Football Entertains Ashland on Friday in 1st Round of OHSAA Division II State Playoffs
The Central Catholic football team will host Ashland on Friday, Oct. 28 in the 1st round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division II State Playoffs. The opening kick against the Arrows (6-4) is slated for 7 pm at Gallagher Stadium.
The Fighting Irish (9-1, 7-0 TRAC) are the No. 3 seed in Region 6, while Ashland is the Nov. 14 seed.
CCHS will be making its 19th-straight playoff appearance under Head Coach Greg Dempsey and 24th overall in school history. Central Catholic has a 40-17 post-season record under Coach Dempsey with 3 state championships (2005, ‘12, ‘14) and a state runner-up finish (2015).
The Scarlet & Gray, which ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press Division II State Poll, wrapped up its regular season with a dominating 48-7 victory vs. arch-rival St. Francis de Sales (2-8, 1-6 TRAC). The Fighting Irish scored 5 touchdowns in the 1st half to set the tone versus the Knights, helping them secure their 5th-straight TRAC championship and end with a 32-game conference winning streak in the final season of the TRAC. More importantly, they registered their 21st-consecutive win in the series and successfully held onto the coveted Irish-Knight Trophy.
Senior RB Chris Edmonds and senior QB Ty’Waun Clark each accounted for 3 touchdowns against St. Francis de Sales. Edmonds had TD runs of 50 and 12 yards in the 1st quarter & added a 9-yard score in the 2nd period. The 2021 1st-team All-TRAC honoree finished with a game-high 121 yards on 14 carries, topping the century mark for the 9th-straight game.
Clark was credited with TD runs of 1 and 42 yards, as well as a 42-yard touchdown pass. He completed an efficient 9 of 11 passes for 150 yards.
Members of the Ohio Cardinal Conference and under the leadership of Head Coach Sean Seder, Ashland enters Friday’s post-season matchup having won its last 2 games, most recently claiming a 42-28 home victory vs. Lexington.
Central Catholic and Ashland will meet on the gridiron for the 1st time.
Tickets for Friday’s postseason contest MUST be pre-purchased online at OHSAA.org/tickets (Division II, Region 6, Select Game). Reminder, no tickets will be available to purchase at the gate. All playoff tickets are General Admission. Presale tickets will cost $8 for students and $10 for adults. In addition, all students MUST purchase a ticket to attend Friday’s contest.
For those fans unable to attend the postseason matchup, it can be heard live on The Ticket l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 6:30 pm or streamed online HERE.
Should the Fighting Irish advance to the 2nd round for the 12th-consecutive season, they would face either No. 6 seed Avon Lake (8-2) or No. 11 seed Sylvania Southview (8-2) on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 pm.
