CANTON — The Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School football team and Powell Olentangy Liberty will wrap up Day 2 of the 2024 OHSAA football state championships this evening. They meet in the Division I title game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in showdown of the big-school division featuring this year’s Ohio Mr. Football and one of the finalists for that award.
It’s the last of three high school football championshp games today as games continue Saturday at the stadium.
Follow along here throughout the day for live updates on the game.
Moeller routed Centerville 49-10 in a state semifinal.
Olentangy Liberty defeated three-time defending Division I state champion St. Edward 21-7 in a state semifinal.
The Crusaders enter the title game on an 11-game winning streak since a 21-14 overtime loss in Week 4 to Mallard Creek, a top program in North Carolina. They are outscoring their opponents, on average, 41-17 this season. The Moeller defense has forced 27 turnovers. The Crusaders are in a state championship game for the first time since winning back-to-back Division I titles in 2012 and 2013. They lost in the state semifinals each of the last three years.
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Ponatoski, a junior, was announced as the winner of Mr. Football on Thursday afternoon, winning a vote by statewide media. He owns multiple Moeller records and enters the finals with 4,075 passing yards and 56 TD passes this season. His career totals stand at 7,512 yards and 86 TD passes. Ponatoski has offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio) and Kent State.
The Patriots are playing in the state finals for the first time after losing in their previous three trips to the state semifinals in 2016, ’17 and ’18. They got here by knocking off three-time defending state champion St. Edward 21-7 in a semifinal last Friday. They shared the regular-season title in the OCC-Central Division title with Olentangy Orange and Upper Arlington after all three were 4-1 in league play. Liberty edged Upper Arlington 17-13 in the regional semifinals after losing to the Golden Bears 31-28 a month earlier in the regular season.
Quarterback Andrew Leonard drove the Patriots into Moeller territory but was intercepted by senior Lincoln Murphy, bringing Ohio’s Mr. Football, Moeller QB Matt Ponatoski, on the field.
Moeller made it to midfield before Murphy, doubling as a running back, was stuffed on fourth and 1, giving the ball back to Leonard.
The 5-foot-10 senior quickly drove the Patriots to set up a pass over the middle to senior Jake Struck. It was ruled a 26-yard touchdown as Struck tumbled at the goal line, and then, after a video review, the ball was placed at the 1. The Patriots scored on the next play and led 7-0 with 3:54 left in the first quarter.
Moeller takes field for Division I final as traffic swirls
The combatants and entourages from the middle of Friday’s three title games − Columbus Watterson beat Toledo Central Catholic 19-14 − were clear of the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium by 6 p.m.
A smattering of Cincinnati Moeller players found their way to the field by 6:10 and soaked in the atmosphere in advance of their 7:30 kickoff against Olentangy Liberty for all the marbles in Division I.
A traffic jam to get out is being met by a traffic jam to get in. The temperature isn’t much warmer than it was for last night’s Division II title game, currently at 27 degrees, but last night there was nonstop snow, and at the moment it is dry and clear.
At 6:55, people were just beginning to file in, the guess being that there is little appetite to sit in the cold longer than necessary.
At 7:18, captains took the field at the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo. Moeller won the toss and deferred. It appears kickoff, scheduled for 7:30, will be about 10 minutes late.
What channel is the Cincinnati Moeller football OHSAA state championship game on vs. Olentangy Liberty? How to watch on TV
The Division I state title game will be televised on Spectrum News 1. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
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In addition to airing on TV on Spectrum News 1, the game can be streamed using the Spectrum News App or via OHSAA.tv.
