Kalida advances to final, will face Delphos St. John's

DAYTON – Kalida's Cinderella season continues and the Wildcats will be dancing on prep basketball's biggest stage when they face unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Delphos St. John's today at 4:15 p.m. in the Division VII state championship game at the University of Dayton.Kalida entered post-season play with a break-even 11-11 record, but notched its tenth straight win – six of them in the tournament – on Friday in rallying for a 58-46 semifinal win over Jeromesville-Hilldale.Gavin Leis led Kalida with 14 points, Paul Stechschulte had 11 and Owen Grime and Parker Vorst added nine each.The Wildcats trailed 30-24 at the half and 32-24 when Hillsdale's Kael Lewis put back a rebound 30 seconds into the third quarter. Kalida outscored Hillsdale 16-4 the rest of the period, though, with Vorst scoring twice, Stechschulte and Leis nailing 3-pointers and Grime completing an and-one 3-point play that put Kalida in front 37-36.Kalida maintained a slight edge during the first few nip-and-tuck minutes of the fourth quarter.Stechschulte's putback broke a 44-44 tie with 4:22 on the clock, Leis scored off an assist from Grime, and then Grime transitioned a steal into another lay-up.Stechschulte's driving lay-up pushed Kalida's lead to eight (52-44) with 2:12 remaining and the Wildcats sealed their spot in the final by sinking 6-of-8 free throws in the final 66 seconds.Lewis led Hillsdale (19-10) with 21 points and Hayden McFadden added 10. Depth was a factor, though, with Kalida having a huge 29-0 advantage in points off the bench.Friday's wins, including St. John's 61-32 romp over Malvern in the other Division VII semifinal, sets up a state final showdown between two storied prep programs when the Wildcats and Blue Jays, schools located just 14 miles apart, clash in a rematch for the small-school championship.Kalida (17-11) is making an unlikely fifth appearance in the Final Four. The Wildcats were just 4-9 following a mid-January loss to Columbus Grove and stood at 7-11 late in the season before rattling off its current 10-game winning streak.Kalida won a Class A championship in 1981 and was state runner-up (Division IV) in 1988 and 2009 under legendary head coach Dick Kortokrax, Ohio's winningest prep coach who compiled an 890-372 record at Fort Jennings, Ottoville and Kalida.St. John's also owns a storied basketball history. Under Bob Arnzen (676-291) the Blue Jays, making the school's 13th appearance at in the final Four, were state champs in 1982 and 2022, and runner-up three other times.Today's showdown is a rematch of the season opener for both schools. St. John's won that matchup 45-30 and can cap a perfect 29-0 season with a win in today's final. The Blue Jays needed overtime to beat Lima Central Catholic (66-62) and Spencerville (68-66) during the regular season, but have won all six tournament games by at least 14 points St. John's averages 71.7 points a game with Mr. Basketball finalist Cam Elwer (29.4 ppg) and his brothers Andrew (jr., 15.6 ppg) and Easton (soph., 9.3 ppg) – all sons of St. John's coach Aaron Elwer – accounting for 45 of that totals.Cam Elwer, who is No. 6 on Ohio's all-time scoring list with 2,740 career points, had "only" 18 points in Friday's win over Malvern. St. John's raced to a 27-12 halftime lead and outscored Malvern 24-9 in the third quarter to lock down its spot in the final. DIVISION IIIDAYTON – Trotwood-Madison's Darius Dennis hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the fourth quarter buzzer, then stole a pass to deny Toledo Central Catholic a final chance in overtime and secure the Rams' 55-53 win over the Irish in a Division III state semifinal at UD Arena.Central Catholic led 39-32 heading into the fourth quarter and was up 46-41 with 1:48 left in regulation. Jordan Langford's free throw made it 49-46 with 14 seconds ion the clock, but Dennis rebounded a miss on the other end and nailed the game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.Je'carious Reaves scored six of his team-high 16 points in overtime for Trotwood Madison (22-4), which faced Steubenville (26-1) in Friday's Division III final at UD Arena.Dre Wardrop scored 15 points, Manny Johnson had 12 and Cayden Kynard added 11 for Toledo Central Catholic (23-4).Steubenville survived a nail-biter of its own, with a basket by Josiah Rea – his only score of the game – giving the big Red a 60-58 win over Akron Hoban in the other Division III semifinal. DIVISION IVDAYTON – Cincinnati Wyoming's Kellen Wiley came up just short of a triple-double in leading the Cowboys to a 73-48 win over Cleveland Glenville in Friday's Division IV state championship game at UD Arena.A 6-foot-3 senior guard, Wiley scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished our eight assists as Wyoming capped off a 26-2 season. Carlyle Billingsley added a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double for Wyoming, Darren Gray scored 15 points and Devin Evans had 10.Arvel Nelson, Jr. scored 19 points and Theodore Castor added 13 for Glenville. Castro also had 14 points and Nelson and Jayden Jordan both chipped in with 10 in Glenville's 48-36 semifinal win over Sandusky Perkins. Kellen Glass scored 12 points and Kaden Legando had 10 for a Perkins team that finished 25-3. ScheduleSaturday's EventsSOFTBALLFindlay at Marion HardingCarey at Fostoria GIRLS LACROSSEFindlay at Toledo Notre Dame Boys Basketball2026 State TournamentDIVISION ICincinnati Princeton (23-3) vs. Lakewood St. Edward (22-4), Saturday, 5:30 p.m., at Nutter Center.Hilliard Bradley (24-2) vs. Pickerington Central (18-8), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Nutter Center.State Championship: Sunday, 3:15 p.m. at UD Arena.DIVISION IIWesterville North (25-1) vs. North Royalton (21-5), Saturday, 11 a.m. at Nutter Center.Lima Senior (22-4) vs. Massillon Washington (25-1), Saturday, 1 p.m. at Nutter Center.State Championship: Sunday, noon, at UD Arena.DIVISION IIITrotwood Madison 55. Toledo Central Catholic 53, OTSteubenville 60, Akron Hoban 58State Championship: Trotwood-Madison (22-4) vs. Steubenville (26-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. at UD Arena.DIVISION IVCleveland Glenville 48, Sandusky Perkins 36Cincinnati Wyoming 68, Zanesville Maysville 51State Championship: Cincinnati Wyoming 73, Cleveland Glenville 48DIVISION VGahanna Columbus Academy 59, Zanesville West Muskingum 44Cleveland Heights Lutheran East 38, Cincinnati Summit Country Day 27State Championship: Gahanna Columbus Academy (24-4) vs. Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (24-2), Saturday, 1 p.m. at UD Arena.DIVISION VIBerlin Hiland (24-3) vs. Kirtland (24-3), Friday, 6 p.m. at Nutter Center.Marion Local (25-1) vs. Lincolnview (22-5), Friday, 8 p.m. at Nutter Center.State Championship: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at UD Arena.DIVISION VIIDelphos St. John's 61, Malvern 32Kalida 58, Jeromesville Hillsdale 46State Championship: Delphos St. John's (28-0) vs. Kalida (17-11), Saturday, 4:15 p.m. at UD Arena.