Eagles defense holds high-scoring Irish to just 179 total yards while Michael Boyle and defensive front dominate the line of scrimmage in championship victory.
And the Bishop Watterson defense was championship caliber on Friday inover Toledo Central Catholic in the OHSAA Division III football state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. “We put our best product out there, and there’s a zero on the scoreboard to prove it,” Watterson defensive lineman Michael Boyle said.
“Our coaches put us in the best position to win, and we showed up.” Coming into the game, the Central Catholic offense had averaged 33 points per game and scored 35 or more points in 10 of its last 11 games. But the Irish met a defense that had allowed just 6.8 points per game and had held 10 of 13 opponents to seven points or fewer.“It’s a credit to our kids,” Watterson head coach Brian Kennedy said. “They do a really good job preparing. They watch a lot of film, they ask good questions. When we go through stuff, they’re focused, we try and put them in position to just line up and play fast, and I think that’s what they’ve done all season.” Watterson allowed just 179 yards of total offense, with 62 of those total yards came on one drive in the fourth quarter that resulted in an interception in the end zone by Carter Bellisari. “Their defensive front is very good, very athletic,” Central Catholic head coach Greg Dempsey said. “ not the biggest we’ve seen all year, but the combination of size, strength and athleticism is very good, and they do a great job of keeping their linebackers free. And those kids are pretty good players. Also, I think when the anytime you can stop the run and make people one dimensional, that’s going to work out in your favor.” On the ground, the Watterson defense stood strong in the trenches, holding the Irish to just 24 yards rushing, including only 34 yards on 12 carries by junior running back Jeremiah Fuller, who ran for more than 1,500 yards this season. “We always try to win the line of scrimmage,” said Boyle, who was the Division III Central District Defensive Player of the Year. “I think we did that pretty well tonight. I think it showed.” Watterson held Central Catholic quarterback Ali Beydoun to 14 of 36 passing for 150 yards and picked him off three times, while Division III Northwest District co-Offensive Player of the Year Preston Fryzel had just five catches for 45 yards. Central Catholic actually started off strong, as Fuller got 15 of his 34 yards on the first play of the game. But then the Watterson defense held it to two yards or fewer on its final 10 offensive plays of the first quarter while the Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead. “There was the first play where we got a first down, and after that, it really went downhill for us,” Dempsey said. “The first quarter was just not very good for us.” The players were quick to point out that the people who should get the credit for the defensive performance was not just the players in uniform on the field, but rather a combination of the coaches and the players working together. “I’ll shout out the coaches, I think we have the best coaches in the country on the high school level,” Boyle said. “When you put that with us working really hard all season long, it’s hard to beat. I am so thankful for this opportunity. I’ve been playing with these guys since fourth grade. So it’s special.”
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