CANTON — Hillsdale’s dream of a state championship was dashed, but the Falcons left Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with no regrets.
“It’s sad it didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” senior linebacker Brady Heller said after Saturday’s 37-3 loss to St. Henry in the Division VII final, “but I still think there’s a lot that we learned that you can take away, not just football but for life in general.”
Ground Assault
St. Henry (14-1) leaned on a veteran offensive line to win the seventh state crown in program history. The Redskins rushed for 278 yards.
Quarterback Charlie Werling ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Shifty sophomore Will Speck added 77 yards on nine carries behind a line that averaged almost 240 pounds per man.
“After last year we knew we were going to have four of our offensive lineman return so we knew we could really lean on that experience,” said Werling, whose 70-yard TD run early in the second quarter opened the floodgates. “We’ve leaned on those guys all year and it really showed today.”
St. Henry took an 8-0 lead on Speck’s 26 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but Hillsdale answered. Brock Bower booted a 23 yard field goal early in the second to make it 8-3.
“We thought about going for it there, but … we were trying to get on the scoreboard in that situation,” Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline said. “If I was to do it over again, I would have done the same thing.”
On the first play of St. Henry’s ensuing drive, Werling ran around the right end and went untouched 70 yards for the score. He added a 23-yarder late in the second and hooked up with Speck on a 16-yard TD pass with just 30 seconds to play in the opening half to make it 30-3.
His final score came on a 1-yard keeper midway through the third period to trigger the running clock.
“We talked all week about how if we executed in the trenches, as we have all season, we’d like our chances,” St. Henry coach Josh Werling said. “I think their rushing yards were 20 attempts for 20 yards (21 carries, 27 yards).”
Sensational Seniors
Hillsdale’s 16-man senior class was 42-12 in four seasons with the only two regional championships in program history.
The class included career rushing king Owen Sloan and record-setting receiver Hayden McFadden. Heller set Hillsdale’s single-season tackles record last year and Bower will graduate as the program leader in career interceptions.
“They set a standard for our program in the last two years, being able to get to the state championship,” Cline said. “Twenty years ago that was an impossible task.
“They’ve turned dreams in our community into a reality.”
Bower wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’m forever proud to be a Falcon,” he said. “I love the guys I grew up with. I just want to thank the for a great season.”
Game photos: Hillsdale vs St. Henry
Credit: Zac Hiser
