CANTON — MC Walker put on a show Friday night.
Orange’s senior wideout, Walker caught five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter and the Pioneers powered to a 28-14 win over St. Xavier in the Division I championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Lucas Fickel rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown and caught a TD pass and Levi Davis added 93 yards and a score as Orange (15-0) won its first state title.
“It was a phenomenal performance by him just to show up and show out,” Orange coach Wes Schroeder said. “He had a bunch of catches and we’re proud of him.”
Second-Quarter Surge
The Pioneers came to life after a scoreless first quarter. Davis scored on a 2 yard keeper on fourth and goal on the first play of the second quarter to give Orange a 7-0 lead.
The Blue Bombers (11-3) tied the score on Jake Britt’s 39 yard run, before Walker took over. He caught a 4 yard TD pass from Davis to make it 14-7 and hauled in a 39 yarder to set up Fickel’s 15 yard scoring grab to make it 21-7 at the half.
“He’s a dawg,” Davis said of Walker. “Going into the season I knew he had something special.”
Orange extended the lead to 28-7 on Fickel’s 4 yard blast midway through the third quarter.
St. Xavier cut it to 28-14 with 5:03 to play in the fourth on Aidan Newdigate’s 12 yard TD catch, but the Pioneers recovered the ensuing onside kick and killed the clock to preserve the victory.
The Ohio University-bound Davis completed 10-of-18 passes for 177 yards and two scores.
“It’s tough to have an answer for him,” St. Xavier coach Steve Specht said of Davis. “The bigger issue is when you combine Levi with Lucas Fickel. That one-two punch is pretty potent.
“He’s a lot of fun to watch on film. He’s a nightmare to prepare for.”
Davis was a Mr. Football candidate but didn’t finish in the top three in balloting. Indian Valley running back Grady Kinsey won the award, announced Thursday.
“I was honored to be a finalist, but ultimately … what I wanted was the state championship,” Davis said. “That’s exactly what I got.”
(Richland Source photos by Brittany Schock and Zac Hiser)
From the OHSAA
Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 28,
Cincinnati St. Xavier 14
CANTON – Levi Davis, Lucas Fickel and MC Walker powered a three-pronged offensive attack that rolled up 403 total yards and led Lewis Center Olentangy Orange to a 28-14 win over Cincinnati St. Xavier in the 2025 Division I state championship game.
Olentangy Orange finished a perfect 15-0 and won its first state title in its first trip to the state championship game. St. Xavier (11-3) finished runner-up for the fourth time to go along with four state titles (2005, 2007, 2016, 2020).
Olentangy Orange’s Zane Konczak intercepted St. Xavier quarterback Jackson Frey on the third play of the game. Orange then drove to the St. Xavier 9-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, but the Pioneers scored touchdowns on each of their next four possessions and led by as many as 21 points, 28-7, midway through the third quarter.
Davis scored the game’s first touchdown, a 2-yard run over the right end on fourth-and-goal on the first play of the second quarter.
St. Xavier responded with its best possession of the half, an eight-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in Jake Britt’s 39-yard touchdown run that tied the score.
Davis threw touchdown passes on Olentangy Orange’s next two drives, 4 yards to MC Walker and 15 yards to Lucas Fickel, the second of which came just 13 seconds before halftime.
Orange out-gained St. Xavier 247-98 in the first half and ran 36 plays to St. Xavier’s 21 in the opening 24 minutes.
Orange scored a fourth straight touchdown to open the second half, going 86 yards in 11 plays with the second half kickoff. Fickel scored his second touchdown, a 4-yard run, and the point-after extended Orange’s lead to 28-7 midway through the third quarter.
Olentangy Orange punted for the only time early in the fourth quarter, and St. Xavier covered 92 yards in 15 plays, the last of which was a 12-yard touchdown pass from Frey to Aidan Newdigate. Olentangy Orange recovered the onside kick and ran the ball on 10 consecutive plays to erase the final 5:02 off the clock.
Frey completed 17 of 27 passes for 114 yards, a touchdown and an interception for St. Xavier. Britt was St. Xavier’s leading rusher and receiver; he ran for 45 yards and a score on four carries and caught seven passes for 40 yards.
Defensively, Brennan Kesler led Olentangy Orange with eight tackles including two sacks. St. Xavier’s Kobe Clapper made 15 tackles, tied for the fifth most in state championship game history across all divisions.