Blue Jays state runner-ups

Published:  Tuesday, December 8, 2009 (3 months, 1 week ago)
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Senior St. John’s football players Joel Pohlman, left, and Steven Metcalfe carry the Div. VI State Runner-up Trophy into the Robert A. Arnzen Gymnasium Sunday during the Blue Jay Homecoming. The Jays fell in their sixth state title attempt to Norwalk St. Paul Flyers 24-21 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon Saturday afternoon.Jays fall short of 6th title; Flyers get No. 1

By JIM METCALFE
The Delphos Herald
jmetcalfe@delphosherald.com

MASSILLON — Ninety-eight yards.
That — and 3:22 — is what stood between St. John’s winning its sixth state football title and Norwalk St. Paul its first.
Led by senior quarterback Eric Schwieterman (30 rushes, 147 yards; 8-of-13 passing, 187 yards), the Flyers took off almost all the time and finally got the monkey off their back with his 1-yard plunge with five seconds left for a 24-21 triumph in the Division VI state title game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
“Schwieterman is one of the better quarterbacks we’ve faced; he’s like a (Keith) Wenning from Coldwater with his ability to beat you with the arm and the legs. We just could not contain him,” Jays coach Todd Schulte began. “They made the one play we’ve been able to make in our last two games and all year; we couldn’t make it today. We just couldn’t get off the field in third-down situations, especially on third-and-long.”
The Flyers (15-0) had three times come in as runners-up, including losses to the Blue Jays (14-1) in 1997 and 1999.
Schwieterman ran eight times (18 yards) and completed two big pass plays (70 yards) to wideout Justin Wilde (4 grabs, 108 yards) on the 12-play drive. It included a 34-yard connection on a 4th-and-3 from the Jays’ 48.
On two plays inside the 1, Schwieterman was stopped for no gain. Before third down, Flyer coach John Livengood called his final timeout with seven ticks left. With the game on the line, Schwieterman again tried a sneak, just a little more to the right side, and got far enough to cross the goal line with five ticks left. Jim Roth added the final point.
“That was one great high school football game, with two schools representing their programs well,” St. Paul coach John Livengood noted. “I have had a lot of success in my 19 years as head coach but this has been a very special group. Eric is such a threat and we didn’t have him the first five games. I felt our best chance was to spread them out and give him and our other playmakers space to work.”
With one last gasp at their 35, St. John’s senior quarterback Wes Ulm (3-of-8 passing, 23 yards) scrambled around to try and make something happen but the final pass of his high school career was dropped near midfield.
“All I was looking to do was make a play and keep it alive. Their defense really went to the ball well; they were a bunch of hard-nosed kids and made it tough for the offense,” Ulm said.
The Jays nearly put the game away on the previous drive. Up 21-17 with 10:19 remaining, they turned to junior tailback Jordan Leininger (15 totes, 98 yards) to try and do just that. They garnered the Flyer 1 in nine plays but then came their only penalty of the game, a false start on 2nd-and-goal, that set them back. Two rushes put the ball at the 3 for fourth down. The Jays called timeout and called their bread-and-bitter play: a 36 ‘O’. The Flyer defense forced Leininger outside; he tried to stretch it to the sideline but was chased out of bounds at the 2, setting up the game-winning drive.
“We never considered a field goal. We wanted to come out swinging and give our offense a chance; we’ve taken advantage of those chances,” Schulte continued. “That penalty was at a crucial time but that didn’t beat us. I am sure we can go back to other plays here or there that proved big. How many big plays did we give up in crucial situations? Plus, I felt we were in good shape with them having to go 98 yards if we didn’t make it.”
Senior linebacker Joel Pohlman had a good look at the Flyer offense up close.
“Schwieterman was fast and very accurate. When we covered their receivers downfield, he made a big play with his feet,” Pohlman said. “We’ve faced some good quarterbacks and he was right up there. I don’t want to compare; he was just good.”
Another one was his junior brother, Chris, who was unofficially credited with 22 stops.
“That would have felt better if we’d won. We have nothing to hang our heads about; we lost to a great team that played very well,” Pohlman noted. “We just couldn’t come up with the big stop to get their offense off the field and get our offense on it. I feel bad for my brother; I wanted to win this one for him and give him another title. I have another year, so I will be playing next year for more than myself; I’ll be playing for him.”
The Jays got the first break on the first series when senior defensive end Nate Webb deflected Schwieterman’s pass (on the Flyers 7th play from the Jays’ 25) and grabbed it, putting the Jays up at their 29. They garnered the Norwalk 27 in seven plays but on a fourth-and-6, Ulm threw an incomplete pass.
Three plays later at the St. Paul 27 (after a personal foul on the Flyers), Schwieterman, in the shotgun, ran a speed option to the right, kept it and tore up the sideline. He got through an arm tackle at the 40 and raced to the end zone. Roth kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 4:30 showing in the first period.
The Jays again got into Norwalk space (the 47) but had to punt it away.
After the Blue and Gold defense forced a punt, they took over on the Norwalk 46. Two plays later at the 31, the Jays tried a reverse pitch play but the pigskin was dropped; after being kicked around, Brian Roberts grabbed it at the Jays’ 40. The Flyers did reach the 2 in eight plays before Roth delivered a 19-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 5:09 left in the first half.
The ensuing kickoff was gathered on the right hash by sophomore Jordan Bergfeld at the 14. He cut across the field at the 30 and found a convoy down the left sideline, staying inbounds and avoiding a final tackler at the 10 to end up in the end zone. Sophomore Josh Rode tacked on the point-after for a 10-7 score with 4:53 left in the half.
Starting at the 28, Norwalk drove to the Jays’ 31 in seven plays but a 9-yard sack of Schwieterman by junior Cody Brinkman pushed them back and effectively ended the half.
“We never had the ball the first half. We couldn’t get much going consistently; Jordan (Leininger) ran hard today without having a lot of space and they put a lot of pressure on Wes,” Schulte added. “Our special teams kept us in the game. We had a great season. It would have been nice to end with a win but we won our first MAC title since 2000. We simply came up one play short.”
St. Paul controlled the time of possession in the first half 15:18-8:42 and ran off 32 plays (207 yards) to 17 (46 yards) for the Blue and Gold.
The Jays took the opening kickoff of the second half and started at the 40. Eight plays hence at the Flyer 24, Ulm (8 rushes, 34 yards) ran an option to the left, faking Mitchell MacLennan (9 totes, 50 yards) into the line and keeping it. He did a 360 at the 20 and went down the middle to paydirt. Rode made it 14-10 with 8:21 to go in the third.
“We wanted to put as much pressure on Ulm and disrupt him. We felt he was the real key to their offense and we didn’t want him to beat us,” Livengood added. “Our defense did a tremendous job in executing our game plan and not letting him get comfortable, either running or throwing. We attacked him.”
St. Paul reached the Jays’ 43 in retaliation but had to punt. Junior Tyler Bergfeld gathered in the pigskin at his own 4, veered toward the left and found the seam, cutting back toward the right near midfield and finally being drug down at the Flyer 7. Leininger ran for five and then took a toss off right tackle and all but walked in for the tally. Rode made it 21-10 with 2:52 to go in the third.
St. Paul then rallied for its title.

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