CANTON — Orrville unleashed its secret weapon Saturday at rain-soaked Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Quarterback Logan Domer rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries as the Red Riders rumbled to the Division V state title with a 49-34 win over Johnstown.
The title was the second in school history and the first since Justin Zwick led the Riders to the Division IV crown in 1998.
A senior, Domer suffered a collarbone injury early in his junior year and missed most of the 2017 season. He re-injured the collarbone in a preseason scrimmage and sat out Orrville’s season-opening loss to rival Wooster before returning the following week.
His season passing stats were impressive — Domer completed 117 of 203 attempts for 2,031 yards and 20 touchdowns — but he was reluctant to run the ball because he didn’t trust the twice-injured collarbone. He rushed for only 317 yards and didn’t have a rushing touchdown before Saturday.
“He had dealt with the broken collarbone last year and then this year he hurt the the same collarbone,” Orrville coach Doug Davault said. “The reality of it is he didn’t start running the ball until … Week 7 and even at that point he wasn’t finishing runs.
“Tonight you saw what he probably could have been doing all year. He finished every run he had. He’s dynamic and you got to see that tonight.”
How dynamic?
Domer’s first three carries all resulted in touchdowns. His 36-yarder early in the second quarter tied the score at 7-7 and his 60-yarder with 5:47 to play in the first half gave the Red Riders (13-2) the lead for good.
Johnstown (13-2) went three-and-out to start the third quarter and on Orrville’s first play of the second half, Domer raced 61 yards for a touchdown to give the Riders a 21-7 lead.
“Every one of those was a read. Those weren’t (designed) runs,” Davault said. “Obviously he made some excellent reads tonight.”
With Johnstown’s rugged defense geared to stop Marquael Parks, Ontario’s dynamic sophomore running back, Domer found himself in open space all night long. He averaged more than 20 yards a carry.
“It feels great to get four touchdowns, but it’s even better that we won,” Domer said. “Winning a state championship, there’s nothing like it.”
The elusive Parks, who came into Saturday’s game with 53 touchdowns through the first 14 games, managed only 45 yards on 10 first-half carries before coming to life in the second half. He rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries after intermission to finish with 198 yards. His 56 total touchdowns was one off the state’s single-season record set by Harvest Prep’s Daniel Bangura in 2016.
“They were mainly keying on me in the first half,” Parks said. “After seeing (Domer) get loose on the first couple plays, they really had to hesitate. They were either going to stop Logan or they were going to stop me.”
The resilient Johnnies refused to go quietly. Johnstown cut Orrville’s lead to 21-14 midway through the third on Luke Myers’ 1-yard plunge, but Parks scored the first of his three TDs on a 31 yard run about a minute later. Another short Myers TD made the score 28-21 late in the third quarter, but Parks answered with a 47 yard scamper early in the fourth for a 35-21 Orrville lead.
Domer’s fourth score, a 13 yard with 4:45 remaining in the fourth, gave the Riders a 42-21 advantage. A 45 yard touchdown pass from Johnstown quarterback Caden Calhoun to Cole Workman cut the Orrville advantage to 42-28, but Parks’ final TD of the night, a 1-yarder with 2:07 remaining, iced it.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how these young men fought to the very end,” Johnstown coach Mike Carter said. “They showed incredible character.”
Calhoun completed 5 of 8 passes for 155 yards for the Johnnies and rushed for 128 yards on 25 carries. Bryce Barasch added 83 yards on 22 carries.
Domer and Parks combined for 405 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
“It’s the best feeling every,” Parks said. “We’ve been dreaming about this since the beginning. This is special.”
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