Big Red Playoff History

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Regional Final, Friday November 13th, 1981, Big Red (8-2) vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (9-0) at Austintown Fitch Falcon Stadium.

Before the start of this playoff game with Cardinal Mooney, Steubenville football coach Bob Hedmond and his staff knew what their team had cut out for it. The Cardinals, defending Division II champions, had rolled to a 9-0 mark this season. Tonight, they put on an awesome offensive show, as Mark Kachmer scored 3 touchdowns to lead them past Big Red 49-0. A crowd of over 10,000 looked on at Falcon Stadium in Austintown as the Cardinals, now 10-0, rolled to 393 total yards, 116 of which belonged to Steve Johnson. Johnson, who missed the first 5 games of the season with a knee injury, scored 2 touchdowns in the 1st half, as the Cardinals rolled to a 35-0 lead at intermission. The closest Big Red would come to scoring in the game was in the 4th period when it moved to the Mooney 6-yard line, only to have a 4th down pass into the endzone from backup quarterback Tor Hill miss the mark. Mooney's defense-which is known for its intimidation-was at its best, holding Big Red to 144 yards in total offense. That included passes to Henry Hython of 41 and 42 yards. Quarterback Andre Creech completed 4 of his 12 passes for 100 yards, but suffered 3 interceptions, the last of which cut a Steubenville drive short and set up Mooney's final score when the defender returned the ball from 2 yards deep in the endzone to the Big Red 30 yard line. So devastating was the Mooney defense, that Big Red was held to just 6 first downs and ran a total of only 36 plays. The Cardinals, on the other hand, rolled to 21 first downs. Jim Toothman, the Big Red punter, also had a busy night, being forced to kick 6 times. Rich Shepas, the Mooney punter, only had to kick the ball once, as his team scored 7 of the 9 times it had the football. When Big Red failed to move the ball following the opening kickoff, Mooney wasted little time in scoring, driving 57 yards on 2 plays. After Toothman's 30 yard punt put the ball on the Mooney 43, Johnson ran for a yard before the Cards hit Big Red with some razzle-dazzle. Quarterback John Saadey took the snap and rolled left to the Big Red 40, where he tossed the ball to Johnson, who took it the rest of the way for the score. Jack Kohl's kick made the score 7-0 with only 2:31 gone in the game. Kohl would have a quiet a night for the Cardinals, making good on all 7 conversion attempts. That pulled him within 1 of tying the Mooney record of 8 straight in a single game. Big Red showed some signs of life after that, as Mike Mayo rambled 14 yards and his team's first first down on its next possession. Two sacks and an offsides penalty moved the ball back to the 5 and forced Toothman to kick from the endzone. That kick was returned to the 27, and 3 plays later, Saadey rolled into the endzone from 14 yards out. Mooney was just getting started and had scored 3 more touchdowns in the 2nd quarter. The first came with only 59 seconds into the period when the Cardinals drove 67 yards in 2 plays. Johnson rambled 22 yards and then Saady found Shepas on a 46 yard scoring toss. After forcing Big Red to punt, Mooney put together a 53 yard drive that ended when Kachmer rolled into the endzone from 26 yards out. Kohl's kick made the score 35-0. That drive almost turned out differently. Johnson pulled what looked like to be a sure interception away form John Baldwin on the first play of that drive. Kachmer did all the damage in the 2nd half, scoring on 3rd quarter runs of 5 and 7 yards as the Cardinals extended their winning streak to 25. So impressive was the Mooney offense that it was able to hold the ball for the final 8:32 of the game. Ben Wiggins paced the Big Red attack with 30 yards, while Mayo added 28. Hython hauled in 3 passes for 80 yards. Saadey added 53 yards for Mooney while Kachmer had 50 and George Saadey had 45. Shepas caught 3 passes for 82 yards.

 

Regional Final, Friday November 12th, 1982, Big Red (10-0) vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (7-2) at Death Valley.

Big Red will not continue its season next week and the season is no longer a perfect one, but players and fans of Steubenville High School have no reason to hang their heads. The Big Red football season was ended on a slippery and cold Harding Stadium turf Friday night when Youngstown Cardinal Mooney came away with a 13-2 victory in an opening round Ohio playoff contest. But the win was a struggle for the visitors, to say the least, unlike last years affair in Austintown. Fans still have a hard time forgetting the 49-0 trouncing Steubenville took from the Cardinals last November, as Mooney moved the football with incredible ease all evening. That was not the case this evening, however, as Mooney could manage just 1 first down in the entire first half. The Cardinals turned the game around in the 2nd half, though, banging at the Big Red defense on the ground for 10 first downs. Steubenville managed just 3 first downs in the 2nd half, 2 of which came in the final seconds of the game. The 1st half of the game proved to be the land of missed opportunities for Big Red. Twice in the 2nd quarter the Big Red offense moved inside the Mooney 5-yard line, but could only come away with just 2 points, those the courtesy of an error by a Mooney defender. On a 2nd down from the 7-yard line with 1:51 left in a scoreless half, Andre Creech spotted Clint Watts in the endzone. His pass deflected off Watt's hands and into the hands of Cardinal defender John Dascenzio. Dascenzio, undecided whether to run the football out or not, inadvetently stepped across the goal line and was touched for a confusing 2 point safety. The error forced Mooney to kick the ball from its own 20-yard line. Rick Shepas' punt was fielded by Mike Mayo, who returned the ball to the Mooney 47-yard line with 1:44 left to play in the half. Watts caught an 8 yard pass and Ben Wiggins brooke loose for a 7 yard run to the Mooney 32-yard line. Fighting the clock, Big Red moved downfield. On a 3rd down and 8 from the 30, Creech found Wiggins open over the middle at the 10. He stormed forward to the 4-yard line as the throng of 8,354 frantically waved their red flags. The next play from scrimmage deflated those fans and was one of the key plays of the game. With 35 seconds left in the half, Creech dropped straight back to pass and was hit immediately. The ball popped loose and Kevin Koken dove on it for the Cardinals at the 12, killing the threat. As the teams entered the locker rooms at the half, the statistics favored Steubenville in overwhelming fashion. The vaunted Mooney rushing attack had just 24 yards and the Cardinal offense had just 36 total yards. Big Red, on the other hand, had 96 yards rushing and 78 more through the air. Still, the lead was only 2-0. The second half got started and it appeared a different Mooney team was on the field. After forcing a Big Red punt, the Cardinals took the ball and moved it deep in to Big Red territory. The lone Mooney threat of the 1st half had come on a Big Red mistake. A snap sailed too high for punter Jeff Linn to handle. He was buried at his own 29-yard line, but the Big Red defense stiffened, setting the tone for the entire first half. But here it was different. Starting at its own 32, Mooney went straight to the rushing game, primarily right up the middle. John Klein, who was the Cardinals' leading rusher on the night with 22 carries for 67 yards, did most of the ball carrying. The Redbirds kept the ball for 11straight plays, not throwing the ball once, and got down to the Big Red 29-yard line. Klein carried for a yard on 1st down and quarterback Jon Saady carried for 5 more. When Dennis Sarisky was stopped a yard short on 3rd down at the 20, Mooney brought in its short yardage offense. Klein took the handoff, but was stacked up by a determined Big Red defense and the Cardinal drive was snuffed. With six minutes left in the 3rd period, it appeared Big Red would turn the momentum around again. After 2 runs presented Steubenville with a first down, Linn was forced to punt again. It was then the Mooney got the big play it was waiting for all night. On 1st down from its own 41-yard line, Mooney tried throwing the ball. Saadey dropped back and found his favorite receiver, Rick Shepas, open for a short gain. Shepas faked defender Tor Hill, though, and brooke loose downfield until he was hauled down at the Big Red 17-yard line. Sarisky and Klein carried for 3 plays, bringing the ball to the 1-yard line, and Klein dove over for the score. When Daniel Shannon's kick was wide to the left, Mooney had a 6-2 lead with 2:44 left in the quarter. The momentum was obviously in the Cardinals favor and Big Red needed something to turn it around. On the final play of the 3rd quarter, Big Red received a break after the offense was forced to punt again. Robert Taylor fumbled the ball at his own 29, with Linn diving on it for Steubenville. As the final quarter began, Big Red was presented with a golden opportunity to regain the lead. On a 3rd and 8 from the 27, Creech was apparently caught in the backfield, but slithered away and rambled 12 yards to the 15. Two running plays brought the ball to the 10. On 3rd down, Creech dropped straight back and found Watts crossing over the middle in the endzone. He had the ball, but dropped it and the fans groaned in disbelief. A 4th down pass to Neal Hudson sailed out of bounds and the drive was thwarted. With 9:20 left to play, the teams traded punts and Mooney got the ball back with 5:24 left to play. The next time Big Red would see the ball, the game would be over and done with. The Cardinals drove 62 yards in 15 plays, primarily on the ground. The lone pass of the drive was a 12 yard toss to Mark Braydich on a 3rd down to keep the drive alive. Braydich's reception brought the ball to the 32-yard line. Klein carried the ball twice for 8 yards and Sarisky burrowed into the line for 3 yards a crack. With just 21 seconds to play, Klein concluded the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Big Red had exhausted its timeouts and its season as Brian Maruschak booted the extra point for a 13-2 lead. As the crowd sat silent in the stands, Big Red ran off the final 2 plays of its season. A roughing the passer penalty brought the ball to the Mooney 45-yard line, and on the final play of the game, Creech scrambled downfield again. He picked up 28 yards before being tackled from behind and Big Red's season was over as the Mooney faithful stormed the field. Creech led Big Red rushers with 15 carries for 93 yards. He passed for 78 yards as well, all in the first half. Ben Wiggins carried 7 times for 33 yards, Steve Hython 9 for 23 and John Baldwin 6 for 18. Sarisky carried 12 times for 45 yards to aid Mooney's ground game. Mooney improves to 8-2 and will continue to seek its fortune in the playoffs. But for Big Red fans, memories will have to suffice. And there are plenty of them.

Regional Final, Friday November 11th, 1983, Big Red (10-0) vs. Youngstown Ursulilne Irish (9-1) at Death Valley.

Ursuline was moving the ball on the ground. Big Red was moving the ball through the air. Unfortunately for the hometown fans at Harding Stadium, the weather was more conducive to running. And Youngstown Ursuline ran the football for 304 yards against a stubborn Big Red defense and picked up a 13-0 victory. The fighting Irish advance to the next round of the Ohio playoffs with a 10-1 record. The loss marked the 3rd straight first round playoff defeat for Steubenville, with the team failing to get into the endzone in all three. But this offense performance is not justified by the final score. Tor Hill's performance definitely is not illustrated by the final numbers. Hill threw the football 32 times, completing 19 for 232 yards. Those statistics are made more impressive when one considers the weather conditions. The wind was blowing wickedly and snow was swirling throughout the evening. The field, covered by a tarpaulin before the game, deteriorated quickly as the snow continued to fall. The evening ended with Big Red pounding away at the Fighting Irish goal line. From the 1-yard line, Hill was dragged down for a 3-yard loss as time expired. That play merely illustrated the frustration Steubenville felt all evening. While Hill was throwing the ball all over the field, Ursuline running back Robert Nall and Jim G'Bur were carrying it all over the gridiron. Both seniors rushed for over 100 yards in the game and the pair combined for 200 yards in the first half alone. G'Bur carried 20 times for 135 yards in the game, picking up chunks of yardage inside. Nall carried 20 times for 127 markers, posing the constant threat of breaking one the distance. He did exactly that for the first Ursuline points of the night. Following a Tor Hill put midway through the 2nd period, Ursuline started at it own 33-yard line. Nall took a pitch on 1st down and headed toward the left sideline. The tailback then cut back inside and used his 4.3 speed to outrace the 3 Big Red defensive backs to the endzone. The 67-yard burst put the Irish on the board and Jeff Palombaro booted the extra point. The only other score of the game came late in the first half and turned the tide on an otherwise tight game. With less than 2 minutes to play in the first half, Big Red was driving toward the Ursuline goal line. Hill completed 4 key passes in a 74-yard drive, hitting Randy Birden for 14, 15, and 17 yards and Dave "Inch" Clark for 16 more. The drive stalled on the Irish 15-yard line, and on 4th down, Mike Mayo took a lateral from Hill and was hit for a 2-yard loss. Still, just 1:38 remained before intermission. But then it was G'Bur who pulled the play of the night. Previously satisfied with chunks of 4 or 5 yards on each carry, he punctured the Big Red line on a 3rd and short and rambled 58 yards to the Big Red 14. Three plays later, Nall went in from the 6-yard line and the Irish had the 13-0 advantage. The halftime deficit foiled a big start for Hill. He had thrown for 106 yards, but Nall had rushed for 106 and G'Bur for 95 more. Both were relatively contained in the final two quarters as Big Red tried to get points on the board. On the first possession, Hill led Big Red across midfield, but an interception by Richard Williott foiled that attempt. Ursuline was forced to punt and again Big Red crossed midfield. This time an interception by Jim Florig killed the drive at the Irish 40-yard line. As the period neared its end, the Irish threatned to put the game away. Led by the running of G'Bur, Ursuline crept to the Big Red 12 before stalling on downs. Deep in its own territory, however, Hill was intercepted early in the 4th quarter for his 3rd of the half. Robert Poghen came down with the ball at Big Red's 31. Again, Big Red held on down at its own 11-yard line. Hill could not get the passing game moving again until just 2:20 remained in the game. Driving from its own 14, Steubenville drove the 1-yard line of Ursuline. Clark caught a 19-yard pass and Julius "Juke" Shackleford hauled in a 23-yarder to highlight the drive. But the game ended on Hill's sweep and the subsequent loss of yardage. Big Red's defense improved considerably throughout the evening. Ursuline took the opening kickoff and ran off 15 plays, eating up 8:07 on the clock and getting to the Big Red 22. Nall fumbled and Remo Stirpe recovered to end the threat. Only the 2 big runs set up the Ursuline scores. But on the night, they were enough. Mayo led Big Red's rushing with 10 carries for 41 yards. Clark caught 7 passes for 80 yards, Shackleford 3 for 61 yards, and Birden 4 for 58. The Big Red loss was a tough one to a tough high school team. The Big Red season was a very good one. And belonged to a tough high school team.

Regional Final, Friday November 9th, 1984, Big Red (10-0) vs. Youngstown Ursuline Irish (9-1) at Youngstown State University's Stambaugh Stadium.

There will be plays that fans of the Steubenville Big Red football team will remember for a long time. With time running out in Friday's Division II Region 7 playoff game, Todd Kelley took a pitch from quarterback Steve Nodianos, took 2 steps to his left and then steamed into the endzone for a 1-yard run (see picture above) for what would prove to be the winning touchdown and Joe Johnson ran for the conversion to give Big Red an 8-0 win over Youngstown Ursuline in a soggy Stambaugh Stadium at Youngstown State University. Kelley's run, which capped an 11 play, 75 yard drive and came with just 4:49 left in the game, lifted Big Red to its win and, more importantly, its first win in four post season appearances. That means that Big Red will probably match up with Westlake this Friday in the Division II semifinals. Westlake upped its record to 9-1-1 Friday night when it defeated Cleveland Benedictine 10-7 in overtime. A large contingent of fans from Steubenville made the drive despite heavy rains that started late Friday afternoon and continued throughout the game. They watched as Big Red recorded a win that will go down as one of the biggest in the school's history. The victory was doubly sweet for coach Reno Saccoccia and Big Red because it enabled the team to avenge a 13-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Fighting Irish in the opening game of the 1983 Division II playoffs at Harding Stadium. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney had defeated Big Red 49-0 in Steubenville's first trip to the playoffs in 1981 and took a 13-2 win from Steubenville in 1982. "I'm very happy," Saccoccia said. "This win made all of the waiting worthwhile. The kids are happy too. They had to play the best football game of their lives to win and they did just that." Ursuline, which concludes its season at 9-2, had entered the game not only as the top team in Region 7, but as the Division II team having the greatest number of points in the Ohio High School Athletic Association's computer rating system. Big Red was 2nd in the region and 2nd in Division II in computer points. Kelley's scoring run was set up by the hard running of Big Red tailback Steve Lucas and fullback Brian Young. After an Ursuline punt had given Steubenville the ball on its own 25, the 5'8'', 165 pound Lucas broke loose on a 32-yard run and then added 8 yards on the next play. From there, the 5'11'', 184 pound Young took over, carrying the ball 7 times and moving Big Red from the Ursuline 35 to inside the 1. Young was stacked up at the goal line on a 1st and goal play and then Kelley motored for the winning score. Lucas finished the night as the game's leading rusher with 96 yards on 19 carries while Young added 47 yards on 12 carries and Kelley 36 yards on 7 carries. The Big Red offense, which was playing its first ever game on artificial turf, rolled to 173 yards on the ground. While the offense would not let the poor weather get in its way, the Big Red "Ghostbuster" defense made things rough on the Irish all evening while on its way to its 8th shutout of the season. The Steubenville defense intimidated the Ursuline all evening, limiting it to 63 yards rushing. Unable to move the football on the ground, Ursuline was forced to go to the air, a strategy that played right into Big Red's hands. Steubenville defenders sacked Ursuline quarterback George Beck 6 times for a total loss of 32 yards. Jim Barren finished the night with 3 sacks, while Ted Gorman, Charlie Keenan and Joe Jones each had 1 shot at the quarterback. John Downard had the interception and Keenan the fumble recovery. Only the fact that Stambaugh Stadium is equipped with artificial turf kept the field conditions from becoming totally unplayable. The rain, plus a strong wind that blew from the southern end of the stadium to the northern end all evening, made things tough on both quarterbacks and kickers. Nodianos would complete only 3 of 10 passes for 13 yards while Irish quarterback Beck was able to complete 3 of 7 passes for 59 yards. The punters from both teams had problems with the wind and rain, but both made up for them by getting astroturf bounces. Big Red's Brian Young had a punt roll 60 yards while Ursuline's Pat Narduzzi had a punt roll 58 yards on the slick plastic. The Irish would only threaten to score once in the game and that came on their first possession when they moved from their own 20 to a 1st down at the Big Red 14. Carlisle Reynolds, who would finish as his team's leading rusher with 47 yards, fumbled on the next carry, though, and Keenan came up with his recovery to kill the drive. The closest the Big Red defense would allow Ursuline to get to the endzone after that was when the Irish moved to the Steubenville 43 late in the 4th quarter. Big Red missed two scoring chances early. Steubenville moved to the Ursuline 20 on its first possession of the night and to the Irish 22 on its second possession only to lose the ball on downs.

State Semifinal, Friday November 16th, 1984, Big Red (11-0) vs. Westlake Demons (9-1-1) at Akron Rubber Bowl.

One hungry running back, one determined running back and a defense that shut down yet another offense that has had little trouble moving the ball this year-those are the ingredients the Steubenville Big Red football team put to use Friday night in the Akron Rubber Bowl. Todd Kelley rushed for 139 yards, Brian Young added 113 yards and the Big Red defense gave up just 17 yards rushing as Steubenville downed Westlake 26-6 in an Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II semifinal playoff game. As a result of that win, Big Red will be making its first trip to the Division II championship game this Friday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Big Red's opponent will be Columbus Whitehall-Yearling, which earned its birth with a 21-7 win over Kettering Alter Friday night. Big Red and Whitehall will both carry 12-0 records into that contest and both will be making their first ever appearance in a championship game. "I'll tell you what, we won the game, but that was one hell of a football team we played," an exhausted Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said after the win. "They did what they had to do only we did what we had to do, and things went our way." Westlake, which finishes its season at 9-2-1, had taken a 3-0 lead when Wade Massad kicked a 41-yard field goal with just 2:26 gone in the game. From then on, it was all Big Red. Kelley scored on a 9-yard run midway through the 2nd quarter and then caught a pass from Steve Nodianos for the conversion. Joe Johnson scored on a 1-yard run right before the half to put Big Red up 14-3. After Massad kicked a 20-yard field goal midway through the 3rd period, Young scored on a 10-yard run and Charles Keenan raced 25 yards with an intercepted pass to complete the scoring for Big Red. Part of the reason that things went Big Red's way in Friday's game was the stifling play of its defense. Steubenville, which has recorded 8 shutouts this season, gave up just 73 total yards on the evening and shut down one of the state's top running backs, John Kolesar, in the process. Kolesar, who rushed for over 900 yards this season despite missing 4 games, could manage just 54 yards on 20 carries. The 6', 190 pound senior tailback is being sought by several major college football teams. Keenan, Big Red's 6'2'', 200 pound senior lineman, who had been named Eastern District class AA lineman of the year by the Associated Press, showed that he deserved the honor Friday night. He recorded 2 quarterback sacks and came away with his interception. Linebacker Jim Barren also had an outstanding evening, coming up with a fumble recovery and a sack. Joe Biasi, Curtis Herring, and Anthony Jackson each added interceptions for Big Red while Joe Johnson chipped in with a fumble recovery. "Our defense had played well all year, that's very true," Saccoccia said. "But we still have 1 game to go. The jury is still out." Big Red has yet to given up a touchdown in this years playoffs. The weather was considerably drier but just a little colder than last Friday. That didn't stop a very large contigent of Big Red fans from making the 2 hour drive to see the game. It was estimated that as many as 7,000 Big Red fans were on hand for the game. Those fans certainly got their money's worth. The 5'11'', 177 pound Kelley returned to his tailback position after missing parts of several games after suffering a shoulder injury late in the season and worked with Young to tear the Westlake defense to shreds. Young, Big Red's 5'11'', 184 pound junior fullback complimented Kelley well, finishing with his best game of the year. The most yardage Young had gotten in a game this year prior to Friday night was 57. "What more can I say?," Saccoccia said. "Young is a determined back and Kelley is hungry. Todd missed several games this year and he would have run for 1,000 yards if he had been healthy." Those two lead a Steubenville ground game that would rush for 257 yards, pass for 54, and roll to 15 first downs. Westlake, by comparison, would finish with just 9 first downs. Big Red got off to a shaky start, fumbling the football away on its 2nd play. The Demons gained zero yards on 3 plays before Massad gave them a 3-0 lead with his 41-yard field goal. The closest Big Red would get to scoring in the 1st quarter was when it moved the ball to the Demons' 17 only to have Westlake's Louie Lutzko strip the ball from Young after he carried it to the 6. Big Red finally got on the scoreboard in the 2nd quarter when it used 4:05 to march 41 yards on 7 plays. Kelley picked up the score on a 9-yard run and then hauled in a pass from Nodianos for the conversion. Nodianos would only complete 3 passes on the evening, but all 3 couldn't have come at better times. His first completion covered 14 yards to Julius "Juke" Shackleford and came on a 3rd and 8 play to keep that scoring drive alive. Johnson recovered a fumble on the Demons' next play on offense and Big Red used 7 plays and 3:14 to march to its second score of the quarter. That touchdown belonged to Johnson and came when he dove across the goal line from the 1. Again, a Nodianos completion kept the drive alive. This one went to John Murray and covered 23 yards on a 4th and 19 play from the Westlake 28. A pass for the attempted conversion failed ad Big Red led 14-3 at the half. Johnson's score was also the game's most controversial play. Westlake knocked the ball from his hands as he dove across the goal line and recovered the apparent fumble. The officials ruled that Johnson had broken the plane of the goal line before the fumble, however, and called the play a touchdown. The Demons drove from their own 43 to the Big Red 3 to open the 2nd half, but the drive stalled and the had to settle for Massad's 20-yard field goal. That cut the Big Red lead to 14-6 with 5:25 left in the 3rd quarter. After that score, Kelley and Young took matters in to their own hands, leading Big Red on a 73-yard, 10 play march. Kelley carried 5 times for 29 yards while Young carried 5 times for 44 yards on that drive. His last 10 yards were on the scoring run that gave Big Red a 20-6 lead. Keenan closed out the scoring when he intercepted a pass in a crowd at the Westlake 25 and motored in for the touchdown that made the final 26-6. "We are not going to be happy just going to Columbus," Saccoccia said. "We are not going to be happy unless we can go there, play to the best of our ability and win a state championship."

State Championship, Friday November 23rd, 1984, Big Red (12-0) vs. Columbus Whitehall-Yearling Rams (12-0) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Steubenville Big Red (12-0) battles Whitehall (12-0) on a crisp November afternoon that no Big Red fan will ever forget. In the end, the Steubenville Big Red football team would not be denied. In the end, Big Red did what it has done all season-it used its high powered running game to move 20 yards on just 6 plays, the last few inches coming when Joe Johnson stuck his head down and burrowed through the line to give Big Red the winning touchdown in its 12-9 overtime win over Columbus Whitehall-Yearling Friday afternoon at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. That run gave Steubenville something it-or no other team from the Ohio Valley-had never gotten before. That run allowed Big Red to win the Ohio Division II football championship, the first state title ever won by an area Ohio football team in a game that was decided on the playing field. "This is the best feeling i the world," an exhausted Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said after the game. "This is something that the kids have worked for since they started to play football. This is one of the greatest things that could happen for this team, the school, and the community." The victory, which allowed Big Red to finish the season unbeaten, did not come easily. After a scoreless 1st half, Big Red broke on top early in the 3rd quarter when Joe Johnson recovered a blocked punt in the endzone. Big Red's John Downard pushed his way through the Whitehall-Yearling line to block the punt at the Rams' 25 and Johnson followed the bouncing ball into the endzone before falling on it. Johnson not only scored all of Big Red's points in the win, but he also tied two Division II records in the process. His two touchdowns ties the individual record for touchdowns scored and his 12 points tie the record for points scored by an individual. The kick for conversion failed, but those 6 points, which came with 1:56 gone in the 3rd quarter, held up until late in the 4th quarter when the Rams put together a 14 play scoring drive that chewed 5:40 off the clock. Jim Soma made an acrobatic catch of a 6-yard Brian Jones pass with just 21 seconds left in regulation play for the tying score. The Rams, who finish at 12-1, appeared to be ready to take the lead in the contest when good fortune smiled on Steubenville. All that stood between Whitehall and its first state championship was an extra point. And the person doing the kicking, Jim Carter, was one of the best kickers in the central part of the state. He had consistently hit 45-yard fieldgoals during the pregame drills. But he would never get the chance to kick the football. The snap from center was bobbled and holder Mark Stewart was forced to run with the football. Stewart could get no closer than the 2 yard line and the game remained tied at 6. That set up overtime. The Rams moved the ball from the Steubenville 20 to the 5 before settling for Carter's 19-yard fieldgoal to go up 9-6. That kick meant Steubenville's entire season came down to a 20 yard drive. "We went into the overtime knowing that they were trying to settle for a fieldgoal and that we were going to score a touchdown," Saccoccia said. "Both teams accomplished their goals in the overtime. We just set our sights a little higher, that's all. They are a hell of a football team, make no doubt about that. Our kids just wanted it a little more than theirs did. After they kicked that fieldgoal, I told our kids not to worry. All they had to worry about was moving the ball 20 yards against 11 people. There was only 1 person who could stop us-and that was the man upstairs." Big Red would not be denied. The Steubenville offensive line, which had had a rough time against the Rams defense all afternoon, started to open up gaping holes for fullback Todd Kelley to take advantage of. The 5'11'', 177 pound Kelley had 2 carries of 4 yards and a carry of 8 yards to move the ball to the Whitehall-Yearling 4. Brian Young plowed through the Rams' defense to the 1 and, after Nodianos was stopped on a quarterback sneak, Johnson took a handoff, put his head down, and snaked through the defenders and into the endzone for the winning score. It was somehow fitting that Johnson, Kelley and Young would each have a hand in that winning drive. In addition to his 2 touchdowns, Johnson added 13 yards rushing on 3 carries. The 5'11'', 215 pound junior also finished with 8 tackles. Kelley, meanwhile, finished as his teams leading rusher with 62 yards on 18 carries, while Young added 47 yards on 12 carries. Official attendance figures for the game were not supplied by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, but a crowd estimated at 9,000 people looked on as Big Red claimed its first state title. Of that number, estimates show that about two-thirds were cheering for Big Red. When the official figures are announced, the will, in all probability, make Friday's attendance one of the 5 largest crowds ever to see a playoff session. Those figures will include fans who had watched Newark Catholic claim the Division V title with a 14-6 win over Middletown Fenwick. The fans had much to cheer about. In addition to the overtime heroics, the Big Red defense, which had recorded 8 shutouts this season, came up with 4 quarterback sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Matt Morrison, Brian Young, Joe Jones, and Charlie Keenan had quarterback sacks, while Young and, you guessed it, Johnson each had fumble recoveries for Big Red. Many of those fans gathered at Harding Stadium late Friday night for a welcoming ceremony. "That crowd was incredible, wasn't it?" Saccoccia asked. "Those fans wanted it as bad as we did. We sensed that we were a little down after that Whitehall scoring pass, but when they missed that extra point, the crowd got going again. We needed this win," Saccoccia said. "This victory will be a key part of our program. We'll celebrate for a few days but next year we will have to start all over again. The key to any continued success we have will be in our juniors," Saccoccia continued. "I hope that this year's juniors will be just as good next year when they are the leaders as they were this year when they were followers." The win was very special for Saccoccia for several reasons. First, it gave him a state championship. Second, it allowed him to raise his record in two years as Big Red's head coach to 23-1-0. And third, it was accomplished by many of the players he had coached while he was head coach at Harding Junior High. "You know, at least 5,000 coaches have won a state championship," Saccoccia said. "And they went through the same things that I did. When I started at Harding, there was this group of kids that were in the 6th grade. I coached them when they came to Harding and I have coached them now. This is a very special moment for them. You have to remember where you have come from and not let yourself get too far away from that. I learned a lot about coaching while I was at Harding. One of the things I learned was perseverance. This group played with perserverance and intensity. I thank God for this," continued Saccoccia. "I am a believer in God. When I was younger, I used to wear number 84, so I figured that 1984 was our year. Now I don't believe in the stars, but I do believe in the person who makes the stars."

Regional Semifinal, Friday November 8th, 1985, Big Red (8-2) vs. Wintersville Golden Warriors (8-2) at Death Valley.

Steubenville Big Red and Wintersville both entered the game with 8-2 records, with Big Red winning the regular season matchup 14-0 a few weeks earlier. It the game were a boxing match, Big Red was knocked flat on the canvas early in the final round, its sole chance of victory harbored in the hopes of landing a wild punch to floor its opponent. The wild punch came in the form of Julius Shackleford. His 48-yard touchdown reception in the waning seconds of regulation time knotted the contest and Steve Nodianos' 1-yard run in overtime handed Big Red a 21-14 victory over Wintersville in an Ohio Division II playoff game Friday night in Harding Stadium. Wintersville has a brilliant season ended at 8-3. When the win is described as come-from-behind, it is almost an understatement. When Golden Warrior tailback Kevin Wesley broke free for a 73-yard touchdown scamper in the 4th quarter-out running Big Red's Mike West to the endzone-Wintersville had a 14-0 lead with only 7:25 remaining in the contest. Until that point, both teams relied on the running game, each meeting some moderate success. In that final 7 minutes, however, Nodianos would throw the football 15 times in rallying Big Red from near-certain elimination. The first touchdown march covered 66 yards in 15 plays. Three consectutive 3rd down passes were completed, as was one 4th down play. On 3rd and 10 from the Big Red 34-yard line, Shackleford wiggled free for a 21-yard reception. On 3rd and 10 from Wintersville's 45, James Creech got loose for an 18-yard connection. On 3rd and 10 from the Warrior 27, Marcus McGhee caught a pass for a 6-yard gain, held short of the 1st down by a jarring hit by Wesley. Wesley hit McGhee low, sending him spinning over backwards at the 27-yard line. Both players were shaken up, yet both stayed in the game. Senior Brian Young got free over the middle for a clutch 6-yard reception on 4th down. Big Red then went to the ground game, Nodianos crashing over from the 2-yard line a few plays later with 3:45 left. Rusty Ranallo's conversion closed the Warrior lead to 14-7. Wintersville was held on downs and punted, Big Red gaining possession at its own 35-yard line with 1:37 remaining. Nodianos scrambled out of bounds for a 13-yard gain near midfield. McGhee caught a 12-yard pass, but a clipping penalty moved the ball back to the Warrior 48-yard line. Then, undoubtedly, the play of the game. Nodianos found Shackleford over the middle, the senior receiver catching the ball near the 30-yard line. As the Warrior defender was blocked to the turf, Shackleford had an avenue open toward the right corner of the endzone. He outran the pack to the goal line, touching off pandemonium on the Big Red side of the stadium with 42 seconds left on the clock. After a penalty nullified Ranallo's first conversion, the second was perfect and the game headed for overtime. The Warrior won the coin flip and gave first possession to Big Red. Starting at the 20-yard line, Young carried twice for 5 tough yards, McGhee for 4 more on 3rd down. On 4th and 1, Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia opted to let Young carry for the 1st down. The senior fullback picked up 3 yards in doing so. On 1st down from the 8 yard line, Joe Johnson carried for 2 yards, then 5, and Nodianos snuck into the endzone behind center Ted Gorman and Ranallo's kick gave Big Red its first lead at 21-14. On Wintersville's possession, Darrell Jackson carried for 2 yards to the Big Red 18-yard line. Two incomplete passes, intended for Mike Orbovich, followed. On 4th down, Curtis Herring intercepted a pass intended for the endzone. Just like that, Big Red had seemingly accomplished the impossible. Just like that, for the Warriors it was over. Wintersville had dominated on its first possession of the game, going 67 yards in 15 plays and eating the first 7:28 off the clock. Three 3rd downs were converted during the drive-Wesley caught a 9-yard pass on 3rd and 6 for what would be Wintersville's lone completion of the night. Dean Ferguson scrambled for 14 yards on 3rd and 14, and Jackson carried for 2 yards on 3rd and one from Big Red's 3-yard line. Ferguson scored on a quarterback sneak and his kick gave Wintersville a 7-0 lead. An opportunity to increase the lead was missed by Wintersville early in the 2nd quarter. Facing 4th and 1 from the Big Red 20-yard line, Wintersville coach Sam Fornsaglio opted for the field goal attempt. Ferguson's 37-yard effort had the distance, but barly missed to the right. Big Red had the football for only 1:37 of the opening quarter. Steubenville had it for nearly all of the 2nd. A 20 play, 75-yard march that consumed 9:22 of the 2nd quarter ended with no points. Big Red took the ball to Wintersville's 6-yard line and had a first down. McGhee carried for no gain, Young for a yard, and Nodianos threw slightly behind Shackleford in the endzone. On 4th down, Steubenville went for it. Throwing the halfback option pass, McGhee overthrew Charles Haire in the endzone. Neither team threatned in the 3rd quarter. When Jackson recovered a McGhee fumble and Wesley broke through Big Red's defense for his 73-yard run 3 plays after that recovery-and Ferguson added another conversion-Wintersville's side began to celebrate. Albeit, a little too early. Nodianos would complete 11 of 28 passes for 161 yards and Wesley carried 14 times for 112 stripes. Statistically, they were the standouts. Realistically, there was not a player on the field who was not a star in the eyes of the coaching staffs and the 9,619 fans who witnessed the proceedings. The attendance is an Ohio Division II playoff record. The performances on both sides never made an attendance record more fitting.

Regional Final, Friday November 15th, 1985, Big Red (9-2) vs. Canton Central Catholic Crusaders (9-2) at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

With its top rusher still nursing a leg injury, Steubenville Big Red turned to its big fullback in Friday's Division II, Region 7 championship game, and that back was up to the challenge. Joe Johnson rushed for 192 yards and scored 2 touchdowns to lead Big Red to a 26-19 win over Canton Central Catholic in front of 8,163 fans in soggy Paul Brown Tiger Stadium at Massillon. That victory advances Big Red into next weekend's Division II semifinal round. "We sucked it up and came back and got it," a tired Joe Johnson said in the Big Red locker room after the game. "This was a real team effort. The offensive line did a heck of a job and I took advantage of it." Johnson, who had entered the game with just 117 yards rushing this season, not only took advantage of the holes his offensive line opened up, he also completed a pass off an option play that set up a Big Red score. He even came up with a quarterback sack to cut off a Crusader scoring drive in the 3rd quarter. Big Red tailback Dan Wise, who is the team's leading rusher with 701 yards, gained just 1 yard on 1 carry in the game. Wise has been sidelined with an ankle injury. "It's about time he did something," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of the 215 pound Johnson. "I'm happy for him but you have to remember that this was a team effort." While Johnson was leading the Big Red ground game to 210 yards, the Big Red defense was shutting down what had been a potent offense. The Crusaders, who finish at 9-3, managed just 93 yards rushing. Chris Marmon's 62 yards led the CCC attack. The secret to the Crusader ground game this year had been its offensive line, led by 6'3'', 270 pound center Roger Duffy and his twin brother, 6'2'', 270 pound right tackle Pat Duffy. Not only was the Big Red defensive line able to control the line of scrimmage when Canton Central Catholic had the ball, the offensive line was able to control the line when Big Red had the ball, in spite of the Duffys. "We had a little trouble against them," admitted John Downard, who earlier in the week had been named the Eastern District class AA Lineman of the Year by the Associated Press. "When we played away from them, though, we were able to neutralize them. I also think they got a little tired in the 4th quarter. Joe played a great game," Downard added. "That is what we have been waiting to see from him all year." What Big Red was not waiting to see, however, was Canton Central Catholic jumping out to a 12-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Tom Reicosky capped a 64-yard drive with a 1-yard run on the Crusaders' first possession and then Tony Adams grabbed a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tom McBride near the end of the quarter. Both conversion attempts failed and the Crusaders took a 12-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. The big play on the first drive was a shuttle pass to Reicosky that the 5'10'', 180 pound senior carried for 47 yards. The team traded possessions after that first score before Reicosky, who was also CCC's punter, hit a coffin corner kick at the Big Red 1 yard line. A clipping penalty brought the ball back to just in front of the Big Red goal line. Big Red punted 4 plays later and the Crusaders needed just 3 plays to drive 34 yards to paydirt. Even with his team trailing 12-0 early, Saccoccia said he was never really worried. "I never gave up this week," the veteran mentor explained. "What happened in the early going was that they caught us with that shuttle pass. Then they only had to drive 34 to their 2nd score. I didn't think that they could really drive the ball against us." From that point, Big Red quarterback Steve Nodianos just handed the ball to Johnson. Johnson gained all but 1 yard as Big Red used 10 plays to drive 67 yards to its first score. Johnson got the touchdown on a 1-yard run and Rusty Ranallo's kick cut the CCC lead to 12-7. The Crusaders failed to move the ball on their next possession and the Big Red offense went right back to work, using 9 plays to drive 56 yards to its second touchdown. Once again the workhorse was Johnson, who rushed for 17 yards on that drive and completed a 12-yard pass to Charles Haire on an option play that moved the ball from the Crusaders' 19 to the 7. Johnson bullied his way to the 5 before Nodianos found Haire with a 5-yard touchdown pass that gave Steubenville the lead for good. A pass for the conversion failed, but Big Red still took a 13-12 lead into intermission. The Big Red defense stopped two Crusader drives in the 3rd quarter. Brian Young intercepted a pass at the Big Red 23 to stop the first Crusader drive of the quarter and Johnson sacked McBride on a 4th and 6 play at the Steubenville 29. The Crusaders drove to the Steubenville 28 on their next possession only to see the drive end when Young made his 2nd interception of the night. That gave Big Red a 1st down at it's own 25. Johnson raced 61 yards on the 1st play from scrimmage to move the ball to the CCC 14, and collected the touchdown 5 plays later on a 2-yard run. The kick for conversion failed and Big Red held a 19-12 lead with 8:47 to play in the game. Maurice Lytle recovered a fumble at the Canton Central Catholic 35 on the following kickoff and Big Red needed just 5 plays to drive the 35 yards to the clinching score. Julius "Juke" Shackleford hauled in an 18-yard scoring pass from Nodianos for the touchdown and Ranallo's kick gave the Big Red a 26-12 lead with 6:11 left in the game. Canton Central Catholic drove 50 yards in 4 plays to a touchdown with 2:30 left in the game. McBride hit Marmon with a 30-yard pass for the score and Steve Udeck kicked the extra point, but it was too little, too late for the Crusaders. The win was Big Red's 5th straight in playoff action. Big Red was presented with the regional championship trophy after the game by OHSAA Commissioner Richard Armstrong.

State Semifinal, Friday November 22nd, 1985, Big Red (10-2) vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (10-1) at Akron Rubber Bowl.

Steubenville Big Red's dream of making a return trip to Columbus to defend its Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II championship came to an end Friday evening in the Akron Rubber Bowl when it suffered an 18-16 loss to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney. Mooney scored the winning points on a 19-yard field goal by Pat Nelson with 45 seconds left in the Division II semifinal contest. That field goal, which came at the end of a 78-yard, 16 play drive, secured the win for the Cardinals who will play Galion for the Division II championship a week from Saturday in Ohio Stadium. Galion raised its record to 13-0 with a 14-10 win over Cincinnati Greenhills in the other Division II semifinal played Friday night. "The kids played hard, they played really hard," said Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia. "We just caught the fever too late. We caught the fever in October, but it was just too late. We should have caught it in August. Once we caught that fever, we played like we knew we could play". Big Red had taken a 16-15 lead with just 6:39 left on the clock when it drove 80 yards in 15 plays. Joe Johnson capped that drive when he bulled his way into the endzone from the 9-yard line. Rusty Ranallo kicked the PAT and Big Red had its lead. The Cardinals, who stand at 11-1, came right back, however, using 16 plays to drive from their own 20 to the Big Red 2-yard line. Nelson calmly booted the winning field goal from the far right hash mark against a driving wind to give his team the win. "I had no qualms about calling on him," said Cardinal Mooney coach Don Bucci of Nelson. "I was hoping we could have gotten the ball into the endzone, but when we couldn't, I knew he could do the job." The Cardinals will be playing for their 4th state title next weekend. The Cardinals have been semifinalist before in 1976 and 1981. Mooney had driven to a 1st and goal inside the Big Red 10 yard line on its winning drive before the Steubenville defense stiffened. Tailback Devlin Culliver had 2 carries for 3 yards each and then quarterback Mark Pellini fought his way to the 2-yard line before Bucci called on Nelson, and the 5'11'', 170 pound junior calmly booted the winning field goal. Pellini finished as the game's leading rusher with 94 yards on 14 carries. His longest run of the evening came on a 3rd and 2 play from the Big Red 49 when he carried for 24 yards to the 25. Mooney scored the winning points 5 plays later. "Their quarterback was the key to their offense," Saccoccia said. "We just weren't able to stop him. I knew we had to stop their quarterback. I wasn't that worried about their tailback because I knew their quarterback was the man who made their offense go." Even after Mooney scored what would prove to be the winning points, Big Red still had life. After Julius Shackleford returned the kickoff to the Big Red 32, quarterback Steve Nodianos hit Curtis Herring with a 15-yard pass to move the ball to the Steubenville 47. Nodianos threw 2 incomplete passes leaving Big Red with a 3rd down and 10 to go with 10 seconds left in the game. Nodianos connected with Shackleford for an apparent 18-yard gain, but Steubenville was penilized for having an ineligible receiver down field. A 4th down pass with 5 seconds left in the game fell incomplete and the season had come to an end for last year's Division II champion. Mooney finished with 195 yards rushing while Big Red had 117 yards rushing. Joe Johnson, who had rushed for 192 yards in Big Red's 26-19 win over Canton Central Catholic in last week's Region 7 championship game, paced Steubenville with 79 yards rushing on 19 carries. Even when he wasn't carrying the ball, Johnson was making his presence felt Friday night. The 215 pound senior returned a blocked punt 37 yards for a touchdown late in the 2nd quarter that gave Big Red a 9-7 lead at halftime. Brian Young had come clean from the outside on that play to block the kick. Young, who had anchored the Big Red defense for the last two seasons, suffered a knee injury on that play and was helped off the field. He was able to play in the 2nd half, but was obviously injured. Big Red had taken a 3-0 lead when Rusty Ranallo kicked a 38-yard field goal with 3:35 to play in the first quarter. That kick capped a 9 play, 44-yard drive and came against a driving wind at the open end of the stadium. Ranallo's kick appeared to have enough distance when it left his foot, but the wind pushed the ball and it just fell over the crossbar for the score. Big Red tailback Dan Wise, who had missed the past few weeks with an ankle injury, gained 15 yards on 4 carries on that drive. Wise finished with 31 yards on 8 carries. The rest of the yardage on that drive belonged to Big Red quarterback Steve Nodianos. Nodianos completed an 11-yard pass to Charles Haire and a 15-yard pass to Niles Herring and added 3 yards rushing on that drive. Nodianos completed 7 of 13 passes for 77 yards on the evening. Mooney drove 78 yards in 14 plays to its first touchdown with 4:42 left in the half. The Cardinals converted two 3rd downs and two 4th downs on the drive, which ended when Culliver scored from the 3-yard line off an option play. Nelson's kick gave Mooney a 7-3 lead. Pellini was the big man on that drive, which started at the Cardinal Mooney 22, coming up with long runs to convert two 3rd downs and connecting with Culliver on a 16-yard screen pass to convert a 4th down. His biggest play on that drive, however, came on the very first play. Pellini fumbled a snap from center and picked the ball up on his own 12. He avoided a charging Joe Johnson, rolled to his left and completed a pass to Dan Dascenzo at the Mooney 21. After the teams traded possessions, Mooney mounted a drive that stalled when it was faced with a 4th and 6 at its own 48. Big Red jumped offsides on Mooney's first punt, giving the Cardinals an extra 5 yards. Faced with a 4th and 1, Bucci elected to go for a 1st down. Pellini was unable to get a play off before being hit with a delay of game penalty, however, moving the ball back to the original line of scrimmage. Walt Sweeney dropped back to punt again, only this time Young came from the right side of the line untouched to block the kick. Johnson scooped up the loose ball at the 37 and rambled in for the score. "We had added that play this week," Saccoccia said. "We had seen from the films that they appeared to be weak on special teams and we felt we could take advantage of that." A pass for the 2-point conversion, on a fake kick, failed and Big Red tooke a 9-7 lead into the half. Mooney's Greg Snyder recovered a fumble on the 4th play of the 3rd quarter and the Cardinals marched 40 yards on 10 plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Pat Delahunty got that score on a 1-yard run and Culliver ran for the conversion that put the Cardinals up 15-9. After the teams traded possessions, Big Red put together on of its most impressive drives of the season to take the lead once again. Big Red converted four 3rd downs on that drive before Johnson finally fought his way into the endzone. Ranallo's kick gave Big Red a 16-15 lead. "When we had to pull together and score, we were able to score," Saccoccia said. "We just weren't able to come up with the big play on defense. Mooney is to be congratulated. They won the game and they deserved to win it. Every player did a great job, though. I just can't say enough about the way these kids played." Mooney, however, would not be denied and marched to its winning field goal. "It took a championship team to put together a drive like that," Bucci said. "When they had put together that long drive just before that, you could see the momentum had shifted to them. But we were able to come back. Steubenville played a great game. Coach Saccoccia had them well prepared." This is the 3rd meeting between the schools in the playoffs. Mooney had taken a 49-0 win when the teams played in 1981 and a 13-2 win when they met in 1982. Even though his team's season came to an end Friday night, Saccoccia is already looking ahead to next season. "We will be back next year," he said. "We will start the season in the first week on January. We have things to accomplish, things to do. I think I have to make a couple of changes. I think if I prepared as hard as the players, we could have won this game. The players played as hard as they knew how. I wish to thank all the fans who gave us all the support we had this season," Saccoccia added. "I also want to thank the parents for all of the late hours they put in and the coaches for all the loyalty, hard work, and dedication they showed this season. Most of all, though, I want to thank the players for their 4 years of dedication and hard work."

Regional Semifinal, Saturday November 8th, 1986, Big Red (10-0) vs. Wooster Generals (9-1) at Akron Rubber Bowl.

Before the start of Saturday's Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II, Region 7 semifinal game, Steubenville Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia knew the key to victory would be his team's ability to shut down Wooster tailback Tony Lee. The Big Red limited Lee to just 60 yards in the 1st half, but the 6', 180 pound junior exploded in the 2nd half, rushing for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns while leading the Generals to a 21-6 win in front of 5,855 fans in the Akron Rubber Bowl. "They were a better team than us tonight," Saccoccia said after the loss. "Our kids played hard for the whole game. Wooster was just better than us." As a result of that win, Wooster, now 10-1, will advance to next weekend's region 7 championship game against Columbus Mifflin. Mifflin took a 21-0 win over Gallipolis in the other region 7 semifinal game played Saturday. The Wooster offense had 321 total yards, 282 of which came on the ground. Big Red on the other hand rushed for just 73 yards and finished with 110 yards in total offense. The Wooster defense also came up with 3 pass interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. "We knew they were good," Saccoccia said of the Generals. "We just couldn't seem to get anything going on offense tonight. That has been our Achilles heel all season. I take full responsibility for that as Head Coach. The kids played hard. They blocked hard, they ran hard-they did everything well, but it was not enough." Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts rushed for 36 yards on 10 carries to lead the Big Red ground game. Curtis Herring was Steubenville's leading receiver with 1 catch for 30 yards. The game marked Big Red's Division II record 6th straight trip to the playoffs. Big Red also claimed the OVAC class AAAA championship and Eastern Buckeye League championship along the way. Wooster turned its fumble recovery into a quick score early in the game. Wooster's John Murphy recovered a fumbled lateral at the Big Red 11 and the Generals needed just 3 plays to get their touchdown. Lee rushed for 1 yard, fullback Brett Burdno carried down to the 4 and then Wooster quarterback Matt McCoy threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Murphy. Denny Shear's kick gave Wooster a 7-0 lead with 4:55 left in the 1st quarter. Wooster had a touchdown called back on its first drive of the evening when an apparent 22-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to Matt Smith was wiped out by a penalty. Big Red then drove from its own 34 to the Wooster 30 before the Generals' defense stiffined, forcing a Doug Charland punt. The snap from center sailed over his head, however, and his subsequent pass attempt fell incomplete, giving Wooster the ball at midfield. The Generals marched to the Big Red 20 before Steubenville came up with its biggest play of the evening. Jim Kelley scooped up a Lee fumble at the Steubenville 23 and raced 77 yards for a touchdown. Rusty Ranallo appeared to tie the game at 7 with a successful conversion kick, but Steubenville was penalized 5 yards and forced to kick again. The second kick failed and Big Red trailed 7-6 with 11 minutes left to play in the 1st half. The only other scoring chance Big Red had in the 1st half came when it drove from its own 27 to a 4th down at the Wooster 18 with 3:32 to play in the 2nd quarter. The Generals' defense stiffened on the 4th down play and stopped the drive. Wooster used 11 plays to drive 80 yards to a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Lee carried for 42 yards on the drive and scored the touchdown on a 1-yard run. Shear's kick gave Wooster a 14-6 lead with 4:39 to play in the 3rd quarter. Steubenville appeared to get a break in that drive when Lee fumbled on a 3rd down and two play from the Big Red 22. Smith fell on the ball for Wooster at the Steubenville 9, however, and the Generals scored 2 plays later. Wooster closed out the scoring early in the 4th quarter when Lee scored on a 4-yard run to cap an 8 play, 85-yard drive.

Regional Semifinal, Saturday November 14th, 1987, Big Red (9-1) vs. Columbus DeSales Stallions (9-1) at Death Valley.

Missing that dominating 1st half that it has become accustomed to, the Steubenville Big Red football team had to find other resources to defeat Columbus St. Francis DeSales in their Ohio Division II playoff game at Harding Stadium Saturday evening. It found plenty...and squelched DeSales 35-17 to advance to the region finals in the post-season grid tournament. Big Red fell behind 3-0 late in the 2nd quarter and while doing so, lost defensive tackle Hans Yetts to a personal foul and ejection from the game. Ironically, the penalty came on a play in which DeSales kicker Dan Sprout was wide right on a 30-yard field goal attempt. Getting a 1st down on the penalty, the Stallions had new life at the Big Red 7-yard line, eventually settling for a 20-yard field goal from Sprout with 6:07 left in the half. The drive covered 23 yards, but took 11 plays and 4:23 to get that far as Big Red's defense grudgingly gave up yardage all night. Needing to get through 6 minutes of football to maintain the lead at intermission, DeSales failed to get through 20 seconds. Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts took the ensuing kickoff and rambled 85 yards through the middle for a touchdown. Rusty Ranallo's conversion gave the hosts a 7-3 lead. The touchdown marked Steubenville's first kick return for 6 points this season. On DeSales next play from scrimmage, quarterback Jack Elgin could not get together with running back Joe Cua on the handoff, the ball bouncing off the runner's hip pad and onto the turf, where Big Red's Lou Schiappa covered it at the Stallions' 21-yard line. Fullback Dunrick Yetts carried 5 of the 7 plays it took to reach the endzone, crashing across the goal line on a 1-yard run with 2:30 left in the half. The conversion gave Big Red a 14-3 lead at the intermission. Dunrick Yetts lost a fumble near midfield on Big Red's first offensive play of the 3rd quarter, but the defense held and forced a punt from the Steubenville 34. Punter Steve Sacco shanked the punt into the stands, the 2-yard boot giving Big Red possession at its 32. Eight plays and 68 yards later, Big Red had a 21-3 lead. Dunyasha Yetts-who had 108 yards on 14 carries to crack the 1000 yard mark for the year-went over from 17 yards out. Big plays in the drive included Jimmy Kelley running 6 yards on a 3rd and 5 and Chuck Hython grabbing a 33-yard pass from quarterback James Creech on a 2nd and 14, bringing the ball to the Stallions' 25-yard line. Big Red's defense-spearheaded by the consistent penetration of end Greg Bell, linebacker Dan Keenan, tackle Rob Rea, and linebacker Robert Bryan-continually halted the DeSales offense in the first 3 periods, limiting the Stallions to 96 net yards during that time. Big Red executed a 13 play, 79-yard drive late in the 3rd quarter and into the 4th. Kelley got the score on a 4-yard run and Dunyasha Yetts had runs of 18 and 10 yards to highlight the march. With 8:29 left, Big Red had a 28-3 lead and when Keenan intercepted an Elgin pass over the middle and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown with 6:51 left, the lead reached 35-3 against a team that came into the game winners in 33 of its previous 34 contests covering 3 seasons. Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia filtered in some reserves from there and Elgin picked up a couple of touchdown passes to make the final score closer than it actually was. Brief drives of 70 and 82 yards were completed with scoring tosses of 9 yards to Dan Daugherty and 25 yards to Steve Borghese, the last score coming with just 1:55 on the clock. Elgin, throwing courageously under almost constant pressure, completed 13 of 31 passes for 176 yards. Creech only had to throw the ball 4 times all evening, his only attempt of the 2nd half being the 33-yarder to Hython. Penalties and scuffle marred the game to some degree. Big Red was flagged 15 times for 162 yards, including numerous major penalties. DeSales was hit for 83 yards on 8 penalties. The benches emptied during a brief skirmish in the 4th quarter, but order was restored without major incident. Jared Van Guilder, DeSales' 1000 yard rusher, was held to 31 yards on 13 carries. Including sacks, the Stallions managed just 36 net yards on 29 attempts. DeSales ends its season at 9-2. The crowd was estimated at 7,000.

Regional Final, Friday November 20th, 1987, Big Red (10-1) vs. Columbus Watterson Eagles (9-2) at Zanesville's Sulsberger Stadium.

He giveth and he taketh away. Leon Sawyer, Steubenville Big Red defensive back, was victimized by a 92-yard touchdown pass from Waterson quarterback Matt Callahan to flanker Tony Dupler in the 4th period of the Ohio Division II, region 7 championship game at Sulsberger Stadium in Zanesville. Watterson's conversion attempt-which would have tied the game-was foiled when the snap was fumbled by the holder and his desperation pass fell harmlessly into the endzone with 7:33 left in the game. On Watterson's next possession, Sawyer intercepted a 4th down Callahan pass and returned the ball 47 yards to the Eagle 25-yard line, setting up the final touchdown of Big Red's 27-20 victory. The final score came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts with just 25 seconds left to play. Yetts had 108 yards on 26 carries for Big Red to lead a ground attack that chewed up 218 yards on the night. Actually it appeared Big Red would wrap the game up in the first half. Steubenville, in fact, had 3 touchdowns on the board before Watterson could get off its 7th offensive play of the game. Big Red took the opening kickoff and cruised 76 yards in 13 plays, the touchdown coming on a 3rd and 6 from the Eagle 25-yard line. Quarterback James Creech stepped back and found receiver Chuck Hython open on a crossing pattern. Hython split defenders Grey Snapp and Jason Radtke en route to the endzone. Key plays in the drive included a 12-yard completion to John Haynes on 3rd and 9 for Steubenville's initial 1st down of the game and then an 8-yard run by Jimmy Kelley. The drive stayed alive when Creech's snap count drew Watterson lineman Darren Higgins offsides on 4th and 4 from the Eagles' 34. After the TD Big Red got the ball back 2 plays later when a Callahan pass deflected off receiver Mike Grom's hands and into the arms of Rob Bryan, who returned it 27 yards to the Watterson 1-yard line. Fullback Dunrick Yetts plowed in from there. Two plays later it looked like Big Red would get another score when Dan Keenan intercepted a lame duck pass, returning it to the Watterson 40. Hans Yetts was largely to blame for Callahan's poorly thrown pass as the Big Red defender drilled him before he could get anything on the ball. A defensive holding call, however, nullified the interception. Late in the 1st period and into the 2nd, Big Red drove 67 yards on 9 plays, Creech scoring on an option run from 13 yards out. Yetts had runs of 13 and 16 yards to key that march. Leading 21-0 and with plenty of momentum, Big Red suddenly saw its lead shrink. Watterson marched 55 yards on 8 plays just before the half, Tim Tortorello catching a 20-yard pass from Callahan for the score. The conversion pass failed and Big Red had a 21-6 lead at intermission. Watterson never managed to run consistently on Big Red, ending the game with just 44 yards net rushing. Gregg Bell, Dan Keenan, Lou Schiappa, Todd Christian and other recognizable names again succeeded in penatrating the line of scrimmage. Still, the Eagles scrapped back. Taking the 2nd half kickoff, they drove 71 yards in 9 plays, going to the air. Dupler caught a 17-yard pass, Paul Adams got loose for a 25-yard run and Dupler took a 13-yard pass and got by John Lytle into the endzone. Callahan's conversion cut the gap to 21-14 with 8:00 still left in the 3rd quarter. While Big Red's attack stalled most of the 2nd half-generating just 5 first downs-the "Nightmare" defense held on. Sawyer intercepted a pass to kill one Watterson possession and a Keenan sack apparently put the Eagles out of scoring range at their own 8-yard line. That is when Callahan, scrambling for his life, lofted a ball near midfield to Dupler along the right sideline. Sawyer went for the interception and missed, sailing out of bounds while Dupler pulled the pigskin in. There was nobody left to prevent him from scoring. The aforementioned conversion fumble occurred, however, Sawyer eventually redeemed himself, and Big Red had the victory. Kelley had 9 carries for 31 yards and Creech completed 5 of 9 passes for 62 yards and 2 interceptions. Both thefts were by Mike Durant. Callahan completed just 5 of 15 aerials for 149 yards and 3 interceptions. Adams had 14 carries for 56 yards with Callahan ending the game with minus 33 yards rushing. For the 2nd straight playoff game, personal fouls and other penalties plagued Big Red. Steubenville was flagged 17 times for 155 yards, but overcame the mistakes. Hans Yetts ran a fake punt 19 yards for a Big Red 1st down to keep a 4th quarter drive alive. Watterson ended its season at 9-3. Big Red reigned as Region 7 champions for the 3rd time in 4 years. The Big Red coaching staff was pleased with the Steubenville contingent that turned out to watch the contest despite the snowy conditions and hazardous roads. Big Red's fan support was approximately 3 times the amount of Watterson's.

State Semifinal, Friday November 27th, 1987, Big Red (11-1) vs. Kettering Alter Knights (9-3) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Spending the bulk of the 1987 season jumping on opponents from the opening kickoff and putting games away by halftime, Steubenville Big Red tried a change of pace at Ohio Stadium Friday afternoon. Reno Saccoccia's squad lumbered through the first 2 quarters, then scored 3 touchdowns in the latter 2 to pull away from Kettering Alter 28-10, in an Ohio Division II semifinal playoff game. The victory sends Big Red into its 2nd Division II title game in 4 years. Steubenville is looking to repeat its 1984 title campaign. Neither team got into scoring position until the turn of the 2nd quarter. Forcing Big Red to punt from inside its own 10-yard line, Alter started a drive from the Steubenville 46. Staying on the ground, the Knights drove to the 26, but Big Red held them there and Scott Zimmer was short on a 42-yard fieldgoal attempt. Later in the quarter, Big Red marched 80 yards on 13 plays, buoyed by an illegal substitution penalty against Alter during a punt that would have ended the series. Paris Settles watched his punt roll dead at the 2-yard line, but the 15-yard mark-off gave Big Red a 1st down at the Knight 43-yard line. Quarterback James Creech-who broke loose for an 18-yard run off the option earlier-got loose this time for 21 yards, taking the ball inside Alter's 20. Facing a 3rd and 7 from the 13-yard line, Creech dropped back and connected with Chuck Hython on a crossing pattern just across the goal line. Hython took the ball, beating defender Matt Riazzzi, and Rusty Ranallo's PAT gave Steubenville a 7-0 lead with 1:21 left in the half. The Knights quickly went 64 yards in 8 plays to get a fieldgoal, Zimmer kicking the ball through from 32-yards out on the last play of the half. Quarterback Matt Mercurio found Andy Buttram for a 12-yard completion, then tight-end Joe Metzger got loose in front of Leon Sawyer for a 23-yard reception before the fieldgoal. The 1st half was incredibly even. Alter had 26 plays for 128 yards, Big Red 27 plays for 122. The 2nd half numbers, however, showed Big Red with 33 plays for 140 yards, Alter 19 plays for 58 stripes, including -13 yards rushing. Alter took the 2nd half kickoff, but lost the ball when Sawyer stepped in front of a pass intended for Metzger and returned it 14 yards to the Knight 30-yard line. On the next play, however, Jimmy Kelley fumbled and Tom Alig recovered the ball for Alter. Again, Mercurio went for Metzger. Again he was intercepted, this time by by Del Vinson, who brought the ball back 22 yards to the Knight 22-yard line. Creech got loose on the option for 22 yards and capped the 5 play drive with a 4-yard scoring run with 6:34 left in the 3rd quarter. Needing a big play, Alter got one. Todd Jones burst open on a slant and Mercurio hit him in stride. The speedy receiver out-ran the Big Red persuit to the endzone for a 52-yard scoring play. Zimmer's point capped a 6 play, 75-yard drive with 4:31 on the clock and it was 14-10. Alter's hopes of a comeback were short-lived. Creech completed his 2nd and only other pass of the game-a 24-yard toss to Hython-and Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts contributed to a time-consuming drive on Big Red's next possession. Dunrick Yetts plowed in from the 1-yard line with 11:42 left in the game, ending an 11 play, 63-yard drive. For the 3rd time Ranallo was true on his PAT. Picking up just 3 1st downs in the 2nd half, the Knights were forced to come up with another big play. They did, but for the wrong side. Lou Schiappa pressured Mercurio, forcing him to scramble toward the sideline. The quarterback threw off-balance as Schiappa hit him and Danny Keenan came down with Big Red's 3rd interception of the game. Starting at the Alter 20, Creech got Big Red into the endzone on 7 plays. Dunrick Yetts again did the honors on a 1-yard run, Ranallo kicked his 50th PAT in 52 attempts on the year, and the score reached 28-10 with just 3:04 to play. Fittingly, Alter did not move the sticks again. Mercurio was sacked 3 times in the 2nd half and Jerry August was the team's top rusher with 35 yards on 5 carries. For Big Red, Dunyasha Yetts had 94 yards on 23 carries, giving him over 300 yards in the playoffs and 1,265 yards for the year. Creech added 82 yards on 17 carries for one of his top performances of the campaign. Defensively, everyone got in the act for Big Red. Hans Yetts had a few tackles behind the line of scrimmage as did Keenan and Todd Christian. Of Alter's 12 rushes in the 2nd half, in fact, 8 went for negative yardage. Robert Rae, Gregg Bell, Rob Bryan....the list of contributors on the defensive side of the ball was endless. And the offensive line enabled Steubenville to churn through a big Alter line for 225 yards on the ground. Alter finished its season at 9-4.

State Championship, Friday December 4th, 1987, Big Red (12-1) vs. Akron Buchtel Griffins (12-1) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

"Two stinks, but its better than three." Those were the words emerging from Steubenville Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia as he tried to find some consolation after his team's 26-14 defeat by Akron Buchtel early Friday evening in the Ohio Division II championship game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. "We played hard in every game this year," Saccoccia declared. "That wasn't the question tonight. They were the better team than we were on this night. They beat us. We didn't beat ourselves." Big Red managed a 7-6 lead at intermission-taking advantage of a Buchtel fumble inside its own 20-yard line-but was thoroughly bottled up in the 2nd half. By the time Steubenville picked up its initial 1st down of the 2nd half, the Griffins had tacked 3 more touchdowns on the board and had control of the game with a 26-7 lead. Overall, Big Red managed just 126 yards net offense for the game, including a meager 49 stripes in the 2nd half. Both figures marked season lows. Neither team scored in the 1st period, Big Red advancing the ball just past midfield twice before being forced to punt. The Griffins did make their move toward the game's first score before the 1st quarter expired, however. Using the straight-ahead running of sophomore tailback Ricky Powers-who had 165 yards on 25 carries for the afternoon-Buchtel ate up time and yardage. Quarterback Ron Shannon, apparently trapped in his backfield on 3rd and 9 from his own 18-yard line early in the march, broke clear and scrambled 13 yards for a 1st down. Powers had three 8-yard runs, a 7-yard burst and a 4-yard run as the Griffins drove inside the Big Red's 20-yard line. It was there that Shannon faked to his runningback, then connected with wingback Marcus Jennings on a quick slant. Jennings worked himself open between Leon Sawyer, Danny Keenan, and Del Vinson, took the pass in stride, and scampered untouched into the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown reception. Holder Eric Haskins fumbled the snap on the PAT and was force out of bounds as Buchtel had a 6-0 lead. The 15 play, 83 yard march consumed 6:47 off the clock. The next time Buchtel received the football, Big Red received a break. Shannon mishandled the snap at his own 16-yard line, Big Red's Rob Bryan covering the loose pigskin at the 17-yard line. Steubenville ground out one 1st down, then was held to a 3rd and goal from the 7-yard line. Tailback Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts took a pitch from quarterback James Creech, headed for the left sideline, then darted through the middle, going against the grain and scooted into the endzone. Rusty Ranallo's PAT was true and Big Red had a 7-6 lead with 3:53 left in the half. Yetts gave Big Red another scoring chance when he stepped in front of a deep pass intended for Lester Carney, intercepting and returning the ball 27 yards to the Buchtel 44. Three plays later, Paris Settles had to punt, deadening the ball at the Griffin 1-yard line. From there, Buchtel let the final 22 seconds expire in the half, Steubenville maintaining its 1 point lead. The 2nd half, however, belonged totally to Buchtel. Big Red had the football for just 6:48 of the final 24 minutes and could not do much with it during that time. Midway through the 3rd period-after the teams exchanged punts-Powers took a handoff off of left tackle. A Big Red tackler got a hand on him, but could not hold him. The speedy sophomore split Dunyasha Yetts and Sawyer, out-running the both of them to paydirt. Shannon's conversion pass to Carney could not connect, but Buchtel had a 12-7 lead with 6:58 to play in the quarter. Powers' run came on a 3rd and 1 play and easily set an Ohio Division II championship game record for longest touchdown run. The previous mark was 45 yards. "We were in a 6-2 on that play," Saccoccia recalled. "We gambled and we lost. We missed him at the line of scrimmage and that was it. That was the turning point of the game, in my opinion." On Big Red's next play from scrimmage, Creech was hit by tackle Brian Jordan, fumbled and linebacker Kelvin King recovered for Buchtel at the Steubenville 42-yard line. The Griffs drove to Big Red's 5-yard line, but on 4th and 1, Powers was submarined by Dunyasha Yetts for a 2-yard loss and Big Red remained in the game. Settles eventually had to punt from his endzone, however, and Jennings returned the boot 12 yards to the Big Red 23. Jennings ran for 10 yards on 3rd and 6 from the 19, setting up Shannon for a 4-yard scoring run on the option with 2 seconds left in the quarter. Shannon ran for 2 and the lead was 20-7. Big Red needed the football in the 4th quarter and simply could not obtain it. Following another Steubenville punt-Settles ahd 7 for a season high in that category-Buchtel took possession at its own 24-yard line with 10:01 to play. The Griffins salted the game away, grinding out 76 yards on 12 plays and eating 6:04 of the remaining time. Carney got behind Lamar Kelley in the endzone and Shannon found him for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 3:57 to play. The PAT was blocked, but the lead was 26-7. Big Red picked up its first of 2 first downs in the half when Creech found Chuck Hython for a 12-yard gain. The second 1st down of the half was a touchdown, Creech finding Sawyer by himself along the right sideline. Sawyer took the pass and out-raced the pursuit to the endzone, diving across to complete a 34-yard scoring play with 2:50 left to play. Ranallo added another PAT-his 52nd in 54 tries this year-and the score was 26-14. Big Red's onsides kick try failed and when Yetts fumbled the eventual Buchtel punt with 1:11, the Griffins were able to run out the clock in obtaining their 1st ever state football crown. Big Red's dominant ground game was limited to 80 yards on the day, while Buchtel rambled for 270 yards. Yetts paced Big Red with 59 yards on 18 carries. Fullback Dunrick Yetts carried just 4 times, none in the 2nd half. Buchtel ended the campaign at 12-1 and with the championship hardware. Big Red took home the Ohio Division II runner-up trophy. Number 2 may stink in Saccoccia's eyes compared to number 1....but 2 out of 144 Division II teams in Ohio ain't that bad at all.

Regional Semifinal, Saturday November 12th, 1988, Big Red (10-0) vs. North Canton Hoover Vikings (8-2) at Death Valley.

In a battle of mistakes, the lone difference was a slip. Not a slip of a football through some body's fingers or a slip of a receiver fallng to the turf. It was the slip of a foot....North Canton Hoover placekicker Matt Tate's foot as he approached the football for a desperation 42-yard field goal attempt with 6 seconds remaining in the Ohio Division II high school football playoff game Saturday evening at Harding Stadium. The kick was well short of the goalposts and enabled Steubenville Big Red to hang on to a come-from-behind 17-14 triumph. The victory marked Big Red's 34th consecutive win in Death Valley. It also sends the team on the road-presumable to Youngstown or Canton-Friday at 7:30 against Uniontown Lake in the Region 7 title game. North Canton Hoover ended its season at 8-3. Big Red fell behind 14-7 in the 3rd quarter when NC tailback Lance Bean took a handoff on an off-tackle play, broke through a gaping hole and escaped down the left sideline for a 63-yard TD run with 9:43 left in the quarter. Ironically, the touchdown marked the Vikings second 1-play touchdown drive of the night. Hoover scored its first touchdown in the 1st quarter-Matt Tate crashing in from the 1-yard line-after Big Red quarterback Aric White fumbled there while scrambling on the previous play. Following Bean's score, Big Red pieced together an 11 play, 68-yard march to get even. Cody Pyle caught a 14-yard pass from White on a 2nd and 17 play and Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts broke free for a 21-yard gain to highlight the drive. Maurice Pearson capped it with a 1-yard plunge with 11 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Big Red was set up twice for the winning points before converting them. Darren Monroe nailed Hoover quarterback Jason Bednar behind the line on a 3rd and 4 play, recovering the loose football himself at the Hoover 29 with 8:08 remaining. The offense failed to secure a first down, however, Bednar deflecting a pass away from Chuck Hython in the endzone on 3rd down and White throwing behind Hython on 4th down. Hoover failed to move the ball on its possession, however, and when the snap on 4th down sailed over punter Bednar's head-enabling Paris Settles to partially block the hurried boot-Big Red was in business at the Viking 26-yard line with 3:26 left on the clock. Conservative running plays took the ball to the 5-yard line. On 4th and 1 from there, sophomore placekicker Mike Jones drilled a 22-yarder with 37 seconds to play, giving Big Red a 17-14 lead. The clutch 3-pointer was Jones' second in 3 weeks, using a 27-yarder to stop Youngstown Chaney by the same 17-14 score with 11 seconds to play here 2 weeks ago. "There's no pressure, that's his job," a beaming Reno Saccoccia, coach of the Big Red, said of Jones. "It's Mike's job to kick, Anthony's job to hold, and Kelly Keenan's job to snap. It's everybody's job to block. Everybody had a job to do. Win, lose or draw, our kids play hard. We made a lot of mistakes tonight as coaches and players, but playing 48 minutes of agressive football can overcome all of that. That's what can happen in this game." Big Red made yet another mistake just after the field goal, getting flagged for 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was assessed on the kickoff and Jim Pepper returned the line-drive kick to the Big Red 39-yard line. Eric Miller caught a 14-yard pass to give Tate a shot at the tying field goal, but the placement of the ball was right in the middle of the field-a slick portion-and the senior kicker lost his footing as he approached the ball. "We couldn't try to get a touchdown on that last drive," Hoover coach Ed Glass said. "They were dropping off and protecting the endzone. We were trying to get the ball out of bounds, then get good position on the field for the field goal. We have a good kicker-he has a stronger leg than the Steubenville boy-but his plant foot went out from under him as he kicked the ball. He just didn't hit it well once that happened." Saccoccia admitted feeling fortunate to win the game, particularly after the first half. The teams were deadlocked at 7 at intermission despite Big Red's critical fumble on the 1-yard line and failing to score after getting inside the Hoover 5-yard line on 2 seperate occasions. Big Red ate up over 6 minutes off the clock on its second possession of the game, using Yett's runs of 10, 10, 19 and 13 yards to garner a 1st down at the Viking 6-yard line. A 3-yard buck by Pearson on 3rd down brought the ball to the 2-yard line...but Yetts was stacked up for no gain through the middle on 4th down. The Vikings handed Steubenville another golden scoring chance when a snap on a punt again sailed over the punter's head. Big Red's Terrence Christian recovered the ball at the Hoover 3-yard line. A procedure penalty and White getting sacked for a 9-yard loss on 3rd down killed the thoughts of a touchdown. Jones came on and missed his only scoring attempt of the season, his 31-yard field goal try catching the right upright and bouncing back onto the field of play. Steubenville's lone TD of the half came on a gadget play with 50 seconds left. Pearson's 23-yard run moved the ball to the Hoover 28-yard line. On the next play, White handed the ball to Hython, who faked a reverse to Tubbo Yetts. Hython, left unattended, lofted the ball into the endzone to Pyle for the score. "I thought we played a horrible first half," Saccoccia admitted. "We missed chance after chance....there were a few plays that I'd call differently a second time around. But we came out of the half even. I thought that was key." Yetts finished the game with 27 carries for 154 yards, giving him 1,315 yards in 10 games. Pearson added 56 yards on 13 carries. Bean had 13 carries for 124 yards and Miller had 7 receptions for 87 yards for the Vikings. "The team that makes the fewest mistakes in a big game will win," Glass lamented. "We made mistakes that cost us the game. But take nothing away from Steubenville. They played very well and we wish them luck the rest of the way."

Regional Final, Friday November 18th, 1988, Big Red (11-0) vs. Uniontown Lake Blue Streaks (11-0) at Canton's Fawcett Stadium.

If you sneaked a peek at the summary before reading this game article, do not panic...you did not pick up last Saturday's paper by mistake. Sophomore placekicker Mike Jones booted a 22-yard field goal with 4 seconds to play at Fawcett Stadium in Canton Friday evening, handing Steubenville Big Red a 17-14 come-from-behind victory over Uniontown Lake in the Ohio Division II region 7 championship football game. Jones also won last week's playoff opener over North Canton Hoover in the final seconds with a fieldgoal, creating another come-from-behind 17-14 triumph. In fact, he booted a fieldgoal in the final seconds 3 weeks ago to defeat Youngstown Chaney by the score....you guessed it...17-14. "I don't care how we do it, as long as we get it done," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of his team's 12th victory without a loss. "These are tough games this time of year. Everybody's good and everybody who's here deserves to be here. I feel good about this win, a lot better than I felt last week. This was a solid, hard-hitting, cleanly played football game. I'm just happy were the team that came out on top." The teams were deadlocked at 14 in a 1st half filled with big plays. The 2nd hafl was mostly an exchange of punts and a battle of field position. Lake, in fact, did not register a 1st down in the 2nd half until 8:12 remained in the game. The Blue Steaks did not pass Big Red's 40 yard line in the 2nd half and managed but 2 first downs in the final 2 quarters. Big Red threatned to score early in the 4th quarter, taking the ball from its own 20-yard line and moving to the Lake 21. Chuck Hython caught a 19-yard pass from quarterback Aric White for the only lengthy gain of the ball-controlled march that took 5:03 off the clock. Yetts-who would carry 29 times for 132 yards, but lose 3 fumbles-lost his 3rd one at the 21-yard line of the Blue Streaks with 9:22 left in the contest. After an exchange of punts, Big Red gained possession on its own 23-yard line with only 1:53 left to play. Yetts carried for a 2-yard gain on 1st down and the clock kept running. The estimated 10,000 fans in attendance began preparing for overtime. Big Red began prepping to win the football game. Hython ran an out pattern and caught a 16-yard pass from White getting out of bounds with a minute to go. He then got loose over the middle, taking the pass from his quarterback while turning back inside. He shook a defender, darted outside and completed a 39-yard play before being dragged down at the Lake 20-yard line. Yetts ran for 5 yards before an incompletion-and a near sack-killed the clock with 13 second left. Yetts ran for 10 yards to the 5-yard line, Big Red called timeout and Jones came on to do his thing. So confindent was Saccoccia of his young placekicker that he was not about run a risky play with his offense inside the 20-yard line at that point. "We were going to try one pass...that's it," he declared. "I wasn't taking any chances. We were in a position to win the game." White enjoyed his best game statistically all season, completing 10 of 22 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hython had 4 receptions for 99 yards, flanker Cody Pyle 2 for 59. Concerned with Lake's passing ability entering the game, Big Red's defense did a number on Blue Streak quarterback Pat O'Connor. Entering the game with 1,000 yards passing on the year, he was held to 1 completion in 11 attempts for 35 yards, suffering 5 interceptions. Leon Sawyer had 3 of them, all in the 2nd half. Darren Monroe had 2 in the first half. Sawyer, ironically, was beaten for a touchdown pass-O'Connor's lone completion-in the 1st half. "He sucked it up," Saccoccia said of Sawyer. "I chewed him out pretty good after that touchdown. He could have hung his head, but he came back fighting. He played a heckuva game." Big Red suffered 3 costly turnovers in the 1st half, killing one scoring drive of its own and setting up a pair of touchdowns for Lake as the teams headed for the lockerroom deadlocked at 14. Lake linebacker Jeff Laughlin intercepted a White pass near midfield and returned it to the Big Red 39-yard line. 2 plays later, the Blue Streak quarterback dropped back and found receiver Scott Van Camp in single coverage deep down the right sideline. Van Camp took the ball in stride to complete a 35-yard scoring play, defender Sawyer going for the interception and missing with 5:22 left in the 1st period. Steubenville answered that TD on its first possession and used the air game in doing so. Despite having a 29-yard pass to Hython called back by a penalty, White found Maurice Pearson for 16 yards and, aided by a 19-yard run off the option by Yetts, moved the ball to the Blue Streaks' 25 yard line. On 2nd down from there, the junior signal-caller lofted the ball toward the left corner of the endzone. Two defenders-Keith Weatherly and Gene Hesson-were drifting back looking to intercept when Hython vaulted between them and pulled the pass down for a sensational touchdown at the 1:07 mark of the 1st quarter. After lineback Darrin Monroe came up with an interception and 23-yard return for Big Red on Lake's next snap, Steubenville seemed in business again. Yetts fumbled the ball as he was going down at the Lake 19-yard line, however, Hesson recovering for the Blue Streaks to kill the threat. Later in the 2nd quarter, Yetts would fumble again, this time at the Big Red 31, Skeeter Patterson recovering for the visitors. A pass interference penalty pushed the ball back inside Big Red's 20, enabling Lake to grind out the remaining yardage to paydirt. Larry Dues went over from the 1-yard line with just 1:40 left in the half. Still, Big Red was not done. Overcoming a second major penalty, setting the ball back to its own 30 with less than a minute to play, Steubenville's offense went to work. Yetts caught a pass over the middle for 17 yards. On the next play, White scrambled for passing room, then lofted a bomb toward the middle of the field. Pyle pulled the ball in at the goal line, falling into the endzone as defender Weatherly grabbed at his helmet in disbelief. When Jones converted his 34th consecutive PAT of the year, the game was deadlocked at 14. Jones has converted 5 of his 6 fieldgoal attempts on the year and has not missed a PAT all season.

State Semifinal, Saturday November 26th, 1988, Big Red (12-0) vs. Harrison Wildcats (12-0) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Did he block it or did he not? Was it roughing the kicker or was it not? Harrison High's football team probably spent its 2 hour ride home from Ohio Stadium in Columbus late Saturday afternoon looking for answers to those questions. The answers, in order, were yes and no. Because of that sequence, Steubenville Big Red was able to score the go-ahead touchdown with 53 seconds remaining in the Ohio Division II semifinal game, thus producing a 27-21 triumph and 2nd consecutive berth in the championship game. Ironically, Big Red will match-up with Akron Buchtel for the 2nd straight year to decide the division's king of the gridiron. Buchtel blanked Chardon 37-0 in the state's other semifinal game. The defending state champ bested Steubenville at Ohio Stadium a year ago, 26-14. The punt in question occurred as Harrison faced a 4th and 11 at its own 21-yard line, the game even at 21 with 1:53 to play. Nate Adams dropped back to punt for the Wildcats. The snap was high, Big Red's Chuck Hython and Leon Sawyer swarmed in from each end, Adams was engulfed, the football came away from his foot wobbling a few yards downfield and a yellow flag fell to the turf. A roughing the kicker penalty was called. The officials huddled, ruled a Big Red rusher had tipped the ball a waved off the flag. Steubenville had possession at the Wildcat 27-yard line. After a 21-yard Aric White-to-Hython pass moved Big Red closer and a holding penalty pushed it back, the Steubenville offense had a 1st and 22 from the 25-yard line. White took one step back from center, fired a bullet to flanker Cody Pyle across the line of scrimmage, and Pyle sauntered untouched into the endzone with 56 seconds on the clock. The snap on the PAT was high and kicker Mike Jones was stopped while attempting to run in the conversion, but it didn't matter. Hython intercepted a desperate Mike Campbell pass deep downfield on the final play of the game. "That kid never touched the ball," Harrison coach Ken Hockman whined. "The 2 officials nearest the play were arguing about it and they deferred to the official who was way downfield-he said they got a piece of it and that's what they ruled. That was a big play in the scheme of things, obviously. But give Steubenville credit. They're a fine team and they got the job done. I hope they go all the way." While Big Red moved to 13-0 with the win, the loss was Harrison's first of the season. The Wildcats furiously rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the 4th quarter to get even, scoring on a pair of 4 play drives that both took fewer than 2 minutes off the clock. "We are where we want to be," Saccoccia said of the upcoming championship game. "I'll stand by my original statement: Playing hard for 4 quarters covers up mistakes. It did so again today." Big Red led 14-0 at the intermission and drove downfield again on the first possession of the 3rd quarter. Senior tailback Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts-who had 35 carries for 168 yards on the day-handled the ball on 7 of the 12 plays that resulted in a 4th and 6 at the Harrison 18-yard line. White rolled right and flipped a short pass on the run that landed between fullback Mo Pearson and tight-end Paris Settles, aborting the drive. What happened next was a 13 play, 82-yard scoring drive constructed by Harrison, Campbell firing an 18-yard TD pass to steller flanker Jeff Bond to pull his team within a touchdown. The scoring aerial was the first of 3 TD passes in the game for Campbell, who wound up a sensational junior year with 1,686 yards passing and 30 touchdowns. "I got a little greedy there," Saccoccia admitted of going for the 1st down on 4th and 6. "I never hesitated at the time, but looking back, I should have opted for the fieldgoal try. But we were against the wind at the time. I didn't give it much thought. When we didn't make it, we let down a wee bit. You can't afford to let down at all when you're playing in the 'shoe. There's too much pride involved for any team who gets to play here." Even when Hython caught the 36-yard touchdown pass from White to cap an 8 play, 77-yard march with 9:11 remaining in the game-handing Big Red a 21-7 lead-the issue was not decided. Big Red was penalized 15 yards for a personal foul after Jones' 37th consecutive PAT, forcing a kickoff from the 25-yard line. Harrison took advantage, Campbell's 22-yard TD pass to tight-end Ryan McElroy capping a 4 play, 55-yard drive with 7:53 still remaining. White was sacked at this own 3-yard line by the Wildcats' Andy Banks and Sam Luckett on Big Red's next possession, Settles having to punt from his endzone. Four plays and 40 yards later, McElroy pulled in a 14-yard TD pass from Campbell and the game was even with 4:22 to play. "We lost our poise there for a while," Saccoccia stated. "We were scrambling around, we weren't sure if we were in the prevent, whether we weren't...but still, we were able to overcome all those things." When Yetts' option pass was intercepted deep in Harrison territory with 3:13 left, Big Red's last scoring chance wa apparently by the boards. Then, of course, came the blocked punt.
In the first half, Big Red wasted little time in establishing its dominance up front. After the Steubenville defense forced the Wildcats to punt on their first possession, the offense marched 65 yards in 18 plays, chewing 8:03 off the clock. Pearson capped what proved to be a basic drive with a 2-yard run with 2:10 left in the first quarter. Pearson and Yetts carried 9 times each in the drive, neither running for more than 7 yards on any 1 play. So basic was the drive, in fact, Big Red never attempted a pass and attempted to run outside only 3 times. White pitched to Yetts once on an option, tossed a straight pitch to his senior tailback on another play, and pitched to him on a broken play the third time. Trailing 7-0 and being thoroughly handled along the line of scrimmage, Harrison needed a big play or a break. It got both. On 3rd and 10 from the Wildcat 27-yard line following the Steubenville kickoff, McElroy made a diving catch of a Campbell pass for a 15-yard gain, enabling his team to keep possession. Two plays later, Campbell looked deep for Bond, the Harrison flanker who entered the game with 36 catches for 855 yards. Bond added to that total as Big Red defender Leon Sawyer, already beaten on the play, slipped and Bond pulled in the pass for a 38-yard gain to the Steubenville 18. Bond would have scored, but slipped to the turf while catching the ball. Big Red's defensive front 4 stopped a pair of short runs from there, forcing a 4th and 2 at the 10. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back farther, and when Campbell was sacked by Darren Monroe and Duke Malbasa on 4th and 7, the drive was halted. Steubenville regained possession and repeated its 1st quarter trick. This drive consumed 5:24 off the clock and consisted of 14 plays and 75 yards. Yetts scored on a 3-yard run to end the dominating march, his 17-yard gain on an option highlighting the drive. Again, Harrison was forced to punt. Big Red nearly scored a 3rd TD of the half, but a 44-yard shovel pass from White to Yetts was called back by a holding penalty. Yetts was driven out of bounds on the Wildcat 2-yard line on the negated play.

State Championship, Friday December 2nd, 1988, Big Red (13-0) vs. Akron Buchtel Griffins (11-1) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Steubenville Big Red's dream season concluded at Ohio Stadium in Columbus late Friday afternoon with a dream football game...but not a dream ending. Big Red was upended in double overtime by defending Ohio D2 champ Akron Buchtel, 28-21, losing the state title game for the 2nd consecutive year. While Steubenville's season ended at 13-1, the Griffins wound up their campaign at 12-1. Both teams held the lead and both teams felt they were on the brink of elimination at times in one of the more captivating football games in Ohio playoff history. The game was the first title game in the history of the state's 5 division playoff system to go into a 2nd overtime. The only other Ohio high school football championship game to enter 2 overtimes was Mogador's 23-17 triumph over Covington in the 1979 class A title tilt. "If there's been a better championship game played than this one, I'd like to have seen it," Buchtel coach Tim Flossie said among the hoopla on the Griffin sideline after the game. "Our kids just gave a tremendous effort. And Steubenville...what can you say? They didn't lose this game. Nobody did. Both teams played too hard to lose." The first half of the game wound up even at 7 and the 2nd half ended even at 14 with both teams reaching opposing territory inside of the final minute of regulation, but failing to score. Buchtel won the coin toss to start the overtime and elected to go on defense. Steubenville-overtime possessions beginning at the opposing 20-yard line-elected to give the ball to senior tailback Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts on 6 straight runs, plowing the ball to Buchtel's 1-yard line for a 3rd down play. Fullback Maurice Pearson bucked over from there and when Mike Jones added the PAT-his 40th of the year without a miss-Big Red had a 21-14 lead. It did not last long. On the Griffins' first snap, junior tailback Ricky Powers broke loose around end for 18 yards, Leon Sawyer driving him out of bounds at the 2. Two plays later, Powers scored on a 1-yard plunge and Marty Rogers' PAT evened things up again. Buchtel had their possession to start the 2nd overtime. After 4 runs-including a 9-yard burst by Powers on the first play-the Griffins were in the endzone. Sean Hayes scored the TD on a 6-yard run and Rogers again booted the PAT. With Buchtel taking a personal foul after the touchdown was scored, Big Red started its final possession of the game at the Griffins 10-yard line. Yetts had ran for 3 yards, corner back Kevin Kennerly broke up a lofted pass intended for Chuck Hython in the endzone, and Yetts ran for 4 yards. On 4th down from the 3-yard line, Big Red quarterback dropped back to pass, but was buried by onrushing tackle Eric Graves, the sack touching off the Griffin celebration. "We were trying to run quads in single coverage," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of the game's final play. "They defended it well. They're a well coached team. It was a heckuva battle. Our kids busted their butts out there today. We fought hard and lost. That's the way it fell." Buchtel took the lead in the 3rd quarter on a play that was hauntingly familiar to the back-breaking play of last season's championship game. Powers took a handoff up the middle, broke a couple of tackles across the line of scrimmage and outraced the pursuit for a 74-yard TD burst. The 74-yard scoring run set a division II championship record, Powers setting the previous mark last year with a 71-yard scoring effort vs. the Big Red. "He's incredible," Flossie said of his back, who ended the game with 32 carries for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the season with 1,600 yards and 25 TD's. "The best part is, we have him back for one more year. But I think we'll savor this one for a while." Buchtel went in to the 4th quarter with a 14-7 lead and with the football on a 3rd and 2 at the Big Red 14-yard line. Sophomore fullback Greg Shehee's run for the 1st down failed, however, Pearson and Paul Kokos dragging him down for a yard loss. On 4th down, Rogers lined up for a 32 yard field goal with just under 10 minutes to play. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back, however, and with his kicker booting into the wind, Flossie elected to try maintaining possession on 4th and 8. Quarterback Burt Thornton's pass was tipped near the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Darrin Monroe who returned the theft 34 yards to the Big Red 49. A steady 10-play drive from there was concluded with Yetts scampering into the endzone for a 14-yard TD run with 5:52 remaining. Jones' PAT tied the game. Yetts would finish the game with 34 carries for 126 yards, his season with 1,742 yards and 17 touchdowns, the rushing total representing the 4th highest in school history. Buchtel forced Big Red to punt from inside its own 15 with 2:19 to play. Taking possession at the Steubenville 49, the Griffins ground down to the 22, setting up Rogers for a 39-yard field goal try with 18 seconds left. The kick sailed wide left. Rather than sit on the football, White dropped back and found Yetts for 12 yards to the 32, then threw a long pass across the field to Hython, who caught it despite double coverage for a 34 yard gain with 3 seconds to go. With the ball on Buchtel's 34 and a stiff wind blowing in Steubenville's direction, Saccoccia toyed with the idea of Jones attempting a 52-yard field goal. The kicking unit was sent on the field, but after a timeout, the offense was sent back out. White tried lofting a pass for Hython in the endzone, but it was too far and Buchtel safety Bryan Scott had his 2nd interception of the game to end regulation play. "We played as hard as we could play," Saccoccia, clearly drained emotionally, said. "There's no shame in losing when you play like this. But it still hurts." Saccoccia, never one to shy away from agressiveness, got caught somewhat using such tatics in the 1st half. Buchtel had not yet reached Big Red territory on any of its first 3 possessions and Steubenville grabbed a 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter. That all changed in the 2nd period, however. After Marty Rogers' line drive punt rolled dead at the Steubenville 8-yard line, the Big Red offense came out throwing. White tried hooking up with Hython 25 yards downfield, but the two appeared on to be crossed up on the route. Hython cut toward the middle of the field and White's pass stayed on the right side of the gridiron, where Buchtel strong safety Scott made a diving interception at the 22-yard line. Vino Orsley caught a clutch 11-yard pass on a 3rd and 7 play to keep the march alive for the Griffins, who eventually crossed the goal line in a 9 play march. Thornton got the score on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line on 3rd down. Rogers' PAT knotted the game at 7. Undaunted, Steubenville looked for more points of its own after the kickoff. Leon Sawyer caught a 15-yard pass, moving the ball to the Big Red 43-yard line. From there, 3 White passes fell incomplete. Rather than punt with 33 seconds left on the clock, Big Red elected to run a play from scrimmage. White tried hitting Sawyer deep down the middle. Contact was made with the defender and Sawyer stumbled as the pass failed to connect. He played for a flag, but none came and the Griffins had another chance before intermission. A 2nd down pass from Thornton hit tightend Adam Stephens over the middle at the Steubenville 26. But, despite being all alone Stephens dropped the ball. Sawyer intercepted a deep pass intended to Carney to close out the half. Big Red's first half touchdown came on the opening possession of the game. The drive covered 80 yards on 12 plays. Yetts carried the ball on 10 straight plays at one point gaining 47 of those yards during that stretch. Reaching the Griffin 30-yard line, Big Red's 3rd down apparently ended with an incomplete pass to Hython. Steubenville was flagged for an illegal receiver downfield, though, and Buchtel choose to accept the penalty. On the next play, White again lofted a pass in Hython's direction, this time deep over the middle and in the endzone. Hython, a 6' receiver who plays like he stands 6'10'', was being covered by a 5'8 cornerback Marquess Farr. Hython easily outleaped Farr for the football, Scott arriving in time to help defend, but coming in behind the leaping Hython. The Big Red receiver fell to the turf between defenders, holding on to the ball for the score. Jones' PAT gave Steubenville the early 7 point advantage.

Regional Semifinal, Friday November 5th, 1989, Big Red (9-1) vs. Minerva Lions (10-0) at Death Valley.

Never mind the statistics or the final score. Friday night's Ohio Division II football playoff contest between Steubenville Big Red and Minerva at Harding Stadium was no contest. Big Red built a 35-3 lead into the 4th quarter before pulling its starting players. Ryan Terry rushed for 117 yards and Chuck Hython scored 3 touchdowns as the hosts defeated previously undefeated Minerva 35-17. The victory was Steubenville's 10th straight this year and 100th victory of the 1980s. The triumph also handed Big Red 10 victories for the 8th straight season. No team had scored more than 22 on Minerva all year and only once did the Lions score less than 25 themselves before this game. "This is the first time we've been able to play relaxed all year," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia pointed out. "Since losing that first game (12-7 to Youngstown East), our backs have been to the wall 9 straight weeks. It sounds funny because it's a playoff game, but we actually felt at ease in this game. Our goal was to make the playoffs...once you get to the playoffs, anybody from Podunk to New York City can win it." Big Red trailed in this game early as Jamie Ford returned a Steubenville punt 44 yards to the hosts' 7-yard line late in the first quarter. The defense stiffened, however, Sam Mitchell stoppin fullback Ben Stump short on 3rd down from the 1-yard line. The Lions looked for the touchdown on 4th down, but took too long to get the play off. The delay of game penalty forced them back 5 yards, coach Lynn Molen opting for the field goal as a result. Ray Mann line-drived the 23-yard kick through the uprights with 2:51 left in the period. The lead would not be enjoyed for long. On Big Red's next possession, Maurice Pearson's 12-yard run moved the ball to the Steubenville 48. From there, quarterback Aric White dropped back and lofted a bomb down the right sideline in Hython's direction. The senior receiver beat defenders Ford and Walker, took the pass in stride at the 4-yard line and waltzed into the endzone with 12 seconds left in the 1st quarter. The turning point of the game occured shortly thereafter. Walker took a wide receiver screen pass and raced 38 yards to the Big Red 31-yard line. Stump plowed throught the middle for 14 stripes later in the drive, moving the ball inside the 10. On 1st down from there, Ford scooted around end and dove into the endzone, a motion penalty nullifying the score. Again, Minerva attempted a wide receiver screen to Walker. This time, Hython stepped in front, juggled the ball, pulled it back in, and raced 87 yards the other way for a touchdown with 8:51 left in the half. "Yes, that was a turning point," Molen moaned. "The kid made a good play on the ball. Up until that play, I thought we were dominating the game. But that was a big one." Saccoccia conceded, "If there was a key play, that would have to be it. But I thought the key to the game was the fact that they had 2 big plays and only got 3 points out of them. We had 2 big plays and got 14 out of them. That was the difference." Saccoccia refered to a 40-yard kickoff return by Walker, taking the ball to midfield late in the 2nd quarter, as Minerva's second big play. The Lions wound up turning the ball over on downs at the Big Red 35. The first big play, of course, was Ford's 44-yard punt return. Cody Pyle's 11-yard punt return set up Steubenville at the Minerva 33 midway through the 2nd period. An 8 play drive, consisting of all runs fewer than 10 yards each, concluded with Pearson's 1-yard plunge with 3:01 left in the half. Big Red took a 21-3 lead into intermission. "We were still in the game," Molen noted. "Our kids play hard for 4 quarters. We didn't feel we were beaten." Molen's team was beaten, however, after Big Red's first drive of the 3rd period. Terry got loose for 23 yards on the first play from scrimmage and later broke free for a 32-yard gain on a 2nd and 17 draw play. Hython completed the 8 play, 70-yard march by hauling in a 9-yard alley-oop pass from White. He out-leaped the physically outsized Ford for the ball in 1-on-1 coverage. Terry finished the game with 13 carries for 117 yards, his second straight 100-yard effort after missing 3 weeks with an ankle injury. Leading 28-3, Steubenville had the game well in hand. When Don "Butch" Brown recovered a Ford fumble at midfield late in the 3rd period, however, Big Red was in line to score again. Terry ripped off a 13-yard gain, Russell Gory carried 3 times for 17 yards and Darius Alexander twice for 17. Alexander's second carry was a 3-yard run for the TD with 9:38 left in the game. Mike Jones connected on his 5th PAT of the night-and 69th consecutive over 2 seasons-and the lead was 35-3. Saccoccia sustituted freely at that point, but Molen kept his 1st string offense in the game. His team pieced together drives of 77 and 74 yards for touchdowns in the 4th period, Ford scoring on a 3-yard run and Walker on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Keen. "These are the best of times for us, not the worst of times," Molen noted. "Our kids have played too hard this year to come all the way down here and not have some good memories. We were going to go full tilt for 4 quarters, regardless of the score, and that's what we did." Ford, who entered the game with 1,597 yards rushing, finished the contest with 20 carries for 97 yards. He had 32 yards on 12 carries against the first string defense however. Walker had 5 receptions for 94 yards. Big Red had 210 yards rushing in 41 attempts, attempting but 5 passes on the evening. Hython had 2 receptions, both for touchdowns, and intercepted 2 passes. Paul Kokos, Gory, Mitchell, and George Vudrogovic were among the members of the defense unit enjoying solid performances. Big Red will face North Canton Hoover next weekend, Hoover defeating Columbus Franklin Heights 36-8 Friday evening. Steubenville edged Hoover 17-14 in a 1st round playoff game here last year. "I'm sure it will be another game like last year," Saccoccia noted. "I'm guessing we'll be on the road for that one, probably Massillon or Fawcett Stadium, but I don't know for sure."

Regional Final, Friday November 12th, 1989, Big Red (10-1) vs. North Canton Hoover Vikings (10-1) at Canton's Fawcett Stadium.

Steubenville Big Red does not subscribe to the theory that tradition dies hard. Steubenville Big Red subscribes to the theory that tradition does not die, period. Trailing 31-7, with 6:29 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Big Red completed perhaps the most incredible comeback in the history of the Ohio high school football playoffs when Ryan Terry plunged across the goal line from 1 yard away in the 2nd overtime to hand his team a 37-31 triumph over North Canton Hoover in the Region 7 championship game Friday night. The game was played at Canton McKinley's Fawcett Stadium, on the hallowed grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That was only fitting in the eyes of Steubenville Coach Reno Saccoccia. "This was the greatest comeback in the history of football," Saccoccia bellowed during the bedlam on the field afterward. "I don't mean just high school football....I mean all of football." A bit over-dramatic? Maybe. But try to find a game that beats this one. When Hoover's Fred Schmidt pulled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Scott Rennecker with 6:29 left in the 3rd quarter and Mike Orndorf ran across the conversion, the Vikings had built up a 31-7 lead on Steubenville. The point production the highest against a Big Red team in 87 games, dating back to Cardinal Mooney's victory over Big Red in the 1981 playoffs. The game marked Big Red's first-ever playoff appearance. It appeared Friday night would be Big Red's final playoff game of the 1980's. What followed, however, showed how much this football program has grown in a decade. When Big Red got the football back, Terry immediately galloped 32 yards on a counter play. A personal foul penalty after the run pushed the ball to the Hoover 25-yard line. A few plays later, quarterback Aric White completed the 7 play, 72 yard drive with a 1-yard plunge. Terry ran for 2 points and Big Red trailed 31-15 with 3:52 left in the quarter. On Hoover's next series, Orndorf had trouble with a pitch out, Calvin Platt taking the bobbled ball out of the air and galloping 36 yards to the Viking 7-yard line. 2 plays later, Maurice Pearson bucked in from the 1, a conversion pass failed and Big Red trailed 31