CANTON – Four years after they last met in Canton, Winton Woods returned to Stark County to face their nemesis, the Akron Hoban Knights.
In 2017, the Knights throttled the Warriors 42-14. When the current Winton Woods seniors reported to practice for the following season, a return engagement was on their minds.
Thursday night, it became a reality.
Not only did Winton Woods return to the Ohio Division II state title game, the team defeated Akron Hoban 21-10 to give coach Chad Murphy his first championship.
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The Warriors chanted “Murphy, Murphy!” afterward. The first-year coach sensed his players were headed to victory in the days preceding the game.
“Football’s been important there a long, long time and this proves it’s going to continue to do so,” Murphy said. “I think they knew. It’s just confidence and they’ve earned it.”
Senior TyRek Spikes led Winton Woods with 153 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Buddy Ellery had 87 and a score and junior K.C. Spears had 54 yards and a touchdown.
“I told myself senior year we were going to end with a trophy and we’re doing it,” Spikes said.
The Warriors outgained Hoban 321-192 and outrushed them 288-197 with junior Lamar Sperling picking up 121 of those yards. Sperling had run for 357 and 270 yards, respectively in his previous two starts.
It’s the second state championship for Winton Woods and the first since 2009. It was Hoban’s first loss since falling to Division I Lakewood St. Edward Oct. 22. It was their least amount of points since scoring just seven against Bergen Catholic of New Jersey early in the season.
Winton Woods was 4-3 after losing to Anderson Oct. 1 but finished on a nine-game streak.
Murphy’s Warriors (appropriately in green) had the early momentum getting inside the 20 on their opening drive, but a fumble by Spikes gave the Knights the ball back. The Warriors' defense was stout throughout the quarter, but Hoban received favorable field position at the Winton Woods 10-yard line when referees ruled Spears' knee was down on a punt attempt.
Still, all Hoban had to show for it was a 20-yard Charlie Durkin field goal to begin the second quarter.
Spikes made up for his early fumble with a 45-yard run early in the second frame, getting the Warriors to the Hoban 4-yard line. It would be Buddy Ellery with the first touchdown of the game at the 9:25 mark of the quarter.
By halftime, Spikes had racked up 98 yards on the ground and a 2-yard touchdown.
The second half began unceremoniously for Winton Woods as Caleb Kepler recovered a Spikes' fumble and took it 21 yards for a score just after the kickoff.
Undeterred, Winton Woods came back with another weapon as Spears sprinted down the right sideline for a 53-yard score to again put the Warriors up 11 at 21-10.
“It felt amazing to score to put my boys up,” Spears said. “Now we can leave our seniors with the best ending they could have ever wanted.”
That would be all the scoring needed as defensive coordinator Carlton Gray’s men kept the Knights off the board from there. Junior Lorenzo Hudson led with 10 tackles and had a key interception in the fourth quarter putting the Warriors in the driver’s seat.
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“I’m happy we brought it back to my school,” Hudson said. “We’ve got the best DC (defensive coordinator) in the state, the best coaching in the state and the best head coach.”
When Hoban’s Jayvion Crable overthrew his last pass attempt at 1:47 on the clock, the stands of green and blue began dancing as did most of the players not involved in the play.
At triple zeroes, the seniors who had watched the 2017 title loss in the eighth grade had avenged the defeat.
“Everything we worked for paid off,” linebacker Seven Blue said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. I’m a senior, but I don’t want to leave. I’ll love this team for my life.”
Southwest District Defensive Player of the Year Jayron Gibson had predicted the winner in practice and took in the last few moments of his high school career sitting at midfield.
“I knew we were going to win,” Gibson said. “Everybody just kept executing every play.”
Winton Woods finishes 13-3 with a championship trophy coming to their recently renovated campus in Forest Park.
Akron Hoban 0 3 7 0 10
Winton Woods 0 14 7 0 21
AH - Durkin 20-yard FG
WW – Ellery 4-yard run (Umba Dombele kick)
WW – Spikes 2-yard run (Umba Dombele kick)
AH - Kepler 21-yard fumble recovery (Durkin kick)
WW - Spears 53-yard run (Umba Dombele kick)
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