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St. Edward conquers Colerain for a another title

CANTON, Ohio – For the third time in the last five years, St. Edward is the Ohio Division I state champion. The Eagles took advantage of Colerain mistakes and made them their fortunes. Then the St.Edward fortitude took its toll on the Cardinals in the second half.

On the game’s opening drive Colerain drove the ball all the way to the Eagles five only to fumble and see Daylan Jerningan recover it for the Eagles. Jernigan would also intercept a Deante Smith-Moore pass that would set up St. Edward’s first touchdown last in the second quarter. The miscues were a sign of the uphill battle that was to come for the Cardinals. Still, Colerain managed to go into half time with a 10-7 lead.

St. Edward took the opening drive of the second half on a 10-play drive that resulted in Gianluca Russo, 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10. The Eagles would recover the ensuing onside kick. Five plays later quarterback Garrett Dzuro connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass. St. Edward never looked back. The Colerain offense didn’t touch the ball until there was just 1:26 left in the third quarter.

The offensive line were the real unsung heroes for the Eagles. Their work enabled he three-headed monster that propels the St. Edward offense – Dzuro, Kent (Michigan Commit) and RB Jordan Castleberry (West Virginia commit) to have encore-worthy performances on the big stage. Dzuro went 13-13 for 166 yards with two “paydirt flips” to Kent. He ran for another 86 yards with most of it in the fourth quarter, “clock-killing” Colerain’s chances for a comeback.  There wasn’t one of Kent’s, eight catches for 120 yards and two scores that weren’t memorable or crucial to the contest’s outcome. Castleberry finished with a game high 89 yards rushing with a touchdown.

This was the third final four appearance in the last four years for Colerain. They become just the fifth team from the Cincinnati area to accomplish that feat in the last 31 years – La Salle (2016, ’15, ’14),  Moeller (2014, ’13, ’12), Clinton-Massie (2013, ’12, ’11) and Princeton (1990, ’88, ’87).

SCORING BY QUARTERS
Colerain 0-10-0-0-10
St. Edward 0-7-10-7-24

SCORING PLAYS
C: Jones 16 pass from Smith-Moore (Mangold kick)
E: Castleberry 3 run (Russo kick)
C: Mangold 26 field goal
E: Russo 25 field goal
E: Kent 23 pass from Dzuro (Russo kick)
E: Kent 19 pass from Dzuro (Russo kick)

RECORDS: Colerain (14-1); St. Edward (11-3)

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