MASSILLON, OH –After dominating the first 9 weeks, the Springfield Tigers saw their third straight game come down to the final possession. In their regional final against Norwayne, it was a trick play that propelled the Tigers into the state semi-finals, where the Springfield defense would come up big with a goal line stand.

Now, in their second straight state championship appearance, it seemed as if it were the special teams’ turn to win the game. Following a Coldwater score to knot things up at 35, Beau Brungard and the Springfield offense would take over at their own 2o with 1 minute and 36 seconds remaining.

Running and throwing their way down the field, the Tigers marched into Cavalier territory. After converting for a first down, the Tigers rushed to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball to stop the clock with just under a minute remaining.

From there, the Tigers would throw two incomplete passes, leaving them with 4th and long. Outside of kicker Clayton Medvec’s range, Springfield was forced to punt.

After a low snap, the Tiger punter picked up and booted the ball away into the arms of Coldwater’s big-play threat, Zack McKibben. McKibben would shake a few and break a couple of tackles before having nothing but green in front of him.

Great effort from two Tiger defenders would shove McKibben out of bounds at the Springfield 11-yard line. With just under 10 seconds to go, Coldwater ran one final play to gain a few extra yards for their kicker.

With four seconds remaining and 26 yards to glory, Coldwater’s Brady Klingshirn nailed one through the uprights to secure the Cavaliers’ 7thstate championship.

BIG PERFORMERS:

Springfield

Beau Brungard – 261 rushing yards, 121 passing yards, 5 total TDs

Coldwater

Myles Blasingame – 185 passing yards, 99 rushing yards, 5 total TDs

Zack McKibben – 82 rushing yards, 76 receiving yards, 2 receiving TDs