For the season they outscored the opposition 596-0 (twice scoring more than 100 points), one of the most dominating seasons in the history of high school football in the U.S. Now, a poll of sportswriters and broadcasters from around the state would decide the issue based on their expertise. However, the numbers tell it all, and when you look at the numbers there can only be one answer: National champions in high school football have been named since 1897. Whether you hail from a small school or a big city school, the playoffs have certainly made it a level playing field and truly allowed the cream to rise to the top. They then added an exclamation point to the season by thrashing one-time national power, Everett (Mass.) That TD sealed Norwalks 27-17 victory, giving the Truckers a Class AA state championship in their only playoff appearance to date. He finished that season with 294 rushing yards (5.7 per carry) and three touchdowns in 12 game appearances, reaching the end zone during Cotton Bowl competition. The following year Everett (Wash.) High School again played a team from Ohio for the national title, Clevelands East Tech High School. From 1934 to 1946 the titleholders were centered even closer to the states north coast, coming as they did from either Stark or Cuyahoga County. That game, played in Saturday, November 5, 1904, would pit a couple of neighbors against each other, Toledo Central High School against Detroit Central High School. The playoffs are often referred to as a second season, and the 2001 Wildcats took full advantage of this fact. . After leaving Massillon he took on his dream job as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, where in his second season he led the Buckeyes to a national championship. The polls would remain and are still with us, but with the coming of the OHSAA sanctioned playoffs, that format would now be used to determine the official state football champions. All that, however, has changed with the coming of the playoffs. Over the next 15 seasons Benedictine would qualify for the playoffs seven times, but the Bengals would have to wait until 1996 to win their fourth state championship, a 14-3 victory over Columbus DeSales in the Division III final. 1977-78. In 1907 they repeated as state champions, but it was again a team from Oberlin that ruined an otherwise perfect season. Ohio State Buckeyes. Find out more. Bethel Park, Pa. (Bethel Park) Rudy Andabaker 2 Molls, Larry.. . The second change was that the center of Ohio high school football, at least as far as the big school Class AA was concerned, began a gradual, but prolonged, shift to the south. Football Apr 26. In the big cities it is the individual school where most of the excitement takes place. Played before some 20,000 spectators at Toledos new stadium, the locals were stunned as Cedar Rapids Elmer Marek scored 21 points within a 10 minute span of the third period to tie the game at 21-all. I want to be better every single day, and why not be in the best running back room in the country right here at Penn State? he said. Some schools continually garnered poll votes because they were supposed to be good, whether or not they actually were as strong as their record might indicate. The Bulldogs lost their state championship crown in 1920 (shared by Canton McKinley and Cleveland East Tech), and no champion was declared for 1921. Regular Season. For example, Massillon High School (now known as Massillon Washington) played its first interscholastic game in 1893, Canton High School (now Canton McKinley) staged its first game the following year, and Fostoria High School kicked off its interscholastic program in 1896. St. Thomas made it a 20-17 game early in the fourth quarter, but midway through the period the Truckers John McCarty scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. The official University of Northern Iowa Panthers Football History vs Youngstown State University. In 1976 it was more of the same - another perfect regular season and a second straight Class AAA title. Quite often, too, a school that felt that its team was the king of the hill often issued on open invitation to any team from around the state that wished to challenge it on the gridiron for the state championship. We all were shocked when it happened, but it is what it is, and I hope the kid has success.". 1. Of the 128 schools (thru 2008) that have been named, or shared, the title of national champion, 27, or a whopping 21%, have come from the Buckeye State. With the coming of the playoffs the question as to who is the best can now be decided on the gridiron. Len Dawson brought the Aviators right back to make it 21-14, but on the ensuing kickoff Lee Nussbaum returned the ball 77-yards for another Massillon TD. Nor was there anything like a statewide poll ranking the best teams. 1973 OHIO STATE FOOTBALL ROSTER 1 Skladany, Thomas. Are the teams ranked #1 in the polls really the best in their division? In 2002 the Bengals lost to Columbus Watterson, 28-7, in the title game, but each of the next two seasons they took home the championship hardware. Or write about sports? 1979 Oct 7. In 1924 and 1925, Paul Brown was the quarterback of the Massillon Tigers, leading his team to a record of 15-3. Once they are in the playoffs, Newark Catholic is not satisfied with just sticking around for the proverbial cup of coffee. Several of the teams from Ohios smaller school divisions have been good enough to occasionally land on the national charts as well, demonstrating that football excellence in the state is not limited to just a few, or to just one division. All rights reserved. Red Team Claims Victory in Entertaining Spring Game. Of the 713 schools that support a football team, approximately 610 have at one time or another enjoyed the excitement of post-season play. With a record of 9-1-0, the Tigers were named state champions in Mathers first season of 1948, after having been out of the top spot for the five previous years. For their efforts and outstanding success the Wildcats were named the national Team of the Decade for the 1990s by. Join our linker program. "I wish Devyn well," Seider said. In 1915, with a 0-0 tie with Columbus North as the only blemish on their otherwise perfect 8-0-1 season, the Redmen again captured the state championship. In 1923, Scott High School played host to the team from Washington High School of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in another game billed as being for the national championship. In the finals St. Ignatius even manhandled Cincinnati St. Xavier, which had defeated St. Ignatius during the regular season. Adding not a little, but a lot, of icing to its championship cake, Fostoria was also named the national champion in 1912, the first in a long line of Ohio teams to be so honored. LIONS247 SPECIAL: 30% off annual VIP membership - OR - $1 for 1 month. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. The Wildcats did not advance to Division I post-season play until 1988, but since then they have not missed a year, playing in a state record 21 (thru 2008) consecutive playoffs. While each of these schools has had its own era of national prominence, the fact that an Ohio school is always somewhere near the top of the national charts is the most telling evidence for the outstanding quality and consistency of the high school football played in the state. Massillons success did not end with the departure of Paul Brown. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. They were led by fifth-year head coach Bo Pelini and played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium. In every decade between those two years, a total of eight Ohio high schools have been good enough to place national championship hardware in their trophy cases. High School defeated North Tonawanda (N.Y.) High School by a score of 14-0 to claim that first national championship. The next year it would be St. Marys Memorial losing to Benedictine in the Division III final, 27-14, as the Bengals took home their sixth state championship the third most titles in the state. In 1993 and 1995, Coach Kyles team also added two more national championships to its trophy case. Valpo Football Holds Annual Spring Game. Join our linker program. Find out more. While the Wildcats have been a power in the Cleveland area since the late 1940s, and playing football for more than 90 years, they are a relative newcomer to the world of Ohio playoff football. That loss, to Cincinnati Princeton by a single point, 13-12, not only cost the Crusaders another perfect season, but it also kept them from making the playoffs. For example, Cleveland area fans were especially sensitive to being shortchanged in this way, as no doubt were others, and the smallest schools were left out of the equation altogether, no matter how good they might have been. . But in 1979 coach Faust had his team back on track as the Crusaders again went 12-0 to win another state title. The Tigers came back to again post back-to-back national championship seasons under Coach Brown in 1939 and 1940. 2021 YSU Football Roster - Youngstown State Athletics Youngstown State Skip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer Composite Search Menu Sports Men's Sports Baseball Roster Schedule Basketball Roster Schedule Cross Country Roster Schedule Football Roster Schedule Golf Roster Schedule Swimming & Diving Roster Schedule Tennis Roster Schedule Before some 12,000 fans at Shaw Stadium, the East Clevelanders handily swept aside their visitors by a score of 26-0. However, Central was declared the champion of the state of Ohio, the first team so named. In this, the last game recognized as a national high school championship game, Cathedral Latin became the only private school to play for national honors. Youngstown State football media and recruiting guide, featuring player and coach profiles, statistical information, historical information and more. Plymouth: MI: Salem: 21: Allen, Jay: FB: 1979: 6-0 . Ohios national champions have not been limited to any certain period of time. That record earned for the Tigers six consecutive state championships and four national titles (1935-36-39-40). The honor of being named the first Class A State Champion went to Dover St. Joseph High School, while the following schools rounded out that first Class A top ten: Marion Catholic, Millersport High School, Hartville Lake, Hanoverton United, Johnstown-Monroe, Fairport Harbor, Lancaster Fenwick, Frankfort Adena and Portsmouth Notre Dame. From 2002 to 2007 victories were a bit hard to come by for St. Ignatius, but they continued to make the playoffs every year. was a two-time first-team all-state selection by USA Today. The contest was a bitter struggle that ended in a 7-7 deadlock. Eugene Register-Guard. The previous record was an 80-yard pass from Joe Sparma to Bob Klein in 1961 versus Michigan. No team was named the states high school football champion for 1905, but the following season would see the arrival of the states first truly dominating team, the Redmen of Fostoria High School. Seven months after leaving the Penn State football program, former Nittany Lions running back Devyn Fordentered the NCAA transfer portal Monday, per 247Sports sources. 8 overall; 2006. Or write about sports? Do you have a blog? Led by sophomore quarterback Nate Szep, starting his very first varsity game in the Division I championship game due to an injury to regular starter Bryan Panteck, the Wildcats defeated a tough Huber Heights Wayne team, 24-10, to earn a record eighth state championship. In 1908 Fostoria again won eight games, including a 110-0 victory over Defiance, but a 14-5 loss to another top team of the day, Clevelands East High, prevented the Redmen from winning a third consecutive state title. Since the team from Clevelands Central High School was named the first state champion back in 1895, every team recognized as the state football champion had come from a city in the northern half of the state. This is the official Facebook home of Youngstown State Football! Much arguing went on back and forth, especially between Oberlin and Central, who had played to a 5-5 tie earlier in the season. Today we have what are called the mythical national champions in high school football because the winners are taken from the various nationwide polls, rather than winning their title on the field of play. On the other hand, those teams, conferences and areas without a direct representative among the media voters tended to suffer accordingly from a lack of recognition.