TWINSBURG — Archbishop Hoban met rival Walsh Jesuit on a cold, rainy, windy Friday night in an OHSAA Division II, Region 5 final at Twinsburg Tiger Stadium.
Hoban, the No. 2 seed, knocked off top-seeded Walsh 21-7, as the Knights handed the Warriors their first loss of 2024 and avenged a regular-season loss. Walsh had snapped an 11-game losing streak in this series when it beat Hoban Oct. 4.
Here’s how Friday’s regional final unfolded through our live updates.
Hoban tops Walsh 21-7 to win a regional championship. Sophomore Brayton Feister runs for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries to lead the Knights (12-2). Walsh ends its season at 13-1.
Brayton Feister runs to his right and breaks away for a 68-yard touchdown and Jeremy Hammel makes the extra point to give Hoban a 21-7 lead with 1:25 to go in the fourth quarter.
Feister’s run came on a second-and-12 at the Hoban 32-yard line.
Walsh drives to the Hoban 11-yard line, but turns the ball over on downs.
Walsh senior Anthony Bernard blocks a Hoban punt and the Warriors get the ball on the Knights 26-yard line with 5:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Walsh senior Keller Moten escaped Hoban senior Eli Lee in the backfield and to ran to his left for a 4-yard touchdown with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter. Freddie Marcell makes the extra point and Hoban leads 14-7.
Hoban leads 14-0 through three quarters. Walsh is driving with the ball at the 31-yard line where it will be first and 10 to start the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Brayon Feister runs for an 8-yard touchdown and sophomore Jeremy Hammel makes the extra point to give Hoban a 14-0 lead with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter.
Feister ran for 59 yards on 11 carries during the 13-play, 71-yard drive. Hoban junior Trent Hayden completed a 13-yard pass to senior Ethan Roksandich. Roksandich also had a 4-yard run on the drive.
Hoban leads Walsh 7-0.
Hoban sophomore Brayton Feister surpasses 100 yards rushing with a 14-yard gain. He has 102 yards on 14 carries with less than a minute to go in the second quarter.
Hoban’s Tylan Boykin is being helped off the field with an injury with 6:31 to go in the second quarter after a run as a quarterback off a direct snap play. He is not putting weight on his left leg.
Tylan Boykin grabs an interception for Hoban and the Knights have the ball on their own 42-yard line with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter.
Hoban leads Walsh 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
With 7:26 left in the first quarter, Walsh Jesuit starting offensive lineman Brayden Piersall spent several minutes on the ground while medical personnel examined him. Two Walsh teammates eventually helped Piersall off the field and to the sideline while he kept weight off his right leg.
On the second play from scrimmage, the Hoban defense forced Walsh quarterback Keller Moten to fumble. Junior Payton Cook made the initial hit and then senior Tylan Boykin forced the fumble with another hit.
Senior defensive back Owen Turner recovered the fumble at the Walsh 5-yard line with 11:42 left in the first quarter.
Two plays later, Hoban running back Brayton Feister ran up the middle for a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Jeremy Hammel made the extra point, and the Knights took a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Twinsburg Tiger Stadium.
Hoban has playoff wins over Firestone, Lake and Nordonia the last two weeks. Walsh has playoff wins over Willoughby South, Hudson and Austintown Fitch.
Walsh Jesuit won the pregame coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
Walsh senior QB Keller Moten rushed for the game-winning, 9-yard touchdown with 39.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter last month against Hoban.
Moten has completed 113-of-179 passes this season for 1,645 yards and 17 TDs with four interceptions and carried the ball 127 times for 1,209 yards (9.5 average) and 22 TDs.
Walsh junior wide receiver Milan Parris has 27 catches for 597 yards and nine TDs. Senior Aiden Henry has 41 catches for 565 yards and four TDs and threw a 26-yard TD pass on offense, 44 tackles (37 solos) as a safety on defense and has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Walsh also has three talented running backs in junior Marty Tobin (116 carries, 970 yards, nine TDs), senior Lucas Weaver (112 carries, 831 yards, nine TDs) and junior Carlos Smith (60 carries, 558 yards, eight TDs). Walsh’s offensive line is consistent with seniors Kodey Kish, Matthew DeSciscio and Luka Jeras and juniors Colton Crosley and Brayden Piersall.
The Warriors have gained more than 5,600 yards in 13 games, with over 4,000 of those yards on the ground.
Walsh’s defense features Henry, senior linemen Luka Jeras, Anthony Bernard and Jamir McCombs, sophomore lineman Dario Jeras, senior linebacker Declan Norton, junior linebacker Caden Carter, junior cornerback James Brewer, junior safety Grant Blascak, senior cornerback Dominic Romanini, junior cornerback Tommy Puletti and sophomore linebacker Caden Mariola.
Norton has 113.5 tackles (76 solos), six sacks and one forced fumble. Carter has 108.5 tackles (74 solos and 10 for loss), three sacks, two forced fumbles and one intercepton. Bernard has five sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. McCombs has 10 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Mariola has 10 tackles for loss.
Romanini and Blascak each have three interceptions and Brewer has two interceptions.
Walsh junior kicker Freddie Marcell has made a single-season school record 67 PATs in 69 attempts. He has also made 3-of-4 field goal attempts. Senior punter Jake Hassman averages 40 yards per boot.
Hoban’s offense features sophomore running back Brayton Feister and blocking by senior linemen Joseph Burkeen and Nate Cross, junior linemen Sam Greer and Braylin Parker, sophomore lineman Rylee Pickering and senior tight end Tayte Crable. Feister has 235 carries for 1,673 yards and 22 TDs, and 11 receptions for 92 yards and one TD.
Junior Trent Hayden is Hoban’s primary quarterback after splitting snaps with senior Ethan Roksandich earlier in the season. Hayden, who played at Walsh as a freshman and sophomore, has completed 67 of 104 passes for 922 yards and nine TDs this season.
Roksandich has thrown a TD pass, caught a TD pass, totaled 57 carries for 399 yards and five TDs and has three sacks as a defensive end. Junior La’Near Folk has 56 carries for 438 yards and seven TDs.
Crable and sophomore John Johnson each have 17 catches and one TD, junior Jackson Callaway has 14 catches and four TDs and junior Elbert Hill IV has 14 catches and three TDs. Hill and senior Tylan Boykin are also threats in the backfield with two rushing TDs apiece.
Hoban’s defense is led by Ohio State recruit Eli Lee, a senior linebacker with over 110 tackles, 10 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, one TD and two forced fumbles. Knights senior linebacker Tanner Mintz also has over 110 tackles with four interceptions, two TDs, eight sacks and four fumble recoveries.
Hill has more than 60 tackles with five interceptions (two returned for TDs), two sacks, 26 pass breakups and two kickoff returns for a TD. Senior lineman Nick Crawford has over 70 tackles with 17 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, a TD and one blocked punt. Boykin has over 50 tackles with four interceptions (one returned for a TD), 26 pass breakups and two punt returns for a TD.
Hoban’s other top defenders are junior linemen Ace Brown (12 sacks, two forced fumbles, TD) and Patrick Kinsell (six sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery), junior cornerbacks Callaway and Payton Cook (three interceptions, two fumble recoveries), senior linebacker Owen Turner (two interceptions, eight sacks) and sophomore defensive backs Johnson, Jaiden Daniels and Lawrence Cherry.
Sophomore Jeremy Hammel is Hoban’s kicker and punter. He has made 56 of 67 PATs and 7 of 8 field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards.
This is the 22nd Walsh football team to make the OHSAA playoffs: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2014, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2001, 1999 (1st), 1998 (2nd), 1997, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1989, 1986 and 1985.
Walsh has a 35-20 record in the playoffs. The Warriors won a state title in 1999 and were a state runner-up in 1998. The 1997, 1994 and 1993 teams each played in a state semifinal.
This is the 20th Hoban football team to make the OHSAA playoffs: 2024, 2023 (2nd), 2022 (2nd), 2021 (2nd), 2020 (1st), 2019, 2018 (1st), 2017 (1st), 2016 (1st), 2015 (1st), 2009, 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1998.
Hoban has a 60-14 record in the playoffs. The Knights were a state champion in 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and a state runner-up 2023, 2022 and 2021. The 2008 and 2002 teams each played in a state semifinal.
Nick Alexander is in his sixth season as Walsh’s head coach and Tim Tyrrell is in his 12th season as Hoban’s head coach.
Alexander has a 51-19 record as Walsh’s coach. Alexander was named the Warriors coach in December of 2018 after Scott Beigie led the program for four years. Beigie followed Gerry Rardin, who retired in December of 2014 after 35 years as Walsh football coach. Rardin guided Walsh to a state title in 1999 in Division II. Walsh advanced to the playoffs in 17 of Rardin’s 35 seasons and he compiled a record of 253-119-2.
Prior to Walsh, Alexander spent two seasons as the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at John Carroll University and five seasons as a high school assistant coach at Mentor (three seasons) and Lakewood St. Edward (two seasons).
Tyrrell has a 140-24 record as Hoban’s coach and a 205-75 record in his 23rd year overall. Tyrrell was hired as Hoban’s coach in January of 2013 and replaced former Knights coach Ralph Orsini. Orsini compiled a record of 131-83 in 19 seasons and guided Hoban to 10 playoff appearances. Orsini was an assistant coach in 2020 when Hoban won the Division II state campionship.
Hoban is in a regional final for the 10th year in a row under Tyrrell.
Tyrrell has led Hoban to five state championships (Division III in 2015 and 2016 and Division II in 2017, 2018 and 2020) and three state runner-up finishes (Division II in 2021, 2022 and 2023). Hoban was a state semifinalist in in 2002 and 2008 prior to his arrival.
Tyrrell was an assistant football coach at Ursuline in 1998, Youngstown State University in 1999 and 2000 and St. Thomas Aquinas in 2001 before embarking on his head coaching career. Tyrrell compiled a 26-33 record as the Aquinas coach from 2002-07 and went 39-18 as the Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School coach in Hollywood, Florida, from 2008-12.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
Nate Ulrich can be reached by email at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @ByNateUlrich.
