Licking Valley Will Remember The Name Mauk

2001 OHSAA DIVISION IV STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME KENTON 40, NEWARK LICKING VALLEY 13 CANTON -- If you don't know Ben Mauk's name by now, you have one more year to learn it. Mauk made his presence known in Kenton's Division IV state championship game against the Newark Licking Valley Panthers, throwing for a state championship record 439 yards and leading the Wildcats to a 40-13 victory Saturday at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. Mauk, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior, was easily the most valuable player on the field, helping Kenton (15-0) to the school's first state championship in its first appearance in a championship game. Mauk accounted for 482 of the Wildcats' 485 yards of total offense, completing 26-of-47 passes, four for touchdowns, while rushing 14 times for 43 yards and another score. Licking Valley (14-1), making its first appearance in a state championship game in three tries, were still down by just five points at the half after a Casey Brehm touchdown run from three yards out, and trailed by only seven points, 20-13, after a 35-yard fumble recovery and return by Ryan Redman with 6:44 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats did turn the ball over four times in the game, three on Mauk interceptions, but the junior QB carried Kenton on three long-yardage scoring drives in the final 18-plus minutes of the game, giving his team complete control. Licking Valley seemed to have Kenton in trouble after the Redman touchdown, pinning the Wildcats back at their own seven-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, but Mauk led Kenton on a 14-play, 93 yard scoring drive that ended with Brandon Cornell powering through the Panther defense for a one-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats wasted no time scoring again, taking the ball back six seconds into the fourth quarter and scoring 22 seconds after that on a 42-yard pass play from Mauk to Tommy Pettit. Kenton burned the Panthers one last time shortly after, capping a six-play, 96-yard drive in just 1:06 with an 11-yard Mauk TD strike to Josh Dudek with 9:21 to play. Kenton opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mauk to Pettit with 3:47 left to go in the first quarter, then added another touchdown on the final play of the period on a 46-yard strike from Mauk to Cornell. No Kenton receiver had fewer than three receptions in the game. Cornell led all receivers with seven receptions for 141 yards while Jared Bostelman caught five for 63. Petitt added four for 120, Branden Spivey four for 35, Josh Dudek three for 44 and Billy Cozad three for 36. The Wildcats limited a strong Licking Valley offense to just 160 yards of total offense in the game, with no Panther player reaching the 50-yard plateau in any category. Tailback Josh Nethers came closest, rushing for 49 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Michael Hinger added 37 yards on the ground, but completed just 3-of-14 passes for 28 yards with one interception. Casey Brehm added 27 yards on 10 carries for the Panthers. Corby Baughman, Jake Butler and Nethers had one reception apiece, Baughman a 21-yard catch, Butler a seven-yard reception and Nethers one for no gain. SCORE BY QUARTERS Licking Valley............0.....7.....6.....0..........13 Kenton....................12.....0...14...14..........40 SCORING SUMMARY FIRST QUARTER KEN - Tommy Petitt 22 pass from Ben Mauk (kick blocked), 3:47. (8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:44) KEN - Brandon Cornell 46 pass from Ben Mauk (run failed), :00. (3 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:07) SECOND QUARTER LV - Casey Brehm 3 run (Brandon Haynes kick), 2:50. (5 plays, 24 yards, TOP 1:46) THIRD QUARTER KEN - Ben Mauk 7 run (Josh Dudek pass from Ben Mauk), 10:08. (6 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:52) LV - Ryan Redman 35 fumble return (kick failed), 6:44. KEN - Brandon Cornell 1 run (kick failed), 1:50. (14 plays, 93 yards, TOP 4:54) FOURTH QUARTER KEN - Tommy Petitt 42 pass from Ben Mauk (Brandon Cornell pass from Ben Mauk), 11:32. (2 plays, 66 yards, TOP 0:22) KEN - Josh Dudek 11 pass from Ben Mauk (kick failed), 9:21. (6 plays, 96 yards, TOP 1:06) TEAM STATISTICS...............LV............KEN First Downs.................................8................25 Rushes-Yards.....................41-132..........23-46 Passing Yards............................28..............439 Comp-Att-Int......................3-17-1......26-48-3 Total Offense...........................160..............485 Punts-Avg...........................9-35.3.........2-42.5 Fumbles-Lost...........................3-1..............3-1 Penalties-Yards..................11-105............9-75 Time of Possession................25:48...........22:05 RUSHING: Licking Valley-Josh Nethers 16-49, Michael Hinger 6-37, Casey Brehm 10-27, Devin Fulk 2-13, Jake Butler 1-6, Nathan Nethers 2-4, Shannon Melton 1-2, Team 1-(-1); Wes Myers 1-(-1); Brett Pethel 1-(-4). Kenton-Ben Mauk 14-43, David Butler 3-2, Brandon Cornell 3-2, Tommy Petitt 2-0, Brandon Manns 1-(-1). PASSING: Licking Valley-Michael Hinger 3-14-1-28, Devin Fulk 0-3-0-0. Kenton-Ben Mauk 26-47-3-439, D.J. Underwood 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: Licking Valley-Corby Baughman 1-21, Jake Butler 1-7, Josh Nethers 1-0. Kenton-Brandon Cornell 7-141, Jared Bostelman 5-63, Tommy Petitt 4-120, Branden Spivey 4-35, Josh Dudek 3-44, Billy Cozad 3-36. INTERCEPTIONS: Licking Valley-Corby Baughman 1-6, Jake Butler 1-minus 2, Michael Hinger 1-19. Kenton-Nate Manns 1-0. clecinosu