After taking care of business in a big way, Wayne High School’s football team moves on to the rematch it has wanted for an entire season.
A showdown against Summit Athletic Conference champion Bishop Dwenger awaits in the Class 4A Sectional 20 championship game, and it’ll be time to see if things have changed.
Wayne (9-2) beat New Haven 53-14 on Friday at New Haven and Dwenger (10-1) beat Leo 42-9 at Luersfield to set up the title game next Friday at Wayne.
Wayne coach Derrick Moore has a simple message to his team.
“Just do what we do,” Moore said. “Do what we do. We’re 9-2 and we didn’t get there by mistake. The best team will win. We don’t need to change the world or go five-wide. It’s just Dwenger. They’re a great program. They have a great record, also. The best team is going to win.”
Moore demonstrated the calm before the storm, and his players followed his lead.
There’s no question emotions will be at a fever pitch when the teams finally kick off in a week. Dwenger won the first meeting 22-0 on a wet, soggy opening night and the Generals didn’t feel they showed their true selves. They will be amped up for the rematch. But for now Wayne will calmly and analytically begin preparations.
“Oh, yes, we’ve been itching to play Dwenger but we haven’t been focused on them,” Wayne senior Craig Young said. “We just went about game by game, day by day. Now we have Dwenger. They’re a great team. We’re a great team.”
Wayne’s greatness was on display against an overmatched New Haven Bulldogs team which couldn’t contain the Generals’ offensive playmakers and couldn’t hold off the Generals’ aggressive pass rush and run defense.
This is the extent of the dominance: It was 40-0 at halftime.
The first-half scoring damage: Brandan Young threw three touchdown passes (60 and 51 yards to Cameron Chambers and 11 yards to Xavier Ellington) and the other scores came on the ground, with two touchdowns by Devonair Kelsaw and one by KeShaun Fields. Kelsaw added a third touchdown in the third quarter.
“We came out and just played Wayne High School football,” Kelsaw said. “As long as we play our game, I feel like no one can beat us.”
Fields carried 15 times for 138 yards and Kelsaw 14 times for 137 yards.
Kelsaw has come on strong of late with his health fully intact after some leg issues earlier in the year.
“We have Thunder and Lightning,” Moore said. “Thunder is No. 9 (Fields) and Lightning is No. 5 (Kelsaw). KeShaun’s a banger and Dev’s a cutter and a slasher. He had to get his legs back underneath him. He was hurt a little bit back in the middle of the season and was patient, and we’re rewarding him for it.”
Brandan Young was 5-of-11 passing for 185 yards, with Chambers catching three of those passes for 138 yards and the two scores.
Defensively, the Generals harassed New Haven quarterbacks Tim Jordan and JaMarr Hutchins all night. Jordan was 6-of-19 for 75 yards and a touchdown to Howard Chandler.
Tristan Pernell led Wayne with 13 tackles (eight solo) with help from Cameron Johnson, Craig Young and Darius Alexander. Dre Walton had two interceptions. New Haven had 111 yards rushing, with nearly half of those yards coming on two plays (a 26-yard run by Hutchins and a 25-yard run by Terrion Fowlkes).
“We were just playing Wayne football and being physical up front,” Moore said. “Our D-line does not get a lot of credit, but they’re pretty good up front.”
The only place Wayne isn’t pretty good is in its special teams play. The Generals missed four-out-of-five extra-point attempts.
“We have to get our special teams cleaned up before next week,” Moore said. “Tomorrow, we’re going to get that fixed. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The long-awaited rematch with Dwenger has arrived. It could be an epic battle.
“You have (Joe) Tippmann and Darius (Alexander), Craig and the other Tippmann, (Brenden) Lytle and BY (Brandan Young) and a lot of other great matchups,” Moore said. “We’re looking forward to it, we really are. Can’t wait.”
BISHOP DWENGER 42, LEO 9
When the Saints decided to switch quarterbacks from Patrick O’Keefe to Brenden Lytle, they gained a receiver. Lytle hit O’Keefe for another touchdown pass again this week as the Saints routed Leo to reach the sectional final.
Lytle also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Eifert. An interception by T.J. Tippmann to open the third quarter helped set up a Hayden Ellinger touchdown run as Dwenger took control 28-0.
The Saints improved to 10-1 and Leo’s season ends at 7-4.
CLASS 6A SECTIONAL 3
SNIDER 49, CARROLL 30
Snider quarterback Jon Barnes was 9-of-13 for 244 yards and four touchdowns as the Panthers’ offense continued to blossom.
Barnes threw two touchdown passes to senior tight end Braxton Mantel, who caught four passes for 98 yards. He also threw two touchdown passes to senior tight end Simon Dellinger, including a 52-yarder.
A’Nyis Lockett rushed 17 times for 126 yards and a touchdown and Ja’Suan Lambert carried 12 times for 68 yards and a score. Tavareon Scott had 10 solo tackles with a sack and three tackles for loss. Gianini Belizaire had six solo tackles with two sacks and two tackles for loss. Ethan Hoover had six solos and three assists, Nicholas Pezley had six solos and two assists. Jayshawn Underwood returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score.
Snider (8-2), which lost to Carroll 38-14 earlier this season, will face Homestead (7-3) in the sectional championship.
Carroll’s Gaven Vogt was 21 of 43 passing for 242 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score. Rhett Saylor rushed 23 times for 111 yards and Camdyn Childers caught 10 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. Carroll finishes 3-7.
HOMESTEAD 24, NORTHROP 7
The Spartans put up 328 yards rushing in a dominant performance to advance to the sectional championship.
Jake Archbold carried 19 times for 191 yards and a touchdown and Braeden Hardwick carried 21 times for 144 yards and a touchdown. Luke Goode, who rarely runs, opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run. He was also 7-of-13 passing for 84 yards. Griffin Little led the receiving corps with four catches for 54 yards. Collin Crandall hit a 26-yard field goal.
The Spartans’ defense held Northrop to its lowest point total of the season. Ryan Burton and Cam Rogers both had interceptions.
Bailey Meerzo rushed 14 times for 118 yards and completed 6 of 11 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown to Amarrion Green for the Bruins’ only score. Green caught five passes for 54 yards. Jeremiah Green was held to 22 yards on 13 carries.
Homestead improved to 7-3 and Northrop finished 3-7.
CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 28
BISHOP LUERS 45, WEST NOBLE 21
The Knights (7-4) set a school record in single-game special teams touchdowns as Justin Gaston returned a punt and two kickoffs for scores and Jordan Presley returned a punt for a score.
“Our special teams play was tremendous and our defense did a nice job against their strong running game,” Luers coach Kyle Lindsay said.
Presley returned his punt 51 yards and Gaston’s returns were 70 yards on the punt and 87 and 81 yards on the kickoff returns. His 87-yarder game right before halftime.
“That gave us huge momentum going into halftime up 21-7 instead of 14-7,” Lindsay said.
BELLMONT 28, CONCORDIA 21
In the only upset of the night for SAC teams, Bellmont scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Concordia.
The Braves were 0-9 entering the postseason and will now play Bishop Luers for the sectional title.
Concordia led 21-14 when Bellmont tied the game on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Johnathon Wilder to Aaron Lehrman with 7:54 to play.
The Braves took the lead on what turned into the game-winning score on a 58-yard run by Colin Mills with 4:58 left.
Concordia’s Jake Byrd completed 18 of 36 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Kamari Anderson-Drew. Anderson-
Drew caught 10 passes for 131 yards. Byrd’s other touchdown pass was to Jeren Kindig. Amir Drew rushed 21 times for 117 yards. Concordia finished with 404 yards in total offense. Liam Fletcher had six tackles with a sack and a tackle for loss. Nick Craddock and Michael Fairfield had five tackles apiece.
Concordia finishes 5-6.
Bellmont’s Mills had three carries for 82 yards and two scores. Wilder was 9 of 17 for 110 yards. Lehrman caught six passes for 77 yards and Noah Macklin caught three for 58 yards. Lehrman and Macklin both had interceptions.
Photos by Reggie Hayes
