SPARTA — Colonel Crawford’s magical football season chalked up a school first on Friday night.
The fifth-seeded Eagles soared over No. 3-seed West Jefferson 35-7 to collect a Division VI regional championship at Highland High School.
C.C. (13-1) was fueled by the powerful legs of senior Connor McMichael. The 6-foot, 210-pound bulkhead muscled his way to 214 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries to lead coach Jake Bruner’s team into its first Final Four.
The Eagles will have a monumental task in that matchup, facing No. 1-ranked Kirtland (13-0). The Hornets beat Sugarcreek Garaway 21-7 on Friday night to claim a ninth straight regional crown.
Colonel Crawford will find out the location for its Final Four matchup when the OHSAA announces sites on Sunday afternoon.
Alas, that’s next week’s worry. This weekend is about celebrating a superb performance in an Elite Eight showdown.
McMichael’s 13-yard touchdown run midway through the first period gave C.C. a lead it would not relinquish.
McMichael added a 2-yard plunge early in the second quarter for a 14-0 edge. Less than two minutes later he punched in a third score on a 7-yard jaunt for a 21-0 bulge. McMichael’s 3-yard TD run in the final minute of the half made it 28-0 at intermission.
Neither team scored in the third quarter.
The Roughriders averted the shutout when Austin Buescher connected with Jackson Beatty for an 8-yard TD pass to cut the margin to 28-7 early in the fourth period.
But the Eagles finished the scoring on Peyton Baker’s 11-yard touchdown bolt midway through the final quarter.
Third-seeded West Jefferson ends the season with an 11-2 record.
The Eagles dominated the game statistically. Senior quarterback Brayden Holt completed an efficient 13-of-16 passes for 140 yards. Parker Weithman caught eight passes for 94 yards. Baker added 53 yards rushing on nine attempts.
Colonel Crawford enjoyed the advantage in first downs (19-9), rushing yards (281-54), passing yards (140-123) and total yards 421-177. Senior Joe Zizzo drilled all five PATs.
(Photos by Diane Bemiller)
