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St. Henry's Charlie Werling dashes for the end zone for one of his three touchdowns in the Redskins' 37-3 win over Jeromesville Hillsdale in the Division VII state championship game in Canton.
CANTON - St. Henry flexed some Midwest Athletic Conference muscle and got a spectacular performance from Charlie Werling, in a 37-3 victory over Jeromesville Hillsdale in the Division VII state football final on Saturday morning at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
The Redskins won their seventh state championship, first since 2006, to finish the season with 12 straight wins at 14-1, earning the program's 400th victory. The Falcons, looking to rebound after a 74-0 loss to Marion Local in the 2024 state final, ended the season at 13-2.
"We talked all week about how if we executed in the trenches, we'd like our chances," said St. Henry coach Josh Werling, who played on the 2004 and 2006 title teams. "We are proud. We talk a lot about family and our family now gets to be on a photo at our school forever, that's a pretty special thing."
The opening possession went to Werling and the Redskins, who ate up a ton of clock but faced a fourth and seven in Falcon territory. Werling's pass was incomplete and the Falcon faithful figured a thriller was in order.
Hillsdale's Owen Sloan (26) is wrapped up by St. Henry's Owen Zimmerman.
After driving into Redskins' territory, Hillsdale eventually faced a fourth and three. Owen Zimmerman was able to contain the run and put the St. Henry offense back on the field with 5:25 left in the quarter.
It did not take long for the Redskins to capitalize on the stop. Three straight runs by Charlie Werling set up a Will Speck carry, and the sophomore back was able to bounce it to the outside and score from 26 yards out. Nick Lefeld made a key block to set up the run, and Speck did the rest to give St. Henry an 8-0 lead after Werling ran in a conversion after the Falcons were called for encroachment on the PAT.
Hillsdale tried to counter the score, using a couple of big third-down conversions to get into field goal range. Quarterback Kael Lewis' pass was incomplete as Brayden Heath rushed the throw on third down. Brock Bower, the backup kicker while also playing receiver, booted a 23-yard field goal with 11:07 remaining in the first half to cut the Redskin lead to 8-3.
It took one play for the Redskins to respond. Werling took the snap at the Redskin thirty, found an opening and was on the run, not stopping until hitting the end zone 70 yards later. After another Falcons encroachment as Owen Zimmerman set up for the PAT, the Redskins went for two again, with Werling barreling in to make it 16-3.
St. Henry's Will Speck (20) hurdles past a Hillsdale defender.
Another defensive stand followed, and St. Henry's offense came back out with all the momentum. Speck got the carry on first down, but Werling got the next three carries to find the end zone. It was another quarterback power and Werling ran it right up the gut for 23-yards and six points. Hillsdale stayed onsides on the PAT try and Zimmerman's kick was good and it gave the Redskins a 23-3 lead with 6:23 on the clock.
The defense kept its foot on the gas as a fourth down pass from Lewis was complete in the flats, but Drew Langenkamp and Tate Boeckman read it well and tackled Bower behind the line.
St. Henry could not follow that up with points and it set up the Falcons' offense on their own 20. After a short pickup on first down led to a third-and-nine, Lewis found receiver Owen Sloan, but so did Harrison Schwieterman on defense. Schwieterman made the tackle and popped the ball free with Jack Huelsman falling on it. It was initially ruled an incompletion, but after review it was Redskins' football.
With two minutes left in the half, St. Henry faced a third down on the Falcons' 16. Werling dumped off a third-down screen to Speck, who used some great blocking around the edge to scamper into the end zone. The Zimmerman PAT was good to make it 30-3 that carried into the halftime break.
St. Henry's Harrison Schwieterman (10) pulls down a Hillsdale ballcarrier during Saturday's Division VII state final.
St. Henry held a 170-10 advantage in rushing yards and had double the Falcon's total yards. The second quarter finished with a 22-3 margin for the Redskins', who ended the game before the halftime snacks kicked in.
"Once we got a feel for (Hillsdale) after the first couple of drives, we handled ourselves really well," coach Werling said.
The second half was a mere continuation of the first. St. Henry's defense got a stop to open the half, and Langenkamp blocked the punt to set up the offense at the Hillsdale 32. Six straight runs by Werling got the Redskins to the one yard-line.
He took it himself up the middle and was untouched to push the score to 37-3, putting the game into a running clock situation for the rest of the afternoon
Werling finished his day with 178 yards on 19 carries with the three scores, easily earning him the Most Valuable Player of the game award.
Charlie Werling gave credit to his offensive line, four of whom are fellow seniors.
"We knew we were going to have four of our starting linemen return," Charlie Werling said. "We've leaned on those guys all year and it showed today."
With the clock rolling. Hillsdale's next drive took the remaining time off and both teams headed to the fourth with the celebrations beginning in the St. Henry stands.
St. Henry's Tate Boeckman (18) jumps to make an interception.
The icing on the cake came early in the fourth when Lewis' pass intended for Hayden McFadden was intercepted by Boeckman, who got a short return out of it before going down. St. Henry, and specifically Speck, ran the remaining 9:56 off the clock and with two minutes left a standing ovation was in order as the starting offense ran off the field. Speck finished the day with 77 rushing yards and two total scores.
Tyson Rosenbeck kneeled the ball and the Redskins gave coach Werling an ice-cold Gatorade bath. The defense held Hillsdale to just 157 total yards, while the Redskins doubled that number with 312. The rushing margin was 262-27, and Werling finished his day averaging nearly 10 yards-per-carry.
"This group has that special connection," coach Werling said. "They will be very successful off the field, I know that."
