Nate Henderson shakes several defenders on the way to a long gain. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel & Sonny Fulks)
Like it has been all season, the Eagles’ staunch defense was lights out, limiting the high-powered Fighting Irish to 179 total yards – and just 24 on the ground.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
Canton, OH – Still glowing with delirium after coaching his Bishop Watterson football team to a second straight unbeaten state championship season on Friday, Brian Kennedy wasn’t quite prepared to reflect on the legacy his 2025 left in the pantheon of the program’s rich tradition. Dang, the shorts-wearing coach was just trying to shake off numbness in the bowels of frozen Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium.
But the 1992 Watterson graduate and former standout can surely remember when the program wasn’t exactly thriving as it is today.
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“I don’t know that it’s quite sunk in yet,” Kennedy said after his Eagles trounced Toledo Central Catholic 30-0 in the Division III state title game. “All I know is no class at Watterson has ever won two state championships and played in three straight title games. To be at this point, it’s … well, they very well could have fired me my first year here. I was bad. We were bad.”
Not long before sailing into these uncharted waters, Watterson suffered through the worst span in its 70-year history. After capturing its second state title in 2010, the Eagles went just 47-63 over the next 11 years. Kennedy took the helm in 2017 and promptly went 2-8.
“All of us grew up together, and between fourth and eighth grade, we didn’t do that well,” Iowa State-bound senior offensive tackle Pete Eglitis said. “We’re especially glad to leave a legacy like we have.”
Ben Uhlenhake plants Toledo Central Catholic running back Jeremiah Fuller. The All-Ohio running back was held to 32 yards.
Things began to turn around in 2022 when Watterson (12-2) reached a regional final. In 2023, the Eagles (14-2) fell to Toledo Central Catholic in the title game. They haven’t lost a game since.
“Losing that game in ‘23 certainly gave us the motivation to what we achieved last year,” Kennedy said, “but the challenge this year was to fight complacency. It’s tough to get to the top, but even tougher to stay there.”
Kennedy and other observers around central Ohio knew this Watterson team had the potential to be even better, and it proved it with flying colors.
The Eagles shot out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and given that their defense hadn’t allowed an opponent to reach double figures since August, the outlook looked mighty rosy for Cardinal Red and Vegas Gold faithful.
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“There was the first play of the game where we got a first down (a 15-yard run by Jeremiah Fuller), then it was all downhill,” Fighting Irish coach Greg Dempsey said. “It kind of snowballed. We didn’t get the running game going, and they did a great job of making us one-dimensional. After we got down 14-0, we were just hoping to keep it a two-score game and make it a ballgame.”
Watterson’s Caden Mangini goes airborne for extra yards and a first down.
That never happened as Watterson’s relentless defense dominated at the point of attack and never wavered. Central Catholic managed just 179 total yards. Fuller, an All-Ohio running back with 1,504 yards and 27 total TDs, was held to a career-low 34 yards on 12 attempts.
Despite what the final score indicated, Watterson did not bring its ‘A’ game offensively. Miami University-bound senior quarterback Drew Bellisari completed 13 of 22 passes for 250 yards and one TD but was intercepted four times – twice his number for the first 13 games.
But he and his teammates made big plays in all facets.
Nate Henderson made a fantastic over-the-shoulder catch for 36 yards and Caden Mangini made a 35-yarder on the opening series score. Henderson added a 39-yard punt return to set up the second score and added an interception for good measure.
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Carter Bellisari, Drew’s cousin, made a 46-yard reception and a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter that forced a rolling clock.
Jack McCoy added two short touchdown runs.
Watterson running back Ben Uhlenhake pays the price for tough yards in Friday’s Division III championship game.
But the big story was Watterson’s defense. Junior defensive lineman Michael Boyle, an Ohio State wrestling commit and two-time national champion, was selected player of the game, but it could have gone to hard-hitting linebacker Ben Uhlenhake, Henderson or any of about a half-dozen Eagles.
“We always try to win the line of scrimmage, and we did that tonight,” Boyle said.
He’d get no argument from Dempsey, who has guided Central Catholic (11-5) to four straight state title games.
“Their defensive front is very athletic. It’s a combination of size, strength and athleticism,” he said. “Comparing this team to last year’s, they’re a year older and bigger and stronger.”
Watterson’s other three titles came in 2002, 2010 and 2024. They were runner-ups in 1972, 1999, 2001 and 2023. By going unbeaten the past two seasons, the Eagles matched the 1960, 1965 and 1966 teams.
And this Eagles dynasty isn’t about to fade away for a while.
Several of their key players – Boyle, Mangini, Henderson, Uhlenhake, Carter Bellisari (the team’s only two-way starter), Joe Hayes, Kaden Jones and Rocco Purcell to name a few – are just juniors. And they will carry an unprecedented 30-game win streak into 2026.
Nate Henderson’s interception in the end zone thwarted a rare scoring opportunity for Central Catholic in the fourth quarter.
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