CANTON — There are eight “Mr. Ohio” football finalists for 2025, honored for their play in 10 regular-season games.
Two of them will meet literally head to head on the field Friday morning in the ultimate postseason game with a lot more on the line than an individual award.
Shelby senior QB Brayden DeVito (5-11, 175) and Cleveland Glenville linebacker Cincere Johnson (6-3, 225) lead their teams into the Division IV state championship game at 10:30 a.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Unbeaten Shelby (14-0) is coming off its fourth-straight postseason blowout, a 42-7 running-clock win in the state semifinals against previously unbeaten Cincinnati Indian Hill. It’s the first title game appearance for the Whippets in the school’s storied football history.
Ticket information
- Single game tickets will go on sale Monday at www.OHSAA.org/tickets. All-session tickets and special ticket packages are posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/news-media/articles/ohsaa-announces-football-state-championships-schedule-and-tickets-11
All seven championship games will be televised by Spectrum News 1, with Spectrum’s coverage also streamed live at SpectrumNewsApp.com and OHSAA.tv. The OHSAA Radio Network will also broadcast all seven games.
Glenville (11-3) knocked off defending state champion and previously unbeaten Indian Valley, 26-21, in the semifinals. It’s the fifth championship appearance for the Tarblooders, who won state titles in 2022 and 2023.
It’s a dynamite matchup between DeVito, who will play at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Johnson, the latest Glenville product headed to The Ohio State University.
In the state semifinal win, DeVito completed 9-of-14 passes for 112 yards and two TDs. He also ran six times for 83 yards and another score. To top it off, DeVito had an interception return for a touchdown against the Braves.
For the season, DeVito has accounted for 69 touchdowns and has 205 in his four-year career.
After the win, DeVito said he and his teammates came into the season wanting to prove people right — the people who predicted the Whippets would play for a state title.
“We’ve had to prove people wrong in the past, but this year it was about proving them right,” DeVito said. “We knew we had high expectations coming into the season, but we didn’t let it get to our heads.
“We stick together as a locker room and it shows on the field. I am so proud of this group of guys.”
The Whippets also set a new school record for wins in a single season (14). Shelby has outscored its four playoff opponents 174 to 21 this postseason — averaging 43.5 points and giving up less than a touchdown each game.
“Pure elation,” Shelby coach Rob Mahaney said after the win over Indian Hill (13-1). “I’m just so proud of these guys. They kept working. They kept doing what they needed to do to get there (Canton) and now we have an incredible opportunity to go play in the state championship game.”
Glenville poses different kind of challenge
The Whippets face a different kind of challenge in the championship game against Johnson and the Tarblooders, led by legendary coach Ted Ginn Sr., who recently celebrated his 70th birthday.
Glenville has five players who have accepted Division I scholarship offers, including OSU-signee Jamir Perez (6-4, 330), a powerful defensive tackle.
Johnson was the Northeast Lakes District Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. A four-star prospect according to most recruiting services, Johnson led Glenville during the regular season with 112 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
Johnson started as a sophomore middle linebacker on Glenville’s 2023 state championship team and led the Tarblooders back to last year’s state semifinals, losing to Sandusky Perkins.
In the state semifinal win, Glenville built — and lost — a 20-0 lead, watching Indian Valley come back to lead 21-20 in the fourth quarter on a snowy field in Minerva.
Glenville junior RB Da’Von McDougle (6-1, 215) scored the winning touchdown for the Tarblooders with a 6-yard run. The touchdown put Glenville back in the lead 26-21 with 7:29 left, and the defense held on to secure the victory.
The Tarblooders had to stop another “Mr. Football” finalist at the end — All-Ohio running back Grady Kinsey, who will join DeVito at the Air Force Academy next season.
Facing a fourth-and-4 from the Tarblooders’ 20-yard line, Kinsey was tackled two yards short on a run off tackle, ending a prep career that saw him rush for more than 8,500 yards on more than 800 carries.
“That’s the best team we’ve played in my four years here and we really gave them a run,” said Kinsey, whose 13-yard touchdown run in the third cut the lead to 20-14.
“We’re just blessed to come out here and play the game, blessed to do it with the guys we love and coaches that build us.
“The reality is, those guys are the better football players,” Kinsey told the New Philadelphia Times Reporter.
“They’re better football players. We’re the guys from Port (Washington), (Gnadenhutten) and (Tuscarawas), and God knows. But I love what they do there at Glenville. They’re good dudes, real faith-based good dudes.”
Ginn, who has his team in the state championship for the third time in four years, said he knew his Tarblooders were facing an Indian Valley team that had won 28 games in a row.
“They’re the state champions, and we had to beat them. But they didn’t make it easy. I’m just proud of my kids, to be able to get to play on this high level,” Ginn told the media afterward.
A murderous regular-season schedule prepared Glenville for its postseason run, including three Division I schools, six Division II teams and one Division III opponent.
The Tarblooders took the field against eight playoff teams during the regular season, including victories again D-2 Massillon Washington and D-1 Olentangy Liberty.
The Tarblooders’ only losses came to D-2 Avon (13-1), which is playing in Canton next weekend; D-1 Lakewood St. Ed (11-3), which played in the state semifinals; and D-2 Akron Hoban (10-2), which lost in the regional semifinals.
2025 OHSAA Football State Championships
Designated home team listed first.
All games at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton.
Division II
Avon (13-1) vs. Cincinnati Anderson (14-0), Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
Rematch of last year’s Division II championship game (Avon won 20-13)
Third championship game appearance for Avon (one state title in 2024)
Fourth championship game appearance for Anderson (one state title in 2007)
Division IV
Cleveland Glenville (11-3) vs. Shelby (14-0), Friday, Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m.
Fifth championship game appearance for Glenville (two titles, 2022 and 2023)
First championship game appearance for Shelby
Division III
Toledo Central Catholic (11-4) vs. Columbus Bishop Watterson (13-0), Friday, Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.
Third-straight year these two teams have met in Division III state championship.
TCC won 27-7 in 2023 and Watterson won 19-14 in 2024.
Eighth championship game appearance for Toledo Central Catholic (five titles, most recent in 2023)
Eighth championship game appearance for Watterson (three titles, most recent in 2024)
Division I
Cincinnati St. Xavier (11-2) vs. Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (14-0), Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Eighth championship game appearance for St. Xavier (four titles, most recent in 2020)
First championship game appearance for Olentangy Orange
Division VII
St. Henry (13-1) vs. Jeromesville Hillsdale (13-1), Saturday, Dec. 6 at 10:30 a.m.
Ninth championship game appearance for St. Henry (six titles, most recent in 2006)
Second championship game appearance for Hillsdale (no state titles)
Division VI
Kirtland (14-0) vs. Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (13-1), Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.
14th championship game appearance for Kirtland (seven titles, most recent in 2023)
Third championship game appearance for Hopewell-Loudon (no titles)
Division V
Wheelersburg (14-0) vs. Liberty Center (14-0), Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Third championship game appearance for Wheelersburg (two titles, most recent in 2017)
Sixth championship game appearance for Liberty Center (one title in 1997)
