1988

Division II State Runner-up

1st in Division II Region 7

1st ranked AP Poll

 

 

BR	1988 Saccoccia	OPP
15	Youngstown East	8
44	Columbus Eastmoor	0
28	Cleveland John Hay	12
24	Warren G. Harding	0
29	Youngstown Boardman	7
30	@ Weirton Wva.	15
35	@ East Liverpool	6
25	Salesianum De.	15
17	Youngstown Chaney	14
24	Steubenville Catholic Central	0
17	North Canton Hoover	14
17	N Uniontown Lake	14
27	N Harrsion	21
21	N Akron Buchtel (2OT)	28
353	13-1-0	154

Regional Semifinal, Saturday November 12th, 1988, Big Red (10-0) vs. North Canton Hoover Vikings (8-2) at Death Valley.

In a battle of mistakes, the lone difference was a slip. Not a slip of a football through some body's fingers or a slip of a receiver fallng to the turf. It was the slip of a foot....North Canton Hoover placekicker Matt Tate's foot as he approached the football for a desperation 42-yard field goal attempt with 6 seconds remaining in the Ohio Division II high school football playoff game Saturday evening at Harding Stadium. The kick was well short of the goalposts and enabled Steubenville Big Red to hang on to a come-from-behind 17-14 triumph.

The victory marked Big Red's 34th consecutive win in Death Valley. It also sends the team on the road-presumable to Youngstown or Canton-Friday at 7:30 against Uniontown Lake in the Region 7 title game. North Canton Hoover ended its season at 8-3. Big Red fell behind 14-7 in the 3rd quarter when NC tailback Lance Bean took a handoff on an off-tackle play, broke through a gaping hole and escaped down the left sideline for a 63-yard TD run with 9:43 left in the quarter. Ironically, the touchdown marked the Vikings second 1-play touchdown drive of the night. Hoover scored its first touchdown in the 1st quarter-Matt Tate crashing in from the 1-yard line-after Big Red quarterback Aric White fumbled there while scrambling on the previous play. Following Bean's score, Big Red pieced together an 11 play, 68-yard march to get even. Cody Pyle caught a 14-yard pass from White on a 2nd and 17 play and Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts broke free for a 21-yard gain to highlight the drive. Maurice Pearson capped it with a 1-yard plunge with 11 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Big Red was set up twice for the winning points before converting them. Darren Monroe nailed Hoover quarterback Jason Bednar behind the line on a 3rd and 4 play, recovering the loose football himself at the Hoover 29 with 8:08 remaining. The offense failed to secure a first down, however, Bednar deflecting a pass away from Chuck Hython in the endzone on 3rd down and White throwing behind Hython on 4th down. Hoover failed to move the ball on its possession, however, and when the snap on 4th down sailed over punter Bednar's head-enabling Paris Settles to partially block the hurried boot-Big Red was in business at the Viking 26-yard line with 3:26 left on the clock. Conservative running plays took the ball to the 5-yard line. On 4th and 1 from there, sophomore placekicker Mike Jones drilled a 22-yarder with 37 seconds to play, giving Big Red a 17-14 lead. The clutch 3-pointer was Jones' second in 3 weeks, using a 27-yarder to stop Youngstown Chaney by the same 17-14 score with 11 seconds to play here 2 weeks ago. "There's no pressure, that's his job," a beaming Reno Saccoccia, coach of the Big Red, said of Jones. "It's Mike's job to kick, Anthony's job to hold, and Kelly Keenan's job to snap. It's everybody's job to block. Everybody had a job to do. Win, lose or draw, our kids play hard. We made a lot of mistakes tonight as coaches and players, but playing 48 minutes of agressive football can overcome all of that. That's what can happen in this game."

Big Red made yet another mistake just after the field goal, getting flagged for 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was assessed on the kickoff and Jim Pepper returned the line-drive kick to the Big Red 39-yard line. Eric Miller caught a 14-yard pass to give Tate a shot at the tying field goal, but the placement of the ball was right in the middle of the field-a slick portion-and the senior kicker lost his footing as he approached the ball. "We couldn't try to get a touchdown on that last drive," Hoover coach Ed Glass said. "They were dropping off and protecting the endzone. We were trying to get the ball out of bounds, then get good position on the field for the field goal. We have a good kicker-he has a stronger leg than the Steubenville boy-but his plant foot went out from under him as he kicked the ball. He just didn't hit it well once that happened." Saccoccia admitted feeling fortunate to win the game, particularly after the first half. The teams were deadlocked at 7 at intermission despite Big Red's critical fumble on the 1-yard line and failing to score after getting inside the Hoover 5-yard line on 2 seperate occasions. Big Red ate up over 6 minutes off the clock on its second possession of the game, using Yett's runs of 10, 10, 19 and 13 yards to garner a 1st down at the Viking 6-yard line. A 3-yard buck by Pearson on 3rd down brought the ball to the 2-yard line...but Yetts was stacked up for no gain through the middle on 4th down. The Vikings handed Steubenville another golden scoring chance when a snap on a punt again sailed over the punter's head. Big Red's Terrence Christian recovered the ball at the Hoover 3-yard line. A procedure penalty and White getting sacked for a 9-yard loss on 3rd down killed the thoughts of a touchdown. Jones came on and missed his only scoring attempt of the season, his 31-yard field goal try catching the right upright and bouncing back onto the field of play. Steubenville's lone TD of the half came on a gadget play with 50 seconds left. Pearson's 23-yard run moved the ball to the Hoover 28-yard line. On the next play, White handed the ball to Hython, who faked a reverse to Tubbo Yetts. Hython, left unattended, lofted the ball into the endzone to Pyle for the score. "I thought we played a horrible first half," Saccoccia admitted. "We missed chance after chance....there were a few plays that I'd call differently a second time around. But we came out of the half even. I thought that was key." Yetts finished the game with 27 carries for 154 yards, giving him 1,315 yards in 10 games. Pearson added 56 yards on 13 carries. Bean had 13 carries for 124 yards and Miller had 7 receptions for 87 yards for the Vikings. "The team that makes the fewest mistakes in a big game will win," Glass lamented. "We made mistakes that cost us the game. But take nothing away from Steubenville. They played very well and we wish them luck the rest of the way."

 

Regional Final, Friday November 18th, 1988, Big Red (11-0) vs. Uniontown Lake Blue Streaks (11-0) at Canton's Fawcett Stadium.

If you sneaked a peek at the summary before reading this game article, do not panic...you did not pick up last Saturday's paper by mistake. Sophomore placekicker Mike Jones booted a 22-yard field goal with 4 seconds to play at Fawcett Stadium in Canton Friday evening, handing Steubenville Big Red a 17-14 come-from-behind victory over Uniontown Lake in the Ohio Division II region 7 championship football game.

Jones also won last week's playoff opener over North Canton Hoover in the final seconds with a fieldgoal, creating another come-from-behind 17-14 triumph. In fact, he booted a fieldgoal in the final seconds 3 weeks ago to defeat Youngstown Chaney by the score....you guessed it...17-14. "I don't care how we do it, as long as we get it done," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of his team's 12th victory without a loss. "These are tough games this time of year. Everybody's good and everybody who's here deserves to be here. I feel good about this win, a lot better than I felt last week. This was a solid, hard-hitting, cleanly played football game. I'm just happy were the team that came out on top." The teams were deadlocked at 14 in a 1st half filled with big plays. The 2nd hafl was mostly an exchange of punts and a battle of field position. Lake, in fact, did not register a 1st down in the 2nd half until 8:12 remained in the game. The Blue Steaks did not pass Big Red's 40 yard line in the 2nd half and managed but 2 first downs in the final 2 quarters. Big Red threatned to score early in the 4th quarter, taking the ball from its own 20-yard line and moving to the Lake 21. Chuck Hython caught a 19-yard pass from quarterback Aric White for the only lengthy gain of the ball-controlled march that took 5:03 off the clock. Yetts-who would carry 29 times for 132 yards, but lose 3 fumbles-lost his 3rd one at the 21-yard line of the Blue Streaks with 9:22 left in the contest. After an exchange of punts, Big Red gained possession on its own 23-yard line with only 1:53 left to play. Yetts carried for a 2-yard gain on 1st down and the clock kept running. The estimated 10,000 fans in attendance began preparing for overtime. Big Red began prepping to win the football game. Hython ran an out pattern and caught a 16-yard pass from White getting out of bounds with a minute to go. He then got loose over the middle, taking the pass from his quarterback while turning back inside. He shook a defender, darted outside and completed a 39-yard play before being dragged down at the Lake 20-yard line. Yetts ran for 5 yards before an incompletion-and a near sack-killed the clock with 13 second left. Yetts ran for 10 yards to the 5-yard line, Big Red called timeout and Jones came on to do his thing. So confindent was Saccoccia of his young placekicker that he was not about run a risky play with his offense inside the 20-yard line at that point. "We were going to try one pass...that's it," he declared. "I wasn't taking any chances. We were in a position to win the game." White enjoyed his best game statistically all season, completing 10 of 22 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hython had 4 receptions for 99 yards, flanker Cody Pyle 2 for 59.

Concerned with Lake's passing ability entering the game, Big Red's defense did a number on Blue Streak quarterback Pat O'Connor. Entering the game with 1,000 yards passing on the year, he was held to 1 completion in 11 attempts for 35 yards, suffering 5 interceptions. Leon Sawyer had 3 of them, all in the 2nd half. Darren Monroe had 2 in the first half. Sawyer, ironically, was beaten for a touchdown pass-O'Connor's lone completion-in the 1st half. "He sucked it up," Saccoccia said of Sawyer. "I chewed him out pretty good after that touchdown. He could have hung his head, but he came back fighting. He played a heckuva game." Big Red suffered 3 costly turnovers in the 1st half, killing one scoring drive of its own and setting up a pair of touchdowns for Lake as the teams headed for the lockerroom deadlocked at 14. Lake linebacker Jeff Laughlin intercepted a White pass near midfield and returned it to the Big Red 39-yard line. 2 plays later, the Blue Streak quarterback dropped back and found receiver Scott Van Camp in single coverage deep down the right sideline. Van Camp took the ball in stride to complete a 35-yard scoring play, defender Sawyer going for the interception and missing with 5:22 left in the 1st period. Steubenville answered that TD on its first possession and used the air game in doing so. Despite having a 29-yard pass to Hython called back by a penalty, White found Maurice Pearson for 16 yards and, aided by a 19-yard run off the option by Yetts, moved the ball to the Blue Streaks' 25 yard line. On 2nd down from there, the junior signal-caller lofted the ball toward the left corner of the endzone. Two defenders-Keith Weatherly and Gene Hesson-were drifting back looking to intercept when Hython vaulted between them and pulled the pass down for a sensational touchdown at the 1:07 mark of the 1st quarter. After lineback Darrin Monroe came up with an interception and 23-yard return for Big Red on Lake's next snap, Steubenville seemed in business again. Yetts fumbled the ball as he was going down at the Lake 19-yard line, however, Hesson recovering for the Blue Streaks to kill the threat. Later in the 2nd quarter, Yetts would fumble again, this time at the Big Red 31, Skeeter Patterson recovering for the visitors. A pass interference penalty pushed the ball back inside Big Red's 20, enabling Lake to grind out the remaining yardage to paydirt. Larry Dues went over from the 1-yard line with just 1:40 left in the half. Still, Big Red was not done. Overcoming a second major penalty, setting the ball back to its own 30 with less than a minute to play, Steubenville's offense went to work. Yetts caught a pass over the middle for 17 yards. On the next play, White scrambled for passing room, then lofted a bomb toward the middle of the field. Pyle pulled the ball in at the goal line, falling into the endzone as defender Weatherly grabbed at his helmet in disbelief. When Jones converted his 34th consecutive PAT of the year, the game was deadlocked at 14. Jones has converted 5 of his 6 fieldgoal attempts on the year and has not missed a PAT all season.

 

State Semifinal, Saturday November 26th, 1988, Big Red (12-0) vs. Harrison Wildcats (12-0) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Did he block it or did he not? Was it roughing the kicker or was it not? Harrison High's football team probably spent its 2 hour ride home from Ohio Stadium in Columbus late Saturday afternoon looking for answers to those questions. The answers, in order, were yes and no. Because of that sequence, Steubenville Big Red was able to score the go-ahead touchdown with 53 seconds remaining in the Ohio Division II semifinal game, thus producing a 27-21 triumph and 2nd consecutive berth in the championship game.

Ironically, Big Red will match-up with Akron Buchtel for the 2nd straight year to decide the division's king of the gridiron. Buchtel blanked Chardon 37-0 in the state's other semifinal game. The defending state champ bested Steubenville at Ohio Stadium a year ago, 26-14. The punt in question occurred as Harrison faced a 4th and 11 at its own 21-yard line, the game even at 21 with 1:53 to play. Nate Adams dropped back to punt for the Wildcats. The snap was high, Big Red's Chuck Hython and Leon Sawyer swarmed in from each end, Adams was engulfed, the football came away from his foot wobbling a few yards downfield and a yellow flag fell to the turf. A roughing the kicker penalty was called. The officials huddled, ruled a Big Red rusher had tipped the ball a waved off the flag. Steubenville had possession at the Wildcat 27-yard line. After a 21-yard Aric White-to-Hython pass moved Big Red closer and a holding penalty pushed it back, the Steubenville offense had a 1st and 22 from the 25-yard line. White took one step back from center, fired a bullet to flanker Cody Pyle across the line of scrimmage, and Pyle sauntered untouched into the endzone with 56 seconds on the clock. The snap on the PAT was high and kicker Mike Jones was stopped while attempting to run in the conversion, but it didn't matter. Hython intercepted a desperate Mike Campbell pass deep downfield on the final play of the game. "That kid never touched the ball," Harrison coach Ken Hockman whined. "The 2 officials nearest the play were arguing about it and they deferred to the official who was way downfield-he said they got a piece of it and that's what they ruled. That was a big play in the scheme of things, obviously. But give Steubenville credit. They're a fine team and they got the job done. I hope they go all the way." While Big Red moved to 13-0 with the win, the loss was Harrison's first of the season. The Wildcats furiously rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the 4th quarter to get even, scoring on a pair of 4 play drives that both took fewer than 2 minutes off the clock. "We are where we want to be," Saccoccia said of the upcoming championship game. "I'll stand by my original statement: Playing hard for 4 quarters covers up mistakes. It did so again today."

Big Red led 14-0 at the intermission and drove downfield again on the first possession of the 3rd quarter. Senior tailback Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts-who had 35 carries for 168 yards on the day-handled the ball on 7 of the 12 plays that resulted in a 4th and 6 at the Harrison 18-yard line. White rolled right and flipped a short pass on the run that landed between fullback Mo Pearson and tight-end Paris Settles, aborting the drive. What happened next was a 13 play, 82-yard scoring drive constructed by Harrison, Campbell firing an 18-yard TD pass to steller flanker Jeff Bond to pull his team within a touchdown. The scoring aerial was the first of 3 TD passes in the game for Campbell, who wound up a sensational junior year with 1,686 yards passing and 30 touchdowns. "I got a little greedy there," Saccoccia admitted of going for the 1st down on 4th and 6. "I never hesitated at the time, but looking back, I should have opted for the fieldgoal try. But we were against the wind at the time. I didn't give it much thought. When we didn't make it, we let down a wee bit. You can't afford to let down at all when you're playing in the 'shoe. There's too much pride involved for any team who gets to play here." Even when Hython caught the 36-yard touchdown pass from White to cap an 8 play, 77-yard march with 9:11 remaining in the game-handing Big Red a 21-7 lead-the issue was not decided. Big Red was penalized 15 yards for a personal foul after Jones' 37th consecutive PAT, forcing a kickoff from the 25-yard line. Harrison took advantage, Campbell's 22-yard TD pass to tight-end Ryan McElroy capping a 4 play, 55-yard drive with 7:53 still remaining. White was sacked at this own 3-yard line by the Wildcats' Andy Banks and Sam Luckett on Big Red's next possession, Settles having to punt from his endzone. Four plays and 40 yards later, McElroy pulled in a 14-yard TD pass from Campbell and the game was even with 4:22 to play. "We lost our poise there for a while," Saccoccia stated. "We were scrambling around, we weren't sure if we were in the prevent, whether we weren't...but still, we were able to overcome all those things." When Yetts' option pass was intercepted deep in Harrison territory with 3:13 left, Big Red's last scoring chance wa apparently by the boards. Then, of course, came the blocked punt.
In the first half, Big Red wasted little time in establishing its dominance up front. After the Steubenville defense forced the Wildcats to punt on their first possession, the offense marched 65 yards in 18 plays, chewing 8:03 off the clock. Pearson capped what proved to be a basic drive with a 2-yard run with 2:10 left in the first quarter. Pearson and Yetts carried 9 times each in the drive, neither running for more than 7 yards on any 1 play. So basic was the drive, in fact, Big Red never attempted a pass and attempted to run outside only 3 times. White pitched to Yetts once on an option, tossed a straight pitch to his senior tailback on another play, and pitched to him on a broken play the third time. Trailing 7-0 and being thoroughly handled along the line of scrimmage, Harrison needed a big play or a break. It got both. On 3rd and 10 from the Wildcat 27-yard line following the Steubenville kickoff, McElroy made a diving catch of a Campbell pass for a 15-yard gain, enabling his team to keep possession. Two plays later, Campbell looked deep for Bond, the Harrison flanker who entered the game with 36 catches for 855 yards. Bond added to that total as Big Red defender Leon Sawyer, already beaten on the play, slipped and Bond pulled in the pass for a 38-yard gain to the Steubenville 18. Bond would have scored, but slipped to the turf while catching the ball. Big Red's defensive front 4 stopped a pair of short runs from there, forcing a 4th and 2 at the 10. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back farther, and when Campbell was sacked by Darren Monroe and Duke Malbasa on 4th and 7, the drive was halted. Steubenville regained possession and repeated its 1st quarter trick. This drive consumed 5:24 off the clock and consisted of 14 plays and 75 yards. Yetts scored on a 3-yard run to end the dominating march, his 17-yard gain on an option highlighting the drive. Again, Harrison was forced to punt. Big Red nearly scored a 3rd TD of the half, but a 44-yard shovel pass from White to Yetts was called back by a holding penalty. Yetts was driven out of bounds on the Wildcat 2-yard line on the negated play.

 

State Championship, Friday December 2nd, 1988, Big Red (13-0) vs. Akron Buchtel Griffins (11-1) at Ohio State University's Ohio Stadium.

Steubenville Big Red's dream season concluded at Ohio Stadium in Columbus late Friday afternoon with a dream football game...but not a dream ending. Big Red was upended in double overtime by defending Ohio D2 champ Akron Buchtel, 28-21, losing the state title game for the 2nd consecutive year. While Steubenville's season ended at 13-1, the Griffins wound up their campaign at 12-1.

Both teams held the lead and both teams felt they were on the brink of elimination at times in one of the more captivating football games in Ohio playoff history. The game was the first title game in the history of the state's 5 division playoff system to go into a 2nd overtime. The only other Ohio high school football championship game to enter 2 overtimes was Mogador's 23-17 triumph over Covington in the 1979 class A title tilt. "If there's been a better championship game played than this one, I'd like to have seen it," Buchtel coach Tim Flossie said among the hoopla on the Griffin sideline after the game. "Our kids just gave a tremendous effort. And Steubenville...what can you say? They didn't lose this game. Nobody did. Both teams played too hard to lose." The first half of the game wound up even at 7 and the 2nd half ended even at 14 with both teams reaching opposing territory inside of the final minute of regulation, but failing to score. Buchtel won the coin toss to start the overtime and elected to go on defense. Steubenville-overtime possessions beginning at the opposing 20-yard line-elected to give the ball to senior tailback Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts on 6 straight runs, plowing the ball to Buchtel's 1-yard line for a 3rd down play. Fullback Maurice Pearson bucked over from there and when Mike Jones added the PAT-his 40th of the year without a miss-Big Red had a 21-14 lead. It did not last long. On the Griffins' first snap, junior tailback Ricky Powers broke loose around end for 18 yards, Leon Sawyer driving him out of bounds at the 2. Two plays later, Powers scored on a 1-yard plunge and Marty Rogers' PAT evened things up again. Buchtel had their possession to start the 2nd overtime. After 4 runs-including a 9-yard burst by Powers on the first play-the Griffins were in the endzone. Sean Hayes scored the TD on a 6-yard run and Rogers again booted the PAT. With Buchtel taking a personal foul after the touchdown was scored, Big Red started its final possession of the game at the Griffins 10-yard line. Yetts had ran for 3 yards, corner back Kevin Kennerly broke up a lofted pass intended for Chuck Hython in the endzone, and Yetts ran for 4 yards. On 4th down from the 3-yard line, Big Red quarterback dropped back to pass, but was buried by onrushing tackle Eric Graves, the sack touching off the Griffin celebration. "We were trying to run quads in single coverage," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of the game's final play. "They defended it well. They're a well coached team. It was a heckuva battle. Our kids busted their butts out there today. We fought hard and lost. That's the way it fell."

Buchtel took the lead in the 3rd quarter on a play that was hauntingly familiar to the back-breaking play of last season's championship game. Powers took a handoff up the middle, broke a couple of tackles across the line of scrimmage and outraced the pursuit for a 74-yard TD burst. The 74-yard scoring run set a division II championship record, Powers setting the previous mark last year with a 71-yard scoring effort vs. the Big Red. "He's incredible," Flossie said of his back, who ended the game with 32 carries for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the season with 1,600 yards and 25 TD's. "The best part is, we have him back for one more year. But I think we'll savor this one for a while." Buchtel went in to the 4th quarter with a 14-7 lead and with the football on a 3rd and 2 at the Big Red 14-yard line. Sophomore fullback Greg Shehee's run for the 1st down failed, however, Pearson and Paul Kokos dragging him down for a yard loss. On 4th down, Rogers lined up for a 32 yard field goal with just under 10 minutes to play. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back, however, and with his kicker booting into the wind, Flossie elected to try maintaining possession on 4th and 8. Quarterback Burt Thornton's pass was tipped near the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Darrin Monroe who returned the theft 34 yards to the Big Red 49. A steady 10-play drive from there was concluded with Yetts scampering into the endzone for a 14-yard TD run with 5:52 remaining. Jones' PAT tied the game. Yetts would finish the game with 34 carries for 126 yards, his season with 1,742 yards and 17 touchdowns, the rushing total representing the 4th highest in school history. Buchtel forced Big Red to punt from inside its own 15 with 2:19 to play. Taking possession at the Steubenville 49, the Griffins ground down to the 22, setting up Rogers for a 39-yard field goal try with 18 seconds left. The kick sailed wide left. Rather than sit on the football, White dropped back and found Yetts for 12 yards to the 32, then threw a long pass across the field to Hython, who caught it despite double coverage for a 34 yard gain with 3 seconds to go. With the ball on Buchtel's 34 and a stiff wind blowing in Steubenville's direction, Saccoccia toyed with the idea of Jones attempting a 52-yard field goal. The kicking unit was sent on the field, but after a timeout, the offense was sent back out. White tried lofting a pass for Hython in the endzone, but it was too far and Buchtel safety Bryan Scott had his 2nd interception of the game to end regulation play.

"We played as hard as we could play," Saccoccia, clearly drained emotionally, said. "There's no shame in losing when you play like this. But it still hurts." Saccoccia, never one to shy away from agressiveness, got caught somewhat using such tatics in the 1st half. Buchtel had not yet reached Big Red territory on any of its first 3 possessions and Steubenville grabbed a 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter. That all changed in the 2nd period, however. After Marty Rogers' line drive punt rolled dead at the Steubenville 8-yard line, the Big Red offense came out throwing. White tried hooking up with Hython 25 yards downfield, but the two appeared on to be crossed up on the route. Hython cut toward the middle of the field and White's pass stayed on the right side of the gridiron, where Buchtel strong safety Scott made a diving interception at the 22-yard line. Vino Orsley caught a clutch 11-yard pass on a 3rd and 7 play to keep the march alive for the Griffins, who eventually crossed the goal line in a 9 play march. Thornton got the score on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line on 3rd down. Rogers' PAT knotted the game at 7. Undaunted, Steubenville looked for more points of its own after the kickoff. Leon Sawyer caught a 15-yard pass, moving the ball to the Big Red 43-yard line. From there, 3 White passes fell incomplete. Rather than punt with 33 seconds left on the clock, Big Red elected to run a play from scrimmage. White tried hitting Sawyer deep down the middle. Contact was made with the defender and Sawyer stumbled as the pass failed to connect. He played for a flag, but none came and the Griffins had another chance before intermission. A 2nd down pass from Thornton hit tightend Adam Stephens over the middle at the Steubenville 26. But, despite being all alone Stephens dropped the ball. Sawyer intercepted a deep pass intended to Carney to close out the half. Big Red's first half touchdown came on the opening possession of the game. The drive covered 80 yards on 12 plays. Yetts carried the ball on 10 straight plays at one point gaining 47 of those yards during that stretch. Reaching the Griffin 30-yard line, Big Red's 3rd down apparently ended with an incomplete pass to Hython. Steubenville was flagged for an illegal receiver downfield, though, and Buchtel choose to accept the penalty. On the next play, White again lofted a pass in Hython's direction, this time deep over the middle and in the endzone. Hython, a 6' receiver who plays like he stands 6'10'', was being covered by a 5'8 cornerback Marquess Farr. Hython easily outleaped Farr for the football, Scott arriving in time to help defend, but coming in behind the leaping Hython. The Big Red receiver fell to the turf between defenders, holding on to the ball for the score. Jones' PAT gave Steubenville the early 7 point advantage.

 

 

1988~
Greg Bell de
Brock Otis tb
Leon Sawyer db
Anthony Reda qb
Mike Jones k
Aric White qb
Grier Montgomery wr
Doug Knight wr
Mike Krager te
David "Pokey" Lalich db
Dunyasha "Tubbo" Yetts tb
Russell Gory lb
Andre McGhee tb
Ryan Terry tb
Maynard Reed wr
Rob Johnson wr
Bill Miller wr
Quenton Thorton fb
Kevin Williams tb
Chuck Hython wr
Robert Mitchell db
Terrance Christian db
Cody Pyle wr
Robert Fayak te
Antwan Horston te
Maurice Pearson lb
Tom Zumpano wr
Brandon Mayo wr
David Whitehouse g
Jamal Bryant te
Damarius Dokes t
Ike Culbreath g
Steve Gorman c
Nate Freeman g
Joe Atkins t
Ed Stroud t
Mike Loggie c
Kelly Keenan c
Calvin Platt lb
Ron Lucas g
Robert Bowman dt
John Monroe c
Al Coffman c
Craig Solomon g
Don Gilliam t
Sam Mitchell t
George Vudrogovic g
Bill Coleman t
Paul Kokos t
Butch Brown t
John Neidengard t
Erick Suder t
Duke Malbasa g
Tom Kenefick te
Tony Smith te
Bill Murray te
Paris Settles te
Kerry Fletcher wr
Jason Thompson te
Dwight Alford wr
Darren Monroe lb