Drew Bellisari fights off Steubenville defender Jak’hi Lucious-Muntz for extra yards. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Junior quarterback Drew Bellisari led the charge with 200 yards and three touchdown passes as the Eagles stampeded into the final four for the third straight season.
Newark, OH – Watterson football coach Brian Kennedy couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear as he stood in the center of Newark’s White Field on Friday with his players and assistant coaches enthusiastically singing Happy Birthday to him.
The 52-year-old coach was soaked from head to toe from a steady rain that fell throughout his team’s Division III Region 11 final against Steubenville.
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But Kennedy said the miserable weather conditions didn’t stop him from enjoying the best birthday of his life, after his top-seeded squad gifted him with a drama-free 43-0 victory over the third-seeded Big Red.
Watterson, which won its 28th consecutive game to improve to 12-0 overall, will square off against Tipp City Tippecanoe (13-0) in a state semifinal on Nov. 28 at a site to be determined.
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The Eagles beat London 56-21 in a Division III state semifinal a year ago, before defeating Toledo Central Catholic 19-14 in the final to finish 16-0 overall.
“I couldn’t ask for a better birthday than this,” Kennedy said. “For a long time, my best birthday was when I played for SMU (Southern Methodist University) and we beat Arkansas (24-19) on my (19th) birthday, but this is even better.
“I’m just so happy for our kids, because we had a really good week of practice, they showed up focused and our entire team played hard and earned this tonight.”
Watterson’s defense was relentless, evidenced by this gang-tackle of a Steubenville back buried somewhere at the bottom of this pile.
Playing on a soggy, slick field with a wet, slippery football in his hands against an aggressive Steubenville defense, didn’t slow down Watterson quarterback Drew Bellisari at all, as he shredded the Big Red’s defense with his arm and legs while engineering six touchdown drives.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior was 8-for-12 passing for 200 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bellisari also rushed for 31 yards on nine carries, as he improved his varsity record as a starting quarterback to 28-0.
“It’s amazing to be 28-0, but I give all the credit to my teammates,” Bellisari said. “Our offensive line was awesome, helping me out with everything, and our back and receivers made great plays.”
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The Division III Central District offensive player of the year said Watterson’s coaching staff prepared the Eagles to executive their passing game effectively in the rainy weather.
Bellisari’s uncle, Steve, is Watterson’s quarterback coach, after playing quarterback at Ohio State from 1998-2001 and being selected by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft.
Caden Mangini breaks free, gaining a chunk of his 115 yards rushing on the night.
And his father, Greg, serves as Watterson’s linebackers coach – after twice earning second-team all-Big Ten honors while playing linebacker at Ohio State (1993-96) before playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997.
“I was excited to see that we were going to be playing in the rain, because I love me some football weather,” Bellisari said. “I’ve played in a lot worse rain than this, and I feel like I ought to be able to throw in any kind of weather conditions, so we were prepared to execute our passing game.
“I’m just really happy that we were able to win this for coach on his birthday, because he’s the best coach in the nation.”
Bellisari connected with Jack McCoy for a 77-yard touchdown to give Watterson a commanding 21-0 advantage midway through the second quarter, after the senior tailback slipped behind two defensive backs and Bellisari lofted a beautiful pass that landed in his hands midstride at the 50-yard line before he raced untouched down the right sideline for a score.
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“That wheel route to McCoy was a big play that kind of broke the game open,” Bellisari said. “He ran a great route and was wide open.”
Bellisari later zipped a 46-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Joe Hayes with only 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the second quarter to help Watterson take a 28-0 halftime lead.
Michael Boyle celebrates with teammate Ben Uhlenhake after Uhlenhake scored the first Watterson touchdown of many.
Junior wide receiver Nate Henderson later capped the trifecta of Bellisari touchdown throws, by making a leaping 15-yard catch in the back-left corner of the end zone, to put Watterson ahead 36-0 late in the third quarter.
“Drew’s our guy on offense and he always shows up with his best effort when the lights are on,” Kennedy said. “Once Drew got a feel for playing in these challenging conditions, he playing really well.”
Watterson’s offensive line, led by seniors Pete Eglitis, and juniors AJ DeMassimo, Cohen Distel, George Pedro and Davis Seaman, also got the Eagles’ running game going, as Watterson rushed for 261 yards on 43 carries for a 6.07 yards-per-carry average.
“We knew we were going to run the ball a lot, so we dominated by playing smash-mouth football,” Pedro said.
Junior Caden Mangini rushed for a career-best 115 yards, including a 23-yard score on the first play of the second quarter that made it 14-0.
McCoy ran for 43 yards on seven carries, and junior Ben Uhlenhake rushed for 28 yards on four attempts, including a 7-yard score that gave Watterson a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Jack McCoy chipped in 43 yards rushing in Watterson’s balanced attack.
On the Eagles’ final drive, sophomore tailback Tommy Rowlands also rushed for 41 yards on eight carries, including a 5-yard scoring run with 3:00 remaining in the game.
“Our offensive line did a tremendous job of both run blocking and pass protecting, so they deserve a lot of credit,” Kennedy said. “Caden hit some big plays.”
Watterson’s defense, led by senior lineman Ryan Alvis, junior linemen Michael Boyle (one sack, six tackles for loss, 10 tackles), Jonah Gruver and Jack Schuler, was equally dominant, limiting Steubenville to just 66 passing yards and negative-10 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
“Those four guys have been awesome all year and they set the tone for us,” Kennedy said.
Alvis, who is the only senior starter on Watterson’s defense, added: “Everybody played great on both sides of the ball tonight.”
Steubenville coach Reno Saccoccia, whose squad finished 9-3 overall, had high praise for the Eagles after also losing to Watterson 37-7 in the Region 11 final played in New Philadelphia a year ago.
The Watterson defense smothered the Big Red backs most of the night.
“We played Watterson last year, too, and I think they are even better and more balanced this year,” said Saccoccia, who is Ohio’s winningest coach with a 445-89 record in 43 seasons with the Big Red. “Their defensive line was outstanding and that was the difference tonight.
“We didn’t play our best, but we started our season 0-2 and made it all the way to the region final, so that’s a nice feather in our caps.”
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