MANSFIELD — The Olentangy Orange High School football team will boldly go where no Pioneers have gone before.
In just his second year, coach Wes Schroeder has his club headed to Canton for the Division I state championship game after blasting perennial powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward 28-0 in a Final Four clash on Friday night in Mansfield.
The Pioneers will take a 14-0 record into next Friday’s 7:30 p.m. title tilt with Cincinnati St. Xavier (11-2). Those two will meet on the hallowed grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
Getting there was no small task for Orange, who had to take down one of the Goliaths of Ohio high school football. Lakewood St. Edward is a seven-time state champion.
However, the Pioneers are no stranger to the big stage.
Just last March, Orange won the state basketball championship. Now it has the chance to become just the sixth Ohio high school to win a football and basketball championship in the same calendar year — this one at the big school level.
In chilly, windy conditions at Arlin Field, it was clear from the very beginning who was the better football team in this state semifinal encounter.
The Pioneers stuffed St. Edward on a 4th-and-1 at the Eagles’ 43 on the first possession of the game. Two plays later, senior quarterback Levi Davis cut loose on a 44-yard touchdown run to put Orange in front 7-0.
It was a lead Schroeder’s squad would never relinquish.
Neither team scored again in the half, but the Pioneers’ defense was in complete control. For the game, St. Edward suffered four interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Orange ground game ripped off 178 yards. Senior running back Lucas Fickell led the way with 106 yards on 28 carries. His first touchdown, a 10-yard blast with 7:36 showing in the third quarter, made it 14-0.
Davis, an Ohio University commit, put an exclamation point on that lead with his own 15-yard TD dash in the closing seconds of the third period to open the gap to 21-0.
With 8:47 remaining in the game, Fickell’s 16-yard bolt put the game out of reach at 28-0, and it was time to start planning for Canton.
St. Edward finished the season 12-3.
The Pioneers got the better of it statistically across the board.
Orange led in first downs (13-10), rushing yards (178-128), passing yards (75-60) and total yards (253-188). A plus+4 in turnover ratio made it a blowout.
Davis ran for 78 yards and threw for 75, compiling 153 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. It was just another night at the office for the Mr. Football finalist, who also played on the Pioneers state basketball championship team last season.
If Orange wins a state title, it will become the first school to turn the double-state championship feat in the same calendar year since Trotwood in 2019, when it beat Mansfield Senior in overtime of the Division III finals in Canton.
(Photos by Katie Ellington Serrao)
