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CANTON - Coldwater's one flaw all season was turnovers, and that flaw resurfaced at the worst possible time.
Two second-quarter turnovers set up touchdowns for Carey, which leaned on 265-pound running back Jordan Vallejo against an overmatched Cavaliers defense to send Coldwater to a 26-14 defeat in the Division VI state football championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Saturday.
Coldwater's Aaron Fortkamp (67), Jesse Meyer (88) and Evan Homan (72) chase down Carey's Anthony Bell during Saturday's Division VI state championship game in Canton.
"When you're them, you're looking at it, we've got four downs to get 10 yards," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. "They keep chunking at it, three, four, three. You think, 'We're playing pretty good, giving up three yards a carry,' and then it's a first down again. Mechanicsburg had a similar style, but not the same personnel."
The first turnover came after the two teams traded early scores, with Carey (15-1) leading 8-7 on the strength of a two-point conversion. After the Cavaliers stopped Vallejo on fourth-and-4 at the Coldwater 39, quarterback Reece Dellinger misfired on a pass to the flat that went over the head of receiver Marcel Blasingame and straight to Carey's Anthony Bell, who returned it to the Coldwater 24 before Blasingame dragged him down.
Four plays later, Blue Devils quarterback Derek Lonsway kept the ball and bounced left for a three-yard touchdown to make it 15-7 with 3:41 left in the half.
"Just a bit of an overthrow," Otten said of the interception. "Reese kind of saw a guy in the window, I think, and sailed it a bit."
As Coldwater was driving into Carey territory looking to respond, Dellinger dropped back and was hit from behind by Lance Woods, who knocked the ball free. It skittered away from a Cavaliers' lineman and Landon Kemerley fell on it to set up the Blue Devils at the Coldwater 42.
Lonsway hit Bryce Conti on a deep post two plays later to push into the red zone, and Vallejo punched in from a yard out to make it 23-7 with 33 seconds left.
Coldwater's Tanner Muhlenkamp (19) tries to avoid a Carey defender.
But Coldwater wasn't finished yet. With only 30 seconds to work with, Dellinger's first pass was dropped, but his second found Tanner Muhlenkamp on a slant from the left. Muhlenkamp shook off a tackler and cut back to the left sideline, where he raced 40 yards downfield before Lonsway pushed him out.
Two more passes fell incomplete, leaving the Cavaliers with four seconds on the clock. Dellinger dodged one rusher, stepped up in the pocket, and spotted Muhlenkamp alone on the right side of the end zone. His throw strayed toward the sideline, but Muhlenkamp snared it on the run and managed to drag his toes inbounds for the score.
The Cavaliers went for one, and the Carey lead was cut to nine heading into the half.
"We were feeling good, we felt like the momentum was on our side," Dellinger said. "But we knew the job wasn't done. We had to just go out there and fight."
In the third quarter, the Blue Devils were poised to bury the Cavaliers, marching down inside the Coldwater 10 in 11 plays before going for the dagger on fourth-and-3 from the 5. Vallejo took the ball up the middle and went down at the 2, where Cavalier defenders stopped him just inches short of the line to gain.
"We all just kind of looked at each other and said, 'If we don't do it right here, it's over,'" senior lineman Josh Kaup said. "Once we got that stop, we knew there was still a chance and we knew we could keep fighting."
But Coldwater stalled out and turned the ball over on downs at its own 45. The Cavaliers appeared to have recovered a fumble on a Lonsway run, but with the availability of replay, Lonsway was ruled down, and the Blue Devils drive ended with a 48-yard field goal 17 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Coldwater's Marcel Blasingame (5) tries to keep away from Carey's Derek Lonsway (10) during Saturday's game.
Dellinger missed Schwieterman open down the right sideline after a leaping grab by Blasingame, and Blasingame threw a pass on a double-reverse that took Schwieterman out of the back of the end zone on a potential touchdown. Facing fourth-and-6 from the Carey 19, Dellinger scrambled and couldn't juke a Carey defender as the Cavaliers turned the ball over on downs with 9:29 to go.
"I was just looking for a running lane," Dellinger said. "I thought I could make that linebacker miss, but I missed our running back right when I went to tuck. He probably could've gotten a first down. I just missed it."
By the time Coldwater got another chance, there was only 2:22 left. Vallejo led Carey on a 14-play, 41-yard drive that only yielded three first downs as the Blue Devils drained the clock.
The Cavaliers had one more chunk play, a 19-yard fourth-down pass to Schwieterman, and one more agonizing miss, a deep post to Blasingame that Lonsway barely knocked away, before Carey got the ball back on downs and knelt out the clock en route to its first state title since 1975.
"What we feared could happen kind of happened, them being able to go three, four, five yards and a cloud of dust," Otten said. "Then they hit some big passes, one third down, couple backbreaking passes early in the game that got the field position flipped. That's a good team we played."
Coldwater briefly led 7-0 after the two teams exchanged three-and-outs and Dellinger found Schwieterman deep down the middle for a 46-yard gain. But Carey answered with a one-yard touchdown run by Vallejo, and the big running back powered through three defenders for a two-point conversion to give Carey an 8-7 lead.
Vallejo finished with 95 yards rushing for the Blue Devils, followed by Lonsway with 81 yards. Dellinger threw for 205 yards, but finished 13-of-31.
"Their defense, you think one thing's there, then they go and stem and it's not there," Dellinger said. "You just have to adjust on the fly. It's definitely tough, but you've just got to make those plays."
13-3 (6-2 MAC)
Regular Season
Kenton W, 44-14
Oak Hills W, 14-6
Fort Recovery W, 42-6
New Bremen W, 28-14
St. John's W, 21-14
Anna W, 42-7
St. Henry L, 14-21
Minster W, 42-0
Marion Local L, 21-24
Parkway W, 55-19
Regionals
Delphos Jefferson W, 49-35
Deer Park W, 49-7
Mechanicsburg W, 42-6
Allen East W, 49-7
State Semifinal
West Jefferson W, 35-13
State Final
Carey L, 14-26
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
| # | Name | Pos. | Gr. | Ht. | Wt. |
| 1 | Evan Harlamert | WR/C | 11 | 6-0 | 140 |
| 2 | Blade Buschur | WR/S | 11 | 6-2 | 141 |
| 3 | Aaron Kaup | WR/S | 9 | 5-7 | 130 |
| 4 | Braylen Harlamert | WR/S | 10 | 5-8 | 123 |
| 5 | Marcel Blasingame | Slot/QB/C | 11 | 6-1 | 168 |
| 6 | AJ Harlamert | WR/C | 10 | 5-9 | 132 |
| 7 | Curtis Duerr | WR/C | 11 | 5-7 | 136 |
| 8 | Isaac Fullenkamp | RB/LB | 12 | 5-10 | 183 |
| 9 | Tyler Timmerman | WR/LB | 11 | 5-9 | 133 |
| 10 | Braxton Howell | QB/C | 10 | 6-0 | 150 |
| 11 | Adam Hrycko | S/LB | 12 | 5-9 | 170 |
| 12 | Justin Kaup | S/LB | 11 | 6-1 | 177 |
| 13 | Reece Dellinger | QB/S | 12 | 6-1 | 184 |
| 14 | Mason Welsch | QB/S/LB | 9 | 5-11 | 145 |
| 15 | Baylen Blockberger | QB/S | 9 | 5-8 | 115 |
| 16 | John Muhlenkamp | WR/C | 11 | 5-11 | 158 |
| 17 | Seth Stewart | Slot/S | 11 | 5-9 | 148 |
| 18 | Jack Riethman | WR/S | 10 | 6-0 | 154 |
| 19 | Tanner Muhlenkamp | WR/C | 12 | 6-0 | 175 |
| 20 | Liam Davis | WR/C | 9 | 5-9 | 125 |
| 21 | Tyler Schwieterman | WR/S | 12 | 6-4 | 190 |
| 22 | Jack Ebbing | RB/LB | 10 | 5-9 | 142 |
| 23 | Kenny Bailey | RB/LB | 10 | 6-3 | 170 |
| 24 | Darin Schmitmeyer | RB/LB | 12 | 5-9 | 180 |
| 25 | Colin Weigel | WR/LB | 12 | 5-8 | 146 |
| 28 | Jack Broering | Slot/S | 11 | 6-0 | 164 |
| 29 | Austin Hamilton | WR/S | 10 | 5-7 | 131 |
| 30 | Kayden Baumer | WR/C | 12 | 5-7 | 136 |
| 31 | Drew Franck | WR/C | 9 | 5-5 | 115 |
| 32 | Brady Lefeld | Slot/LB | 9 | 5-10 | 140 |
| 33 | Miles Potkotter | RB/LB | 9 | 5-10 | 140 |
| 34 | Mason Smith | Slot/LB | 9 | 5-9 | 128 |
| 35 | Ethan Heitkamp | WR/C | 10 | 5-8 | 134 |
| 36 | Mason Klosterman | WR/C | 11 | 5-9 | 131 |
| 37 | Mason Link | RB/LB | 10 | 5-10 | 140 |
| 40 | Ethan Elander | S/C | 9 | 5-8 | 142 |
| 41 | Luke Sudhoff | RB/LB | 11 | 5-9 | 157 |
| 42 | Owen Hamberg | RB/MLB | 9 | 5-11 | 160 |
| 43 | Gavin Zibrida | WR/S | 10 | 5-10 | 145 |
| 44 | Grady Sutton | RB/LB | 11 | 5-8 | 145 |
| 46 | Cody Depweg | RB/LB | 9 | 6-0 | 175 |
| 50 | Grant Heuing | C/LB | 12 | 5-10 | 167 |
| 50 | Braylon Dawson | OL/DL | 9 | 5-9 | 175 |
| 51 | Nathan Cupp | OL/DL | 11 | 6-0 | 170 |
| 52 | Josh Kaup | C/T | 12 | 6-0 | 196 |
| 53 | Sam Obringer | C/LB | 11 | 5-11 | 160 |
| 54 | Josh Welsch | T/E | 12 | 6-0 | 167 |
| 55 | Isaac Schroer | G/E | 11 | 6-0 | 172 |
| 55 | Brady Stammen | C/T | 9 | 5-5 | 169 |
| 56 | Noah Welsch | C/T | 9 | 5-10 | 195 |
| 57 | Braden Kosterman | G/T | 11 | 5-10 | 222 |
| 57 | Ethan Ebbing | T/E | 10 | 6-0 | 200 |
| 58 | Caleb Stammen | T/E | 12 | 6-0 | 203 |
| 59 | Andrew Wermert | G/LB | 9 | 5-8 | 125 |
| 60 | Ethan Thomas | G/T | 10 | 5-8 | 201 |
| 61 | Hunter Barnard | T/E | 9 | 5-10 | 195 |
| 61 | Kayden Giere | T/T | 10 | 6-0 | 230 |
| 62 | Carter Hicks | G/E | 10 | 6-0 | 148 |
| 63 | Troy Weigel | C/LB | 10 | 5-11 | 173 |
| 64 | Will Fox | T/T | 11 | 6-1 | 254 |
| 65 | Gavin Wenning | G/T | 9 | 5-5 | 166 |
| 66 | Trent Ebbing | G/LB | 9 | 5-8 | 148 |
| 66 | Brayden Quinn | G/T | 10 | 6-1 | 218 |
| 67 | Aaron Fortkamp | T/E | 12 | 6-1 | 173 |
| 67 | Brayden Bonifas | C/T | 10 | 5-6 | 245 |
| 68 | Shane Ontrop | T/E | 11 | 6-3 | 197 |
| 69 | Hayden Minton | G/E | 9 | 5-6 | 139 |
| 70 | Cale Wenning | T/T | 9 | 6-0 | 254 |
| 71 | Luke Schmitmeyer | G/DE | 10 | 5-10 | 150 |
| 72 | Evan Homan | T/T | 11 | 6-2 | 251 |
| 73 | Hayden Kunk | T/E | 11 | 6-0 | 177 |
| 74 | Tyler Jones | T/T | 9 | 6-1 | 185 |
| 75 | Riley Archer | T/E | 10 | 6-4 | 192 |
| 76 | Troy Milligan | G/T | 10 | 5-6 | 195 |
| 77 | Andrew Hicks | G/T | 10 | 5-8 | 227 |
| 78 | Carter May | G/E | 10 | 5-10 | 155 |
| 79 | Seth Meyer | G/T | 12 | 6-0 | 228 |
| 81 | Will Barry | S/E | 9 | 6-1 | 174 |
| 82 | Owen Kunk | WR/S | 9 | 6-4 | 165 |
| 83 | Luke Schwieterman | WR/E | 10 | 6-7 | 157 |
| 84 | Brandon Hammons | WR/LB | 11 | 5-9 | 154 |
| 86 | David Dippold | S/C | 9 | 5-8 | 141 |
| 88 | Jesse Meyer | WR/E | 12 | 6-4 | 220 |
| 89 | Andrew Jones | S/E | 10 | 6-2 | 165 |
Head Coach: Chip Otten
Assistant Coaches: Randy Wright, Dan Kanney, Joe Huwer, Mark Bruns, Cory Klenke, Keegan Leichty.
Cheerleaders: Naomi Cervantes, Audrey Stoltz, Alyssa Diller, Norah Duerr, Cassie Moorman, Abbi Fortkamp, Abby Diller, Abby Imwalle. Advisor: Kim Stoltz.
Athletic Trainer: Tiffany Rutschilling.
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
Congratulations Coldwater Cavaliers: 2021 Division VI State Football Runner-up
