OHSAA state football finals: Peyton Otte, Marion Local fly to record 12th state title
CANTON — Marion Local arrived in Canton looking to set a new standard for state football playoff championships in Ohio. The Flyers wasted no time doing it Saturday morning.
Bolstered by a 21-point first quarter, Marion Local blew past Newark Catholic 42-7 to win the Division VII state championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. It’s the Flyers’ 12th state playoff title, which is the most of any school regardless of division.
Marion Local had previously shared the mark with St. Ignatius, which has 11 titles. No other schools in Ohio have more than nine, which is the number of titles Newark Catholic was trying to reach Saturday.
The Flyers have won state championships in eight of the last 11 years. All 12 of their titles have come since 2000.
The win makes Marion Local the second Ohio school to ever post a 16-0 record. Chardon was the first to do so Friday when it won the Division III state title.
Newark Catholic finishes 14-2. The Green Wave were making their 15th state title appearance, tied with Marion Local for most all-time, but first since 2012.
Quarterback Peyton Otte, a former All-Ohio wide receiver, continued to show he can throw touchdown passes. Otte had a pair of scoring tosses to Brady Ronnebaum in the first quarter, helping the Flyers open up a 21-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. Otte added a 1-yard rushing touchdown right before the first half ended to push the Marion Local lead to 28-7 . He delivered a long TD run and long TD pass to break the game open in the third. Otte also showed his defensive prowess by knocking down a fourth-down pass in the second quarter that may have resulted in a touchdown. Otte finished with 317 yards of total offense, and accounted for five TDs.
Brady Ronnebaum had six receptions for 124 yards and a pair of TDs and teammate Dylan Fleck had two catches for 64 yards and a TD.
Division VI
Carey 26, Coldwater 14
CANTON — Carey (15-1) grabbed the lead for good in the first quarter by converting a 2-point conversion attempt for an 8-7 first-quarter advantage and then built a 23-7 margin before Coldwater (13-3) posted a TD with 30 seconds remaining until halftime for a 23-14 score.
Carey was then able to keep Coldwater from scoring the remainder of the game.
Isaac Fullenkamp scored Coldwater’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run. The Cavaliers other touchdown was on a 27-yard pass play from Reece Dellinger to Tanner Muhlenkamp.
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