CANTON — Columbus Bishop Watterson scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including Drew Bellisari’s 9-yard run with 1:29 remaining, to rally past Toledo Central Catholic, 19-14, in the Division III state championship game.
Watterson finished the season a perfect 16-0 and claimed its third state title in school history (2002, 2010). Toledo Central Catholic (14-2) finished runner-up for the second time (2015) to go along with five state titles.
A low-scoring opening half gave way to a back-and-forth second half that saw the teams trade big plays.
Leading 7-0, Central Catholic drove the second half kickoff to the Watterson 9-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. Watterson answered with a 10-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in Zack Weber’s 28-yard touchdown run; Weber carried eight times for 61 yards on the drive.
Jeremiah Fuller immediately put Central Catholic back in front, returning the kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. The point-after gave the Irish a 14-7 lead with 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Watterson faced fourth-and-1 from its own 48-yard line on the ensuing possession, but Bellisari found Dominic Theado wide-open behind the defense for a 52-yard touchdown. The point-after was blocked, and Central Catholic maintained a 14-13 lead with 10:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Watterson defense forced a punt, and the offense took over at its own 20-yard line with 7:17 remaining.
Watterson converted both a third-and-1 and a third-and-3 before facing fourth-and-13 from its own 40; on that snap, Dominic Theado made a leaping catch of a Bellisari throw over the middle to keep the game alive. Five plays later, Bellisari wove his way through the Central Catholic defense and into the end zone for the go-ahead 9-yard touchdown run.
Watterson’s defense forced a turnover on downs, and Bellisari kneeled once to run out the clock.
Central Catholic quarterback Ali Beydoun scrambled for a 4-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the opening quarter, and the Irish defense forced Watterson to punt on each of its five first-half possessions.
The game turned in the second half as Watterson scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and gained 141 of its 280 total yards in the fourth quarter alone.
In the first half, Central Catholic ran 37 plays for 162 yards, compared to Watterson’s 44 yards on 19 plays; after halftime, Central Catholic totaled 102 yards on 24 plays while Watterson amassed 236 yards on 32 plays.
Weber ran 28 times for 134 yards and a touchdown for Watterson, while Bellisari ran 13 times for 63 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Bellisari also completed 5-of-9 passes for 88 yards and a score.
Beydoun completed 15-of-22 passes for 158 yards and ran for Central Catholic’s only offensive touchdown. Tyler Morgan rushed 22 times for 80 yards.
