Burrow's Ohio Stadium debut produces lots of highlights but no state title
COLUMBUS -- As this year's Mr. Football, Athens quarterback Joe Burrow was at the helm of the highest-scoring team in state history. So consider the irony that in a game that saw the second-most combined points in an OHSAA final, the Bulldogs came up five points short of a Division III title.
In his first appearance in Ohio Stadium, Burrow completed 26 of 45 for 446 yards and six touchdowns, but it was Toledo Central Catholic that rallied for a 56-52 victory.
"I think it was like a great old-fashioned heavyweight fight. It was who was left standing at the end. Both teams kept throwing right hooks at each other back and forth," Athens head coach Ryan Adams said.
Most of the talk coming into the game was about Burrow. Of the 26 players to be named Ohio's Mr. Football, he is the 11th who is headed to Ohio State. But he is the first whose final high school game ended up taking place at The Horseshoe, which is hosting the state finals for the first time since 1989.
But as we have seen often, one prolific passer is at a disadvantage when facing an opponent with a talented trio of runners. Burrow had the second-most yards for a quarterback in an OHSAA final but Toledo Central Catholic had 501 rushing yards, which missed the record by one yard (Youngstown Ursuline's had 502 yards against Coldwater in the 2000 Division IV final).
For only the second time in a final, a team had three players reach the century mark in rushing. Michael Warren had 194 yards and two touchdowns followed by Tre'Von Wade's 158 and a touchdown. Quarterback Marcus Winters had 134 yards and three rushing touchdowns but also completed 8 of 17 for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Winters was clutch on the final drive, converting on three fourth downs, including an 8-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left on fourth-and-1. Head coach Greg Dempsey said attempting a game-tying field goal was not an option.
"Do you want to go to overtime against their offense? We were playing to win," Dempsey said. "Our offense was explosive but in a different way."
The Irish brought pressure early but Burrow wasn't fazed. On the first series of the game, he looked like he would be tackled for a loss, but broke out of a tackle and reversed field, scrambling up the left sideline for a 49-yard gain to the Central Catholic 1. On the next play, Trae Williams scored a touchdown and the track meet was on.
By the time it was over, the teams would combine for 108 points and 1,217 total yards. The points fell eight shy of the 119 scored in Mogadore's 61-58 win over St. Henry in the 1996 Division VI final while the yardage tied that game.
Burrow showed many times why he is the state's top player this season. He was sacked twice but there were plenty of times when he stepped up to avoid pressure and make completions. One of his nicest passes of the night was a 54-yard touchdown to Ryan Luehrman late in the first quarter.
It was also that touchdown where Athens broke Clinton-Massie's 2012 state record for most points in a season (815). The Bulldogs would end the season with 854 points. But it was also on that possession where Athens' strategy had to change. The ensuing extra-point attempt by Nate Gribble was blocked by Christian Ward and forced the Bulldogs to go for two after their next three touchdowns, which failed. Had Gribble's PAT not been blocked or Athens made the two-point conversion after the third touchdown, it would have been a 56-56 game at the end of regulation
The Bulldogs' receivers also made their share of clutch plays. Adam Luehrman made a nifty 8-yard grab in the back of the end zone on a pass that wasn't even intended for him late in the first half while earlier in the drive Trae Williams made a nice leaping grab to keep the chains moving. Ryan Luehrman had eight receptions for 187 yards and two touchowns while Adam Luehrman added six receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Besides making the hard throws, Burrow also can make the touch passes. The one thing that Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman will want to work on is having Burrow make better decisions when scrambling near the sideline. There were a couple times he would have run it for a first down but gambled on throws that ended up being incomplete.
Of all the throws Burrow made though on Thursday night, the one he will think about the most is the interception to Jermiah Braswell during the third quarter. At the time, Athens was leading 31-28 and had taken over after a 32-yard field goal attempt by Brock Quinlan went wide left. Had Athens been able to score, that would have given them a 10-point advantage. Instead, one play after the interception, Wade went 40 yards for a touchdown to put the Irish back in the lead. It was only the second interception that Burrow had thrown this season.
"I threw a pick. You can't do that in these kind of games," Burrow said. "That is the one play first and foremost that I will be thinking about for awhile."
Burrow also was not ready to reflect on his career. As much as he tried to focus on other things following the game, the thoughts would quickly return to the interception and other missed opportunities.
As far as when Burrow might be able to look at the bigger picture from this past season, he did acknowledge that isn't going to happen for awhile and possibly not until he arrives on campus.
"We forced defenses to cover the whole field and defend us. Breaking the record (for points in a season) is nice but all we wanted was that trophy," he said. "I think it is easily the worst feeling in the world. It is the worst day of my life. There's not much more to be said.
"Nothing matters except the loss. We didn't make enough plays at the end."
