “It’s not the result we worked for, but it doesn’t take away from what the boys accomplished this season. Getting us back to this point, we haven’t been here since 2010. Two years ago, we were 5-6, and all of our success this year and last year is credited to our players.”
While Purcell will be the biggest loss to graduation after piling up more than 200 tackles on the season and being named a Mr. Football finalist, Watterson is set to return 11 starters.
“Coach Kennedy is an amazing coach,” senior wide receiver/defensive back Elliot Baur said. “He makes our job very, very easy. (Our success) all kind of started in the locker room. We got a ton of huge wins early in the year. (The loss to DeSales) was very humbling. We all kind of took a minute and realized where we were at in our season, and we kind of all just locked in together. It motivated us for sure. Without that loss, we might not be here today.”