CANTON — No matter how the football state championship games play out for Lucas and Mansfield Senior, one family will have something to celebrate.
This weekend, Senior High and Lucas have earned spots in their respective state championship football games.
The Tygers (13-1) play Trotwood-Madison (11-3) on Friday at 3 p.m. for the state Division III title, while the Cubs (12-2) play Maria Stein Marion Local (12-2) on Saturday at 10 a.m. for the Division VII state championship.
Clay Caudill, who plays on the defensive line and is a standout tight end for the Tygers, and his cousin Logan Niswander, quarterback for the Cubs, will have more fans than usual in the stands cheering them on.
“It’s super special. It’s going to put a tear in my eye just knowing they came to support me,” Caudill said.
In the stands rooting him and his cousin on will be his external family, from California and South Carolina.
“It’s an honor for me and Logan to get to bring the family together,” said Caudill, who has verbally committed to play at the University of Toledo next season. “Something like this helps us. It’s a blessing to all be together.”
For their grandparents — Mona and Dewayne Roberts — watching their grandsons at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium was a no-brainer.
“We were jumping up and down when we heard it on the radio,” Mona said.
She and Dewayne were in New Jersey visiting family for Thanksgiving, and listening to Niswander’s game-winning touchdown drive on the radio. That dramatic finish propelled the Cubs to a 15-12 win over Harvest Prep and the first state final appearance in program history.
“When we found out they were both playing this weekend, we knew we had to come,” Mona said.
Other family is planning to make the trip as well: Niswander’s sisters living in California and Caudill’s grandfather in Florida. But for Niswander and Caudill, the game will be the first time the two will get to watch each other play all season.
“Because we both play on Friday nights, we obviously haven’t gotten to see the teams play,” Niswander said. “Because we play on different days (this weekend) we are excited to see each other play.”
The quarterback and tight end grew up as best friends, Caudill said. And the improbable runs through the state playoffs rekindled the close bond.
“When I was 8 or 9, we’d throw a football around in the backyard at Grandma’s,” Niswander said. “Clay was much bigger than I was and it was never much of a competition.”
Caudill remembers it a bit differently.
“It was very competitive,” he remembered. “Logan is a great athlete. We’d play all kinds of things; football, basketball. We’d even play out in the woods together.”
Since those backyard sporting days, the two continue their admiration for each other.
“I remember when Clay got his first scholarship offer from Kentucky. He was still in middle school,” Niswander said laughing. “I thought he was going to play for Ohio State.”
Win or lose, the cousins are excited to be able to bring their family together again.
Their grandparents moved from Mansfield to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2011.
“This has a huge impact on us both,” Caudill said. “We don’t get to see them that often. A lot of people wouldn’t quite understand the moment we have to be with almost our entire family. But this is a moment we can be blessed to be together.”
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