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Published November 21, 2008

It's Pigskin Playoff Time! -- DeSales' Division II Champ Hopes Over

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Adam Griffin busted a big one for DeSales.

Turnovers Kill -- Anderson 14, DeSales 10 -- (11/21) -- A big fumble after a 13 play 4th quarter drive. Two earlier interceptions . A miss on 4th and 1 an the end of the first half at the Anderson 1 yard line. Those are the story lines tonight from Dayton's Welcome Stadium as the DeSales Stallions (13-1) fell to defending Div. II state champion Cincinnati Anderson in a rematch of a game DeSales won at Anderson earlier this year. The Stallions' highlights were an 80 yard Adam Griffin TD run in the second half and a 41 yard Kyle Nugent FG to keep it close. The disappointment was when the Stallions spent much of the fourth quarter methodically driving down the field with a big Thomas Gentile to Josh Kusan pass and number of Adam Griffin and Josh Kusan runs only to lose the ball in the red zone on a fumble that sealed their fate. This time around, Anderson QB Daniel Rod played and played well, but was overshadowed by his backfield teammate, RB Kyle Slater. Slater pounded and bolted for 256 yards and a TD on 39 carries to lead the Redskins to their second straight title game. Anderson will play Sylvania Southview in the final next weekend. Southview blew out opponent Akron Hoban 31-0 tonight.

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DeSales bruised its way through the Leopard defense for the win.

Take Two, That's a Wrap - DeSales 38, Louisville 21 - (11/14) - Division II Regional Final --  A much analyzed and awaited rematch of last year's Division II Regional Final turned sweet for the Stallions last night at Mansfield. DeSales (13-0) took immediate charge of the game, racing to a 17-0 first half lead over Louisville (12-1, pronounced with the "s") and then withstood a 25 completion, 300 yard aerial charge by Leopard QB Neal Seaman to advance to the State Semi-Finals next Friday 11/21 at Dayton's Welcome Stadium. The Leopards had defeated DeSales in last year's Regional Final in a tough 27-20 contest that saw Seaman pick apart the Stallions' defense at will. This time, DeSales QB Thomas Gentile got things started with a 37 yard first quarter run to the 4 yard line, and RB Josh Kusan dove it to the house for the first score. Shortly thereafter, Adam Griffin (yes, son of the Heismans) started things with a solid punt return after Louisville's third three and out. Gentile hit WR Ike Ariguzo on a third and 8 first down pass to the Leopard 33, and Kusan again added a TD, this time pounding it up the middle untouched for the distance. Griffin provided excellent blocking on both early TDs. Kyle Nugent added the PATs and a field goal shortly thereafter, which was set up by a Griffin interception of Seaman, who threw three picks for Louisville on the night, two to Griffin. Kusan finished with 3 TDs and 211 yards plus 2 sacks on defense, as Seaman was pressured all night with 5 sacks and several passes deflected at the line. Louisville played bravely after falling behind, bringing the score to 17-14 before the half on a 30 yard Seaman TD throw and a 16 yard run up the gut by the QB. However, DeSales struck back with another score before the break as Gentile hit Ariguzo from 10 yards out after an 11 play drive. The Stallions also received the second half kick and again took their time on an impressive nine play drive for a Kusan TD. The game may have seemed out of reach then, and in some respects it was, but Louisville executed a fake punt for a 38 yard TD throw and had a chance to bring it to 7 when they missed a short FG attempt. Adam Griffin then wrapped it up for DeSales with a 14 yard fourth quarter score. The Stallions move on to a rematch with last year's Division II state champ Cincinnati Anderson (11-2), which fell to DeSales at home earlier in a regular season non-conference matchup.

Tags: , high school football, high school sports

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