Associated Press

Division IV:
Coldwater 28,
Youngstown Mooney 27

Two gadget plays, a great catch and a blocked kick in the final seconds gave Coldwater a 28-27 comeback win over No. 1 Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in the Division IV championship game Saturday in Massillon.

''We didn't drive all the way across the state to lose,'' Coldwater tri-captain Tyler Kunk said after the Cavaliers scored 21 points to take the lead, then saw senior tackle Kurt Schlarman block an extra-point attempt with 21 seconds left to preserve the win.

''We have a team motto, and it is 'Go hard and never give up,''' said Ryan Geier, who caught two touchdowns in the Cavaliers' comeback. ''That's what every player did.''

Coldwater (14-1) won its second state title in three years and snapped Cardinal Mooney's 28-game winning streak. The Cardinals (14-1) had not lost since a 33-9 setback to the Cavaliers in the 2005 championship game.

''There were similarities in that both times we had to use a backup quarterback and Coldwater played great games,'' Cardinals coach P.J. Fecko said.

Tim Marlowe, an All-Ohio defensive back playing quarterback, ran for one touchdown and threw for two more for the Cardinals, who were deprived of their seventh state title.

His 6-yard pass to Mike Gemma got Mooney within a point, but Schlarman leapt and deflected the extra-point kick by Ed Reese to ruin the Cardinals' title dreams.

Geier scored on an 80-yard touchdown pass, then leapt over a defender to catch a 23-yard pass for another score with 2:41 to play as Coldwater scored three times in a 7:16 span to take a 28-21 lead.

''We come from the other side of Ohio and don't know about the 'Mooney Mystique,''' Coldwater coach John Reed said. ''But we did know that when we fell behind, we had to come up with some magic against a great team.''

Division I:
Newark Catholic 28,
Hopewell-Loudon 14

Quarterback Mark Elwell understands what it means to be part of Newark Catholic's eighth Ohio football championship for small high schools.

''This is for the entire community,'' Elwell said after running for three touchdowns in a 28-14 victory over top-ranked Bascom Hopewell-Loudon in Canton. ''It's been a long time, and this is for all the firefighters, the policemen, the city workers and fans who support our program.''

Newark Catholic (13-2) won its first title in 1978 in what was then Class A. From 1982 through 1991, the Green Wave won six Division V crowns, before the format was expanded to six divisions.

Hopewell-Loudon's leading rusher this season, Adam Brickner, gained four yards on three attempts before being carried to the locker room just before halftime with a stress fracture of his left shin. The senior rushed for 1,916 yards and 24 touchdowns in the first 14 games this year.

With him on crutches on the sideline for the second half, the Chieftains (14-1) trailed 28-0 before rallying.

Division I:
Cincinnati St. Xavier 27,
Mentor 0

Darius Ashley ran for 271 yards and two touchdowns to lead Cincinnati St. Xavier — ranked No. 1 from the season's first week — to its second state title. The Bombers (15-0) also won in 2005.

Ashley scored on runs of 27 yards and 1 yard and broke the Division I state-final rushing record of 259 yards set by Dominick Goodwin of Cincinnati Colerain in 2004.

Mentor (11-3) lost in its second consecutive trip to the title game, but it wasn't nearly as close as the Cardinals' heartbreaking 36-35 loss in double overtime to Hilliard Davidson a year ago.