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SPRINGFIELD -- Columbus DeSales H-back De'Wayne Penn caught a 17-yard
touchdown pass from quarterback Dino Razzano with seven seconds
remaining to complete the Stallions' come-from-behind 20-17 victory over
the Kettering Alter Knights in the Division III state semifinals Friday
at Evans Stadium on the campus of Springfield South High School. DeSales (9-5) advanced to the sixth time in school history with the victory and will play Mentor Lake Catholic for the title next Friday morning at 11 a.m. at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Alter finishes its season at 10-4. The Stallions drove 93 yards in 1:52 seconds for the game-winning touchdown and did so mostly through the success of their passing game. A 30-yard scramble by Razzano on fourth-and-4 at the Stallions' 13 kept the drive alive, and three straight completions -- the first to Donny Gibson for 11 yards, the second to Penn for 25 and the third to Gibson for nine -- put the Stallions at the Knights' 17 on second-and-1. Razzano's next pass to Gibson was out of his reach inside the Alter five, and Razzano's final pass looked as though it would be picked off the Alter's Bobby Getty in the end zone. But Penn, brother of former Ohio State point guard James "Scoonie" Penn, reached over the defender at took the ball away, gathered it in and fell to the ground for the winning score. The comeback spoiled what was a strong Alter start. The Knights marched 74 yards on seven plays on their first drive of the game and took a 7-0 lead on Doug Penno's 45-yard run around left end. Alter's Nick Mangold then recovered a fumble on DeSales' first play of the game and Mark Euse capped the following six-play, 41-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run, giving the Knights a 14-0 lead just 6:02 into the game. DeSales would get on the board on their next drive, though, as Razzano led the Stallions on an eight-play, 80-yard drive and closed it out with an 11-yard touchdown run, pulling DeSales to within seven points with 3:17 to play in the opening period. Alter's Josh Heyne kicked a 21-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Knights a 10-point, 17-7 lead at the break. But the Stallions clawed back into the game on field goals of 35 and 39 yards by Jonathan Bednarek in the third quarter, closing DeSales within striking distance, 17-13. DeSales punter Scott Wintering pinned the Knights at their own 8-yard line on a punt with less than eight minutes to play, but the Knights pushed the ball out to midfield before giving the ball up. Things looked good for Alter after punter Jimmy Rose pinned the Stallions back at their own seven with 1:59 left to play, but the final drive pushed DeSales into the title game. Razzano completed 10-of-16 passes for 132 yards and the winning touchdown while rushing for 52 yards on 15 carries and scoring the other DeSales TD on the ground. Penn led the Stallion ball carriers with 57 yards on eight carries. Gibson and Penn accounted for all 10 DeSales receptions, Gibson with six catches for 62 yards and Penn with four for 70. Penno led the Alter attack, one that outgained the Stallions most of the evening, with a game-high 116 yards rushing on 17 carries. Alter quarterback Eric Laumann attempted just nine passes and completed four for 37 yards. All four passes went to four different receivers -- Getty caught one pass for 12 yards, Zach Freshwater one for 11, Penno one for 10 and Chris Jergens one for four yards. SCORE BY QUARTERS DeSales...............7.....0.....6.....7..........20 Alter..................14.....3.....0.....0..........17 SCORING SUMMARY FIRST QUARTER ALTER - Doug Penno 45 yd run (Josh Heyne kick), 8:24. (7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:36) ALTER - Mark Euse 4 yd run (Josh Heyne kick), 5:58. (6 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:16) DES - Dino Razzano 11 yd run (Jonathan Bednarek kick), 3:17. (8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:41) SECOND QUARTER ALTER - Josh Heyne 21 yd field goal, 1:53. (9 plays, 43 yards, TOP 4:22) THIRD QUARTER DES - Jonathan Bednarek 35 yd field goal, 6:20. (12 plays, 43 yards, TOP 5:40) DES - Jonathan Bednarek 39 yd field goal, :26. (9 plays, 43 yards, TOP 4:14) FOURTH QUARTER DES - De'Wayne Penn 17 yd pass from Dino Razzano (Jonathan Bednarek kick), :07. (10 plays, 93 yards, TOP 1:52) TEAM STATSISTICS.............DES..........ALTER First Downs.................................14..................13 Rushes-Yards......................38-166...........40-195 Passing Yards............................132..................37 Comp-Att-Int.....................10-17-0...........4-10-1 Total Offense.............................298................232 Punts-Avg.............................5-34.0...........5-40.6 Fumbles-Lost.............................1-1................1-0 Penalties-Yards........................6-59................1-5 Time of Possession..................23:05.............24:55 RUSHING: DeSales-De'Wayne Penn 8-57, Dino Razzano 15-52, Luther Henderson 6-20, Tyler Gergley 3-19, Marc Wilson 5-15, Ryan Senser 1-3. Alter-Doug Penno 17-116, Bobby Getty 9-38, Mark Euse 6-23, Eric Laumann 8-18. PASSING: DeSales-Dino Razzano 10-16-0-132, De'Wayne Penn 0-1-0-0. Alter-Eric Laumann 4-9-1-37, Bobby Getty 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: DeSales-Donny Gibson 6-62, De'Wayne Penn 4-70. Alter-Bobby Getty 1-12, Zach Freshwater 1-11, Doug Penno 1-10, Chris Jergens 1-4. INTERCEPTIONS: DeSales-Marty Cahill 1-0. Alter-None. clecinosu |