MANSFIELD — Lakewood St. Edward has a three-peat in its cross-hairs thanks to the exploits of Brandon White.
The 5-foot-8, 175-pound sophomore ripped off 241 yards on 40 carries and scored three touchdowns to help the Eagles soar past Hilliard Bradley 26-3 in Friday night’s Division I state semifinal at Arlin Field in Mansfield.
Hilliard Bradley’s Terris Dudley heads downfield against Lakewood St. Edward on Friday night in a Division I state semifinal at Mansfield. Credit: Curt Conrad 
Lakewood St. Edward sophomore Brandon White celebrates a touchdown on Friday night at Arlin Field in Mansfield. Credit: Curt Conrad 
Lakewood St. Edward sophomore Brandon White runs away from the Hilliard Bradley defense on Friday night in the Division I state semifinal at Arlin Field in Mansfield. 
Credit: Curt Conrad 
Lakewood St. Edward sophomore Brandon White stiff-arms a Hilliard Bradley defender during Friday night’s state semifinal win at Arlin Field in Mansfield. 
Credit: Curt Conrad 
The victory sends the two-time defending state champion to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton for a shot at a third consecutive Division I crown.
The Eagles (14-1) controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, St. Edward ran for 298 yards on 54 attempts. Defensively, the Jaguars were limited to 1 yard rushing on 18 attempts.
White’s relentless performance began with a 3-yard touchdown run at the 3:08 mark of the first period.
Bradley responded when Jacob Walter connected on a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter to shave the deficit to 7-3. But the Jaguars wouldn’t score again.
Meanwhile, White was warming to the task.
His 1-yard plunge late in the half sent the Eagles to the intermission with a 14-3 margin.
Kellen Moyer tacked on field goals of 34 and 32 yards in the third period, and White finished it with a 12-yard scoring blast with 7:24 remaining in the game.
The Jaguars were without quarterback Bradyn Fleharty, the Central District Offensive Player of the Year in Division I and an Ohio Mr. Football nominee.
Fleharty was injured in last week’s 35-28 double-overtime win over Upper Arlington in the Region 3 championship game. Fleharty was replaced by freshman Declan O’Neil.
O’Neil completed 12-of-24 passes for 101 yards and an interception. He was credited with 15 rushing attempts for 0 yards.
Bradley completes a fine season with a 13-2 record.
The Eagles have won 10 straight after losing 15-13 on Sept. 15 at Massillon — the second straight year the Tigers have bitten them.
Massillon hammered Cincinnati Anderson 55-7 on Friday night in a Division II state semifinal to reach the championship game against Akron Hoban, which will also be played next week in Canton.
Meanwhile, St. Edward is the dominant Division I program in the state. The Eagles have won six Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships at the big-school level since 2010.
The past two seasons St. Edward has beaten Springfield in the state championship game. The same two teams will engage in a third act next week. The Wildcats eliminated Cincinnati Moeller 26-19 in overtime on Friday night at Piqua in the other state semifinal.