Coldwater falls short in state final

MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) - Christian Hauber shook off an ankle injury and Damon Washington eluded defenders with breakaway speed to lead Kirtland to its first Ohio Division V football championship, beating Coldwater 28-7 on Friday.

"When it sinks in, we'll appreciate it," said senior linebacker Jake Finkler, a key performer on the Hornets' stifling defense that limited opponents to 6.5 points a game and had five shutouts overall.

Kirtland (15-0) outgained tournament-tested Coldwater (11-4) on the ground, logging 410 yards compared with Coldwater's 73. They outscored opponents overall 586-98 this year.

Hauber twice scored on 6-yard runs and had 196 yards on 30 carries. Washington had 147 yards on 18 attempts, including TD runs of 7 and 81 yards.

"I just saw the hole, hit it, and went from there," Washington said of his scamper down the left sideline with 4:10 to play.

Hauber left briefly after injuring his left ankle in the second quarter but came back to play on both offense and defense. The senior is an all-state first team performer on offense and was named defensive player of the year in the division by The Associated Press for his play at linebacker.

"It was painful, but I got taped up and then really didn't do much," Hauber said. "It was the offensive line that did it all. I just ran up-field behind them."

That was enough for Kirtland to control the game as the Hornets took the opening kickoff and chewed up 6:30, going 66 yards in 14 plays to take a 7-0 lead.

Coldwater had several opportunities. A wide-open Caleb Siefring dropped pass in the end zone and quarterback Austin Bruns fumbled as he was going in for a late score.

"I don't think Caleb had dropped a pass all year," Cavaliers coach Chip Otten said. "That would have made it 21-14 and who knows? We were just off on a few plays. Those things happen, but you can't do it against a good team. And Kirtland is a very good team."

For the third year in a row, Coldwater was denied victory in the championship game. The Cavaliers won titles in 2005 and 2007 and have been runner-up five times overall.