The Archbishop Hoban and Canton Central Catholic football teams are seeking to make return trips to Columbus.
Hoban ventured to Ohio Stadium last year and won the Division III state final over Toledo Central Catholic, and CCC has played on the Ohio State campus in each of the past two seasons in the Division V final, but lost to Coldwater both times.
Saturday, the Knights and Crusaders will line up in separate state semifinal games at 7 p.m. Hoban (12-1) will tangle with Columbus St. Francis DeSales (13-0) at Mansfield’s Arlin Stadium in a Division III state semifinal, and CCC (9-3) will be matched up against Milan Edison (12-1) at Strongsville’s Pat Catan Stadium.
DeSales is led by coach Ryan Wiggins, who formerly coached the St. Vincent-St. Mary football team in 2006. Wiggins is a DeSales graduate and relies on a solid defense this year and senior running back Alonzo Booth on offense.
“DeSales looks identical to St. Vincent-St. Mary on defense,” Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. “They have some really good players and really good athletes on the defensive side of the ball. They blitz a lot and they have a ton of talent on that side of the football.
“Offensively, they have the biggest fast back I have seen. … Booth is really good at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds. He runs like he is 180. It’s Todd Sibley plus 20 pounds.”
Booth has 213 carries for 2,339 yards and 38 rushing touchdowns in 13 games. He also has one receiving touchdown. Sibley, Hoban’s top offensive threat and a University of Pittsburgh recruit, has 261 carries, 1,969 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns this season.
Hoban and DeSales both have a dual-threat quarterback, Danny Clark for the Knights and Cole Silvestri for the Stallions. DeSales also receives consistent contributions from running back Brian Asamoah and wide receiver Joe Arnold on offense, and linebackers Ryan Corkrean and Ty Van Fossen on defense.
Hoban’s defense has been impressive all season, led by Jabari Taylor, Daeshon Martin, Arison Sanders, John Bozzelli, Will Collier, Matt Salopek, Nate Adolph and Reid Allen.
“I love this group of guys and you can never question the heart of this team,” Sibley said. “We play with a chip on our shoulder every week. We are tired of being compared to last year’s team. We are trying to be the best team in Hoban history, so we try to come out and prove that every week. It shows because we have been playing really well.”
Sibley has made plays for sure, but also credits his linemen — RJ Kelly, Cade Thomas, Marc Westover, Nolan Rumler, Brandon Yankovich, Caden Clark and Joe Brode.
Hoban has playoff wins over Warren Howland, St. V-M and New Philadelphia. DeSales has defeated Sheridan. Beechcroft and Hamilton Township in the postseason.
CCC coach Jeff Lindesmith is impressed with how his players get “better by the week.”
The Crusaders have playoff wins over Manchester, Black River and Garrettsville.
“We are in pretty good health and we thought we had a solid defense throughout the course of the year, and the defense has been playing more and more disciplined and a little more physical in the playoffs,” Lindesmith said.
Liondesmith said Luke Ezzo, Brady Thompson, Tee Rupp and Navy recruit Griffin Baumoel have been “stellar defensively.”
“Our special teams are such a weapon for us, too,” Lindesmith said. “Dan Mills is a guy with unlimited range. He is a big-time kicker. Our punter, Jaret Cummins, also plays outside backer and wide receiver, and he has been outstanding throughout the entire year. Punting has always been a big key for us. If we don’t get things going offensively, we still want to force teams to go the full distance of the field.”
Edison, a playoff winner over Columbus Academy, Eastwood and Norwayne, is led by tailback Sam Stoll and quarterback Braden Ehrhardt.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.