Football Tangles with Tiffin Columbian in Region 10 Final of Division III State Playoffs
The Central Catholic football team will take on Tiffin Columbian on Friday, Nov. 17 in the regional final of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division III State Playoffs. The opening kick against the Tornadoes is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Robert J. Bishop, Jr. Stadium on the campus of Clyde High School (1015 Race St., Clyde, 43410).
Friday’s postseason matchup will be streamed on the BCSN App, spectrumnews1.com, and OHSAA.tv. It can also be heard on The Ticket l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets MUST be pre-purchased online at OHSAA.org/tickets (Division III, Region 10). All playoff tickets are General Admission. Tickets will cost $9 for students and $12 for adults.
The Fighting Irish (13-0) are the No. 1 seed in Region 10, while Tiffin Columbian (11-2) is the No. 3 seed.
Central Catholic advanced to the regional finals and extended its school record winning streak to 28 games with a 41-10 triumph against No. 4 seed Mansfield Senior (10-3) at Robert Bishop, Jr. Stadium.
After spotting the Tygers the opening 10 points, the reigning D-II state champions reeled off 41 unanswered points and finished with a 392-154 edge in total yards. The Scarlet & Gray also forced 2 interceptions and 1 fumble to overcome an early deficit.
Individually, senior QB Terry Collins, Jr. completed an efficient 7-of-9 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs. Collins also registered 56 yards rushing, his 2nd-highest total this fall. Senior RB Marquan Braswell tallied a game-high 111 yards on the ground and 1 TD, while senior WR Jaylen Watson had 3 catches for 86 yards and 1 score. Braswell surpassed the century mark for the 1st time in the postseason and 7th occasion in 2023.
Overall this fall, Collins is 107-of-157 passing (68.2%) for 1,678 yards and 12 TDs, Braswell has rushed for 1,478 yards on 207 carries (7.1 ypg) and 28 TDs, while Watson has caught 56 passes for 980 yards and 7 scores.
Braswell’s 1,478 yards rushing is 10th most in school history in a single season, while his 28 TDs are tied for the 5th highest mark. Along those same lines, Watson’s 56 catches are the 4th most in program history, while 980 yards receiving is the 5th most.
A member of the Sandusky Bay Conference, Tiffin Columbian has won 8 of its last 9 games, including postseason victories against No. 14 seed Ashland, 49-21, No. 6 seed Ontario, 55-35, and most recently No. 7 seed Medina Buckeye, 35-0. Under the leadership of Head Coach Judd Lutz, the Tornadoes are making their 6th-straight appearance in the state playoffs and 20th overall.
CCHS, which ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press Ohio D-III state poll, will square off against Tiffin Columbian on the gridiron for the 1st time since 2013. That year, Central Catholic posted a 42-13 victory in the 2nd round of the D-III state playoffs on a neutral field.
With a victory against the Tornadoes, the Fighting Irish would advance to the ‘Final Four’ for the 9th time under Head Coach Greg Dempsey and 10th occasion overall. They will face Region 9 winner, No. 1 seed Youngstown Ursuline (13-0) or No. 7 seed Chardon (10-3), on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at a neutral site. Ursuline was ranked 3rd in the final AP D-III poll, while Chardon was unranked.
