PARMA - No matter what happened in Week 15, this Colonel Crawford team would go down as the best in program history.
The Eagles saw their historic season come to an end with a 49-22 loss in the Division VI state semifinal against a Kirtland team now making its 14th state championship appearance since 2011.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"That was a dream," senior defensive end Payne DeGray said. "These are the games we want to play. We don't want to play bad teams; we want to play good teams. We may have lost tonight, but I'd say it was probably one of the most fun games in my life going out there one last time with my boys in this type of weather.
"This is perfect football weather."
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It did almost seem out of a movie as the teams warmed up on Byers Field at Robert M. Boulton Stadium in Parma with wind chills in the teens and snowflakes falling from the sky.
"It was fun, they're a great competitor," senior running back Connor McMichael said. "Coming into the Final Four, you're not gonna go up against a cupcake team. You're gonna go against the best in the state, and that was a fun time."
Colonel Crawford's Connor McMichael cuts outside for a big gain.As much fun as they had, it was a first half the Eagles would love to have a do over with. Kirtland marched down the field and capped off a 10-play, 79-yard drive with a Ty Bledsoe 8-yard scamper. Colonel Crawford moved the ball well in response, but the drive resulted in no points as Joseph Zizzo's 29-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThree more Kirtland possessions in the first half led to three more Kirtland touchdowns — Jake LaVerde's 6-yard rush, Josh Silvestro from 1 and 6 yards out — and the Hornets took a 27-0 lead into the half.
"I've coached against a lot of good teams, and they're a really good football team," Colonel Crawford coach Jake Bruner said. "It starts with the LaVerde kid ... you couldn't tell tonight, but we were very concerned about him — he's probably the best player in Division VI football.
"They were able to get us inside a lot, they're very quick ... and they're tenacious. You gotta get some holding calls on them, and we couldn't get one called despite us yelling and screaming all night. That fumble early we thought that was live ball, but the officials thought it was down — we just couldn't get those calls tonight. But give them credit, they're well-coached, they play hard. Coach (Tiger) LaVerde is a great coach and an even better human being."
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBruner challenges his team at halftime to come out as if the first half never happened, and they responded playing Kirtland to a 22-22 tie over the final two quarters as the teams traded touchdowns. McMichael opened the second half with an 18-yard run, LaVerde rushed in from 16 yards out, McMichael again from 14, Silvestro from 60 and 16, and Peyton Baker from 16 yards out and then hit Dom Dean for the two-point conversion.
"I told our seniors how proud of them I am," Bruner said. "Our 16 seniors here won more games in one season than multiple seasons and took us to the state semis. Football really is a game of inches, and some things just didn't go our way early. We got behind and hurt by penalties, but our kids fought in the second half and we should've had another touchdown at the end that they called offensive pass interference. They fought to the end, and that says a lot about them.
"My biggest thing is when the chips are down, what are you gonna do? We just gotta be able to take that next step and these seniors have put us in a place to do that, so I'm excited for the future. But I'm sad for them because I know how bad they wanted it and how hard they worked. I can't say enough about how unselfish they were as a group and all the things they've done for us."
Colonel Crawford seniors Payne DeGray (78), Connor McMichael (21), and Dom Dean (5) capped off their careers as state semifinalists for the first time in program history.Coming into this season the Eagles landed on — Unfinished Business — as the motto after exiting the postseason earlier than they hoped in 2024.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Bruner was saying that all last week when we played in the regional finals — do you believe in coincidences, or do you think stuff just happens?" DeGray said. "I think that motto was made for a reason we didn't know at the time where it would take us, but I believe that we fulfilled it."
They fulfilled it by becoming the winningest class in program history with 42 wins — eight of those coming in the postseason — the first regional championship, and most wins in a single season with 13.
"And as sad as it is right now ... when they wake up in a couple days, and they're gonna hurt a little bit, but they're gonna be awful proud of the season they've had," Bruner said. "And they'll get the look back at all the great memories we've had together, all the locker room stuff that goes on. This group put Colonel Crawford back on the map in football.
"They took the extra step we needed to take this year, and as sad as it is to end — their legacy will be a lot of things — but one of them will be they got us here. It starts somewhere, and it's gotta go from there."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt's an experience these seniors wouldn't have traded for anything.
"It has been incredible," McMichael said. "My guys, they're like brothers to me. It's been fun improving this whole year from the crappy summer days to now we're in the snow on a nice field.
"I'm gonna miss the fans, the people, the coaches. This team has been everything to me. Football is my sport, it's literally what I do, and it's my last time playing. I'm gonna miss everything about this."
[email protected] | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Colonel Crawford football ousted in state semifinals by Kirtland
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