Steven Gravely looks on as teammate June Turner breaks up a pass intended for Bellbrook’s Noah Barrios during a damp and dreary D3 regional final in Springfield. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
While boasting a highly successful program through the years, unbeaten London on Friday in rainy, windy conditions captured its first regional championship in 30 years, earning a state semifinal date with top-ranked Watterson.
Springfield, OH – Still having something to play for during Thanksgiving week has long been considered a rite of passage for programs experiencing exceptional seasons, but the only previous time that’s happened for London during the playoff era was in 1994.
That the Red Raiders were enjoying one of their greatest seasons was not in question even before they took the field against third-seeded Bellbrook for the Division III, Region 12 championship, but their performance Friday at Springfield brought them to new heights.
Your athlete runs better on chiropractic. Call 614-401-2021 to schedule today.
In what was its first appearance in a regional final since 2018, fourth-seeded London handled the rainy and cold conditions better than the Golden Eagles and posted a 13-0 victory that earned the program its first regional title in 30 years.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Jarrod Ulrey writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros
The Red Raiders will face top-ranked Watterson, the Region 11 championship, next Friday in a state semifinal matching teams with unblemished 14-0 teams.
The Eagles were the state runner-up a year ago.
“Hey, football on Thanksgiving – that’s fun,” London coach Kyle Cutler said. “We had to overcome adversity, whether it was the weather or the play on the field. We found a way to make plays when we needed to make them, and that’s what championship football is all about.”
London averages nearly 47 points, but it was clear from its opening drive when it was stopped for no gain twice and for (minus)-1 yard that its offense might be in for its biggest challenge to date.
Logan Services sponsors the best area sports stories on Press Pros
Defensively, however, the Red Raiders were more than up to the task, limiting Bellbrook in the first half to just 15 plays and 21 total yards.
Noah Sollars draws first blood for the Red Raiders, twisting and turning his way into the end zone.
“They were very fast, very athletic, and they swarmed to the ball,” said Bellbrook coach Jeff Jenkins, whose team finished a program-best 12-2. “We put a couple nice little drives together, but we kind of killed ourselves with penalties or mistakes and got behind the chains. We’re not a real good offense when we’re playing from third-and-12. We knew this was going to be kind of a slugfest with a heavy run game, and (London) executed pretty well. We felt like we could have done quite a bit better and we’re disappointed in the outcome tonight, but all credit to London, they’re well-deserving of being the regional champs.”
The Red Raiders took advantage of a short field for their first points.
After forcing Bellbrook into a fourth-and-11 from its own 1 on its opening drive, London got the ball back at the Golden Eagles’ 28 with 7 minutes, 26 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Although the Red Raiders attempted just two passes all game, senior quarterback Chris Mason found junior Steven Gravely for a 15-yard gain on fourth-and-5 to move his team to the Bellbrook 8. On third-and-goal, senior running back Noah Sollars ran in from 1 yard as London went up 7-0.
Dave Arbogast Ford, in Troy, is a proud sponsor of OHSAA and Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The Red Raiders held the ball for the final 5:25 of the first half, putting together a 10-play drive that began at their own 32, but Gravely didn’t get out of bounds in time on a 10-yard run that moved his team to the Bellbrook 15 on the final play of the first half as the clock ran out.
“We had to play London defense,” Cutler said. “At this point of the year, you are who you are, and you’ve got to be able to stop the run and stop the pass. The weather we knew would have an effect on some of those plays, and that third quarter was a big quarter as much as that wind was roaring. We knew if we could get through the third quarter that we’d be in good position.”
London put together the game’s other scoring drive early in the fourth quarter.
On second-and-6 from the 50, senior all-purpose standout June Turner broke for a 43-yard run. Then with 9:03 remaining, Turner ran in from 10 yards for the game’s final points.
Bad omen? A clearly missed facemask call early in the game set the tone for what would become a chippy, defensive battle.
Turner, a first-team all-district defensive back and a three-year two-way starter, finished with 18 rushes for 144 yards.
“I hit the hole we practiced all week, and it was there (on the 43-yard run),” Turner said. “It’s a lot of responsibility (to be a team leader on both sides of the ball), but I know I can handle it and I know my teammates trust me and the coaches trust me. (Bellbrook is) a good team, well-coached, and probably the toughest team we played all year.
“(This title) means a lot. A lot of people doubted us at the beginning of the year and told us we couldn’t do it. We just go out there and work hard. We’re going to watch some film, and it’s going to be a good (game next week).”
Sollars, a first-team all-district running back and a four-year starter, contributed 18 rushes for 53 yards while Gravely added 35 yards on nine carries.
Bellbrook moved from its own 20 to the London 22 on its final possession, but Gravely intercepted a pass from quarterback Aidan Caswell to seal the victory with four minutes remaining.
The Golden Eagles were held to 79 yards of offense.
London’s Ladainan McNeal attempts to bring down Aidan Caswell during a 13-0 regional final game.
“We knew since the summer what kind of team we had, and it means a lot, but we’re not done yet,” Gravely said. “We played hard, everybody flew to the ball, and we just never quit and played as a team. We could have obviously performed better (offensively), but we made the plays when we needed to. It feels great.”
The Watterson-London matchup guarantees that a team from the Central District will advance to the state championship game for the third consecutive season. Bloom-Carroll lost in the 2022 final and Watterson fell 27-7 to Toledo Central Catholic in last year’s title contest.
Youngstown Ursuline and Toledo Central Catholic are a pair of 13-1 teams meeting in the other state semifinal.
“We’ve got great players and great senior leadership,” Cutler said. “June Turner is a standout who made tremendous plays for us. Steven Gravely, Noah Sollars, we’ve got a lot of guys we can get the ball to, and we’re not afraid to spread it around. We practice all phases of the game, and when it’s time, we’ll pull the trigger and make things happen.
“We’ve had a lot of great teams. This team plays the best together. They may not even be (our) best team, but they play the best together of any team we’ve had.”
Want a greener, healthier lawn? We can help. contact Weedman USA at 614-733-3747 or go online to Weedman.com.