WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Winton Woods is back in the state championship for the first time since its runner-up finish in 2017.
After the Warriors' offense put up 31 or more points in four straight weeks to reach the Division II semifinals, it was the defense's turn to carry the day against Green.
Winton Woods forced four turnovers and held Green quarterback Trevor Van Horn below 50% passing. The offense and special teams made timely plays. TyRek Spikes made several of them, including a 75-yard kickoff return for a go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter to give the Warriors the lead for good.
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Late in the fourth quarter, K.C. Spears broke a tackle on a third-down wildcat run and iced the game with a 29-yard touchdown with 1:29 left in the game, securing Winton Woods' 20-7 win.
"This feels great. I've never done this before, but it's something me and my team have always dreamed about," junior cornerback Cameron Calhoun said. "We (were) doubted, so that kept the fuel in us and kept the fire going, and we're here."
The Warriors' secondary faced 64 passes from Van Horn, holding him to 30 completions for 383 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Calhoun, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Qierstin Williams had the interceptions for the Warriors.
"I've come to expect this from our defense," Winton Woods coach Chad Murphy said. "They talk about defense winning championships, and we've played really, really good defense since week one, and here we are in week 15. And they've been so daggone consistent, man, that's the best part of them. First and foremost, we have some great human beings on that defense."
Calhoun had the first of those interceptions late in the first quarter. He went stride for stride with his man on a go route and high-pointed the ball for a pick near the goal line, his ninth interception of the year.
In fact, all four turnovers the Warriors (12-3) forced were right near the goal line. With the ball inside the 10 with under a minute left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs (11-4) tried hitting a quick out from the slot, but the ball was tipped to Mathews Jr., who reeled in his fifth pick of the year and kept Winton Woods' lead intact to close the half.
"We most definitely work hard and we execute to the T," Calhoun said. "I'd say my team, they don't like losing, they refuse to lose and that's what keeps us pushing."
Late in the third, Van Horn hit Jack Schaal in stride for what looked to be a touchdown, but Schall tried to extend the ball across the goal line and fumbled it to the Warriors.
Green marched right down to the red zone again before Winton Woods made another big play. Williams dropped into coverage from his linebacker spot on a second-down pass, and Van Horn threw the ball without seeing him. Williams stepped in front of the route and secured his fourth interception of the season.
The Warriors' secondary was aided by a stout front four, which applied pressure often and sacked Van Horn three times. Jayden Denton had two sacks to bring his season total to 9.5. Terren Macklin recorded the other sack.
"It's wonderful," Calhoun said. "I love when our D-line (goes) and gives the quarterback some pressure. "Our D-line is everything. Without them, we wouldn't be who we are right now. I feel like we've got the best D-line in state, so they do their thing and we do ours."
On special teams, Spears specialized in flipping the field and letting his defense go to work. He punted the ball seven times and averaged 42 yards per punt, pinning the Bulldogs inside the 20 four times.
Those sequences proved to be key, as Green ran 96 plays to 44 for Winton Woods. The Bulldogs outgained the Warriors in total yards, 525 to 261, winning time of possession by nearly eight minutes.
Spikes carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards and a touchdown, bringing his rushing total in the postseason alone to 1,020 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Seeing Spikes put up numbers like that as defenses continue zeroing in on trying to contain him has impressed Murphy week after week.
"He's a great human being. I've used that a lot, man, but I'm surrounded by a bunch of great people," Murphy said. "He's a great person; he's a great young man; he's very talented, and he's got a heart. I've never seen a heart — the toughness — in a guy his size in my life. Pound for pound, one of the toughest kids I've ever seen in my life."
For Murphy, reaching the state championship in his first season as the head coach at Winton Woods means a ton after the path he went down to get to this point.
"I've said it 17,000 times, I'm blessed," Murphy said. "I've been hired, I've been a 2012 Ohio Coach of the Year; I've been fired. In 2018, I was fired. I took a step back to be an assistant for a couple of years just trying to recoup myself. I was struggling a little bit in life.
"I take this game serious; my family does. I'm a football family man, and I was taking it hard. And here we are. Here we are. We're gonna go play in the state championship. I'm blessed, man. I'm blessed with great kids. I'm blessed with a great place (where) football means a lot. I'm not going to take a second of this for granted, and I've told these kids since day one."
Murphy was the head coach at Northwest from 2010 to 2013, coached Hamilton from 2013 to 2018 with a stop at Moeller in 2019 before joining Winton Woods as an assistant coach in 2020. He took over the head coaching job before this season after former coach Andre Parker became Princeton's head coach.
Winton Woods will look to capture its second state title and first since 2009 on Thursday. The Warriors will face Akron Archbishop Hoban for the state title at 7 p.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
Winton Woods 6 7 0 7 - 20
Green 0 7 0 0 - 7
W- Spikes 9 run (Umba Dombele kick)
G- Simmer 3 run (Noirot kick)
W- Spikes 75 kickoff return (Umba Dombele kick)
W- Spears 29 run (Umba Dombele kick)
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