David Homan leads New Bremen football to OHSAA state championship in rout of Warren JFK
CANTON — The Midwest Athletic Conference flexed its football muscles once again Saturday afternoon.
New Bremen turned in a dominant performance to win the OHSAA Division VII state final, hours after fellow MAC-member Marion Local also won a title at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Cardinals (13-3) ran away with the state title with a running clock by the end of the third quarter, routing Warren JFK 38-6. It's the second time in three years they beat the Eagles in a Division VII title game. The wins from Marion Local and New Bremen gives the MAC 41 OHSAA state titles, most by any league in the playoff era.
Quarterback David Homan led the way by scoring on runs of 67, 41, 7 and 27 yards. The latter two TDs came 17 seconds apart late in the third quarter when New Bremen broke the game open, resulting in a running clock. After his 7-yard TD, Warren JFK fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which New Bremen recovered. On the next play, Homan kept the ball after a play fake and sprinted around the right side and into the end zone.
Hunter Schaefer added a TD on 13-yard run, kicked a 35-yard field goal and made 5-of-5 PATs.
The Eagles (13-2) were able to avoid a shutout early in the third quarter after Caleb Hadley connected with Aidan Rossi for a 27-yard TD pass. Antonio Smith led the Eagles with 78 yards on the ground.
Here’s a look at some of the key things to know about the game:
Player of the Game: David Homan, QB, New Bremen
Homan could not be stopped. On the ground, the senior rushed for 234 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. He also completed seven of his nine passes for 77 yards. And on defense, he produced eight total tackles. Homan did it all.
Play of the Game: David Homan’s 67-yard TD run
Homan was gone like the wind. Four minutes into the second quarter, Homan had the longest run of the day as he took it to the house for a 67-yard touchdown for the Cardinals. That run put Homan over 100 yards and New Bremen was up two scores. He added a 41-yard TD run later in the quarter, as New Bremen took a 24-0 lead into halftime.
Midwest Athletic Conference Football:Marion Local, Coldwater and the OHSAA football playoffs' beast of the border, Midwest Athletic Conference
Three stats to a title
364, 287: There is no question New Bremen dominated on offense. The Cardinals recorded 364 total yards of offense. On the ground, the Cardinals rushed for 287 yards.
1: New Bremen played clean football for the entirety of the game. The Eagles only had one penalty, which was a delay of game call late in the fourth quarter. Obviously, it was intentional.
3: New Bremen’s defense and special team took advantage of JFK’s errors as they came up with three turnovers to help put the Cardinals in good field position. All three resulted in scoring drives.
They said it
New Bremen head coach Chris Schimdt on being a two-time state champ with the senior class: "Before the guys came into the high school, I think we'd been into the playoffs twice, and that’s it. Now these guys are going to walk away with two state championship rings. That says a lot about their work, but the kids before them lay that foundation and put us where we’re at now.”
New Bremen quarterback David Homan on his offensive line: "Our lineman did a great job opening up holes. They stayed on their blocks and opening up holes for me and Hunter (Schaefer) to get some breathing room and make open-field cuts.”
Warren JFK head coach Dominic Prologo on defensive struggles and offensive errors: “We picked a bad night to miss tackles and picked a bad night to turn the ball over like we did. Obviously, New Brehmen is a great football team and their quarterback had a great game today. I tip my hat off to these guys, but I’m not sure we played our best game tonight.”
This article originally appeared on The Repository: New Bremen football wins 2nd OHSAA state title in three years
