Defending state champion St. Ed's shows might against Trojans

LAKEWOOD – Lakewood St. Edward went into Friday's game with Findlay with a big reputation, a lot of hype, and a tradition of playing championship-caliber football.Then the Eagles went out and backed it all up.St. Ed's scored on its first five possessions, built a running-clock halftime lead, and marched its way to a 48-0 win over the Trojans in the first round of the Division I, Region 1 playoffs at First Federal Lakewood Stadium.St. Edward has won the last three Division I state championships, and owns seven big-school titles in the past 14 years. Despite a 5-5 regular season record, the Eagles played like a state championship team on Friday."Collectively as a group you see the physicality, the execution, the swagger, the love for the game … it just oozes out," said Findlay High coach Stefan Adams."The big difference is man for man. I talked to their coach afterwards and he said they had issues, they had problems, just like every team. But they also have that championship pedigree, and that's what comes through."St. Ed's went 80 yards in seven plays on its first possession, and 53 yards in eight plays on its second. The Eagles took advantage of three short-yardage drives in the second quarter – 34, 44 and 49 yards – to go up 35-0, and were driving again when Findlay sophomore Jacob Gebhardt jumped a route and intercepted St. Ed's quarterback Thomas Csanyi with 12 seconds left in the half.Csanyi, who played just two quarters, was 12-of-16 passing for 166 yards, including 18- and 22-yard touchdown passes to Joe Saffold. Nate Gregory, a 230-pound linebacker brought in for short-yardage running plays, scored on 1- and 8-yard bursts. Bradley Eaton also had a short-yardage TD in the first half.Defensively, St. Ed's was rock solid. Findlay managed two first downs on its first drive, but just one more first down the rest of the half."We'd take two steps forward and one step back," Adams said."Our run game had been averaging about 4 yards a pop. We said we needed to keep on track with that, but little things and execution hurt us. You can't have things like high snaps and getting into third-and-long situations, not against a team like that."St. Ed's outgained Findlay 144-31 in total yards the first quarter, and 311-54 in the first half.St. Ed's backup Anthony Camargo busted a 74-yard run on the Eagles first play of the third quarter, then took it in from the 1 on the next play to make it 42-0 a minute into the third quarter. Eagles' subs and backups added a seventh TD in the fourth quarter.St. Ed's will now make the trip westward on Friday to face Toledo Whitmer in a second-round game.Findlay ends its season with a 4-7 record and, according to Adams, a new perspective."For me, it's all about the positives. I try to see the silver lining in everything," he said."This was an opportunity for us to see what it look like. Obviously I want more. I want to win. To get there, you have to see what it's like up front and personal." Findlay 0 0 0 0—0St. Edward 14 21 7 6—48 First QuarterLSE – Gregory, 1 run (Moyer kick)LSE – Eaton, 2 run (Moyer kick) Second QuarterLSE – Saffold, 22 pass from Csanyi (Moyer kick)LSE – Saffold, 18 pass from Csanyi (Moyer kick)LSE – Gregory, 8 run (Moyer kick) Third QuarterLSE – Camargo 1 run (Moyer kick) Fourth QuarterLSE – Lehmer 25 pass from Yondo (kick failed) FIN SNFirst Downs 3 21Rushes-yards 21-26 28-250Passing Yards 34 195Comp-Att-Int 5-15-0 14-20-1Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0Penalties-Yards 2-10 3-25INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING —Findlay, Coffman 10-35, Lane 4-12, Echelberry 5-(-21), Williams 2-0. St. Edward, Eaton 5-58, Gregory 2-9, Buchanan 7-22, Csanyi 6-56, Camargo 4-76, Filippou 3-12, White, 1-17.PASSING —Findlay, Echelberry 3-9-0, 30 yards; Korkos 2-6-0, 4 yards. St. Edward, Csanti 12-16-1, 166 yards, Yondo 2-2-0, 29 yards.RECEIVING — Findlay, Ragland 3-9, Little 2-5. St. Edward, Buchanan 1-6, Mikovsky 5-60, Sak 2-31, Saffold 4-48, Hess 4-21, O'Donnell 1-4, Lehmer 1