St Francis Keeps The Ball In Win Over Watterson

2001 OHSAA DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TOLEDO ST. FRANCIS 28, COLUMBUS WATTERSON 14 MASSILLON -- Toledo St. Francis coach Dick Cromwell has a great theory on how to win football games. Don't let your opponents have the ball. Cromwell's Knights used ball control and a whole lot of Rodney Gamby to defeat the Columbus Watterson Eagles 28-14 and capture the school's second state championship in the Division II state championship game Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon. Gamby, the 5-foot-10, 186-pound senior running back, rushed 42 times for 209 yards and one touchdown and was a large part of the St. Francis (13-1) offensive attack -- one that held the ball two and a half times longer than Watterson (11-4). The Knights held possession of the football for over 34 of the 48 minutes in the game -- 34:19 to be precise. Watterson had the ball just 13:49. Still, the game was tight until the end as Watterson led 14-7 in the third quarter and trailed by just seven points late in the fourth quarter, but St. Francis quarterback Tom Donovan connected with Jordan Lonchyna from eight yards away for the game-clinching score with 3:08 left. Donovan started the scoring late in the first period, hitting Chris Peer on a six-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the quarter. The TD strike was the last of an 11-play, 59 yard drive that ate 5:39 of clock. But Watterson tied the game on their next possession. The Eagles sprinted downfield, traveling 76 yards in seven plays and using just under two minutes before J.J. Koterba scored from two yards out. The two teams went to the locker rooms at the half tied at seven. Watterson took their seven-point edge early in the third on another rapid-fire drive -- six plays, 76 yards in 2:19 -- capped by Lerron Moore's three-yard touchdown run. But Gamby helped the Knights tie the score on their next possession, scoring from five yards out to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive that killed 4:22 off the clock. St. Francis stopped the Eagles' next possession, then went on their longest scoring drive of the game to take the lead. The Knights moved just 55 yards, but did so using 14 plays and 7:04 of clock time. Marty Patrilla finally ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown run that put St. Francis ahead to stay. Donovan didn't throw the ball much, but did complete 6-of-9 passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns for the Knights. Only one St. Francis receiver had more than one reception -- Peer, who caught two passes for 17 yards. Scott Gunn also caught one pass for 19 yards, Gamby one for 18, Chad Lewandowski one for 16 and Lonchyna his eight-yard touchdown catch that closed the scoring. Moore and Koterba led the run attack for Watterson, Moore with 57 yards on 12 carries and Koterba with 56 yards on four rushes. Eagle quarterback Dan DeLucia was 6-of-11 through the air for 68 yards. Mike Niklos led the receiving corps with three catches for 44 yards. SCORE BY QUARTERS St. Francis.............7.....0.....7...14.........28 Watterson.............0.....7.....7.....0.........14 SCORING SUMMARY FIRST QUARTER STF - Chris Peer 6 pass from Tom Donovan (David Kramp kick), :34. (11 plays, 59 yards, TOP 5:39) SECOND QUARTER WATT - J.J. Koterba 2 run (Josh Davis kick), 10:40. (7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:54) THIRD QUARTER WATT - Lerron Moore 3 run (Josh Davis kick), 9:41. (6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:19) STF - Rodney Gamby 5 run (David Kramp kick), 5:19. (10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:22) FOURTH QUARTER STF - Marty Patrilla 1 run (David Kramp kick), 8:45. (14 plays, 55 yards, TOP 7:04) STF - Jordan Lonchyna 8 pass from Tom Donovan (David Kramp kick), 3:08. (8 plays, 39 yards, TOP 3:57) TEAM STATISTICS............STF........WATT First Downs.............................23.................9 Rushes-Yards...................64-254.......24-178 Passing Yards..........................78...............68 Comp-Att-Int.....................6-9-0........6-11-1 Total Offense.........................332.............246 Punts-Avg.........................1-36.0.........3-32.7 Fumbles-Lost.........................1-0..............1-1 Penalties-Yards....................3-15............4-40 Time of Possession..............34:19...........13:41 RUSHING: St. Francis-Rodney Gamby 42-209, Tom Donovan 7-35, David Schrader 6-10, Marty Patrilla 6-10, Team 2-(-3), D.J. Cervantes 1-(-7). Watterson-Lerron Moore 12-57, J.J. Koterba 4-56, John Tuttle 1-55, Bryan Sullivan 5-16, Dan DeLucia 2-(-6). PASSING: St. Francis-Tom Donovan 6-9-0-78. Watterson-Dan DeLucia 6-11-1-68. RECEIVING: St. Francis-Chris Peer 2-17, Scott Gunn 1-19, Rodney Gamby 1-18, Chad Lewandowski 1-16, Jordan Lonchyna 1-8. Watterson-Mike Niklos 3-44, Brendan Cottrell 2-10, Lerron Moore 1-14. INTERCEPTIONS: St. Francis-Dustin Szenderski 1-19. Watterson-None. clecinosu