St. Edward tops Springfield, captures fifth big-school crown

CANTON — Danny Enovitch and his Lakewood St. Edward teammates made Springfield pay for every mistake Friday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Enovitch rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and the opportunistic Eagles scored all their points off Springfield miscues in a 23-13 win in the Division I state championship game.

St. Edward (15-1) won its fifth big-school state title and first since 2018.

“I can’t say how proud I am of these guys for their attitudes all year,” St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo said. “The resilience and singleness of purpose was really evident.”

Enovitch provided an immediate spark for the Eagles, scampering 72 yards on the first play from scrimmage to the Springfield 1-yard line. The Wildcats (13-2) came up with a sensational goal line stand, however, denying St. Edward on four running plays to force a turnover on downs.

“It was only our first drive and it was the very beginning of the game,” St. Edward quarterback Christian Ramos said. “It would be silly of us if we got our heads down.

“We knew coming in they were going to be a tough opponent. They made the state finals for a reason.”

Springfield marched into St. Edward territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles’ 28-yard line.

That’s when Enovitch and Co. went to work. St. Edward drove 72 yards on 11 plays, with Enovitch rumbling the final 17 yards for a score to make it 7-0 with 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Springfield went three-and-out on its ensuing possession and lined up to punt from deep in its own territory. The punt never got off, however, as the snap sailed over punter Cole Yost’s head and into the end zone. Yost fell on it for a safety and a 9-0 St. Edward lead.

Joel Castleberry returned the ensuing free kick 22 yards to the St. Edward 49. Eight plays later, Ramos connected with Connor Goodall for a 19-yard touchdown and the Eagles led 16-0.

“We just didn’t execute when we needed to,” Springfield coach Maurice Douglas said. “We didn’t do as good as we needed to on special teams.”

Springfield got on the board thanks to quarterback Te’Sean Smoot’s 9-yard touchdown run with 4:01 remaining in the second quarter to make it 16-7. The Wildcats had a chance to cut into the lead even further, but a field goal attempt on the final play of the first half was wide left.

Springfield took the second-half kickoff and marched deep into St. Edward territory, but Smoot’s pass for Anthony Brown was intercepted by Hayden Rice near the goal line. The Eagles then put together the drive of the night, going 92 yards on 14 plays with Enovitch scoring on a 9-yard run to make it 23-7 with 1:20 to play in the third.

The Wildcats cut it to 23-13 when Smoot hooked up with Brown on a 20-yard scoring strike early in the fourth, but Springfield had a field goal blocked later in the period. St. Edward was able to chew up the final 5:58 to secure the win.

“It’s really surreal,” Ramos said. “I’ve got a lot of emotions going through me right now and I’ve got to process it all.”

Enovitch agreed.

“Being a part of St. Ed’s, you’re part of a living legacy,” Enovitch said. “My whole family went to Ed’s. Adding on to that living legacy … is absolutely amazing.”