CANTON – Cleveland Glenville used a dynamic offense and smothering defense to defeat Kettering Archbishop Alter 38-3 in the Division IV state championship game on Saturday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Glenville (13-2) wins its second straight state title in its fourth appearance in a state final.
Alter (12-4) finishes runner-up for the fourth time to go along with state championships in 2008 and 2009.
Glenville scored touchdowns on each of its four first-half possessions, piling up 287 yards of offense, while limiting the Knights to 51 yards on 13 plays in the first half.
The Tarblooders led 26-3 at intermission.
Ruel Tomlinson had a hand in all four of Glenville’s first-half touchdowns.
He opened the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run, closed the half with a 2-yard run, and in-between tossed 17-yard and 38-yard touchdown passes to Damarion Witten.
In the first half alone, Tomlinson completed 8-of-12 passes for 107 yards and ran eight times for 62 yards.
D’Shawntae Jones ran for 107 yards on 21 carries in the first half.
Tony Arcuri kicked a 25-yard field goal late in the first half for the Knights’ only points.
Glenville opened the second half with touchdowns on its first two possessions. Jones scored on an 18-yard run midway through the third quarter that capped a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive.
An Alter punt then pinned the Tarblooders at their own 1-yard line, but five plays later Tomlinson found Quincy Rogers down the left sideline for a 78-yard touchdown pass.
Glenville finished the game with 461 total yards (254 rushing, 207 passing) on 63 offensive plays while surrendering just 130 yards (69 rushing, 61 passing) on 35 plays for Alter.
Tomlinson finished 10 of 17 through the air for 207 yards and three scores. He also rushed for 83 yards on 10 carries and scored twice.
Jones ran 30 times for 161 yards and a score, while Witten’s five receptions went for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Noah Jones ran 10 times for 79 yards for the Knights. Gavin Connor completed 5 of 14 passes for 61 yards.