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Sunday, November 29, 2009

D-IV State Semifinals: O-G's bid falls short, 20-14
Diamond Mine Direct
By DAVE HANNEMAN

STAFF WRITER

FREMONT -- Ottawa-Glandorf ran out of downs and the Titans ran out of time.

But the one thing they never ran out of was heart.

“We're disappointed now,” O-G Coach Ken Schriner said Saturday night after one final pass with 10 seconds to play was batted down in the end zone, sealing the Titans' 20-14 loss to Chargin Falls in the Division IV state semifinal at Fremont's Don Paul Stadium.

“But I'm proud of these kids, and one day they'll look back on this and be proud of what they accomplished.”

Ottawa-Glandorf matched unbeaten Chargin Falls (14-0) play for play and touchdown for touchdown. So when the Tigers drove 74 yards to score a go-ahead touchdown with 3:52 left on the clock, it seemed only natural the Titans would respond.

They almost did.

Junior quarterback Nathan Kahle scrambled for a key first down on the final drive, then hooked up with Ryan Kuhlman on a huge fourth-down conversion. Kuhlman caught the pass in the right flat, lost his man with a quick spin move and raced 21 yards to the Chagrin Falls 23.

O-G lost 10 yards on a double reverse, but got 9 back on a Kahle keeper and a short pass to tight end Matt Peck.

There was little time and a lot of yards left, however. On fourth-and-6 from the 19, Kahle went for it all with a pass into the end zone.

Memories of last week's come-from-behind 21-20 regional final win over Orrville followed the pass toward the end zone. But history would not repeat itself. Chagrin Falls' free safety John Storaasli raced in to bat the pass away in the final seconds.

“It was scary looking at that score when it was 20-14,” said Chargin Falls' coach Mark Iammarino. “Give our defense credit. They did what they had to do when they had to do it.

“I'm exhausted.”

Both teams were making their first-ever appearance in the state football semifinals. Chagrin Falls advances to face Kettering Alter in a battle of 14-0 unbeatens at 11 a.m. Saturday in the state final at Canton's Fawcett Stadium. Ottawa-Glandorf ends its best-ever season with an 11-3 record and a lot of memories.

“If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year if we expected to be in the state semifinals, I would have laughed and the kids would have laughed, too,” said Schriner, who returned just one full-time offensive starter.

“This is a testament to how hard the kids worked all year long, how physical we played and how we improved throughout the year. But when you get to this level, there's only one team that finishes the season with a win.”

Chargin Falls took a 7-0 lead with 6:03 left in the first quarter on a 25-yard run by Chris Gorman. The touchdown came one play after O-G had an apparent interception by Brian Laubenthal erased by a pass interference call.

Ottawa-Glandorf responded, and it's defense set the tone.

Logan Pothast and Logan Kaufman teamed up to stuff Chargin Falls quarterback Chris Trinetti on a fourth-down sneak and stop one drive. Grant Recker's 10-yard-loss tackle on Marc Geraci halted another.

O-G then marched 82 yards to knot the game. Kahle found Ryan Kuhlman for 22- and 12-yard gains and, after a needless clipping penalty negated a 43-yard scoring run by Kahle, sophomore back Brandon Kuhlman capped the effort with a 3-yard TD plunge.

O-G went ahead 14-7 on its first possession of the second half. Ryan Kuhlmasn's 71-yard kickoff return gave O-G great field position at the Chargin Falls 26, and Kahle snuck in from the 2 eight plays later.

Chagrin Falls, which averaged over 40 points a game in the playoffs, roared back with a stunning drive capped by Trinetti's 31-yard pass to Pat Nadeau. The Tigers missed a chance to take the lead when Gorman shanked a 24-yard field goal. But a fourth-down stop set the stage for their game-winning drive.

Gorman, who led all rushers with 136 yards, had 39 yards on the drive and Trinetti scrambled for 34 more. Fullback Bobby Winkleman went the final yard to put Chagrin Falls on top for good.

The fourth-down stop by Chagrin Falls in the fourth quarter was one of two by the Tigers' defense. One was helped by an O-G fumble.

“When given opportunities in the scoring zone, we were not able to get the ball in the end zone. That's been our Achilles heel all year long,” Schriner said.

“We made some mistakes. They made some mistakes. When you're facing a high-powered offense and a team that's very athletic, you can't afford to make those mistakes, especially at this level.

“Last week we had the opportunity and went down and scored. This week we had the opportunity and did not get it done.

“We came up a little bit short.”

Maybe on downs and times, but not on heart.



Chagrin Falls 7 0 7 6 -- 20

Ottawa-Glandorf 0 7 7 0 -- 14

First Quarter

CF -- Gorman 25 run (Gorman kick)

Second Quarter

O-G -- B. Kuhlman 3 run (Bendele kick)

Third Quarter

O-G -- Kahle 2 run (Bendele kick)

CF -- Nadeau 31 pass from Trinetti (Gorman kick)

Fourth Quarter

CF -- Winkleman 1 run (kick failed)

CF O-G

First Downs 14 13

Rushes-yards 36-225 47-209

Passing Yards 65 108

Comp-Att-Int 4-7-0 7-14-0

Punts-Avg. 4-22.8 4-35.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 6-30 3-40

individual statistics

rushing -- Chagrin Falls, Gorman 15-136, Geraci 3-11, Diedrich 1-3, Winkleman 5-10, Trinetti 12-65. Ottawa-Glandorf, B. Kuhlman 25-116, Kahle 14-87, Rieman 5-14, L. Kaufman 2-1, Buckland 1-(-10).

passing -- Chagrin Falls, Trinetti 4-7-0-65. Ottawa-Glandorf, Kahle 7-14-0-108.

receiving -- Chagrin Falls, Nadeau 3-61, Geraci 1-4. Ottawa-Glandorf, R. Kuhlman 5-83, Recker 2-25.

Hanneman: 419-427-8408,

Send an e-mail to Dave Hanneman


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