Port Clinton's dream season ends in state semifinal

EUCLID — On the field together for a few final moments, Port Clinton's 2021 football players took a knee and listened to their head coach, Beau Carmon, as he gave one last speech. "It's incredible, guys," Carmon told his team. "It's limitless what you guys can achieve. It's all been made possible because of our seniors… You guys should remember this season, because I know Port Clinton will long after we're gone." Port Clinton (13-2) ended its best season ever Friday night at Euclid Community Stadium in a 34-17 loss to Youngstown Ursuline (11-3) in a Division IV state semifinal. PC wrapped up its campaign with lots of history: most wins in a single season in program history, first outright SBC Bay championship, first regional title and much more. Friday night was the final game for a number of influential Port Clinton seniors, a class that included Anthony Aukerman, Josh Hurst, Tyler Webb, Colton Yarbrough, Cashes Jackson, Andrew Hanson, Garrett Cornell, Hunter Shell, Dylan Snyder, Aidan West, Fischer Mominee and Gabe Scott. "Every team is special to come through Port Clinton," Carmon said. "This team happened to raise the bar a little higher than our previous teams have. And our underclassmen have their hands full, and our youth kids have their hands full." This Port Clinton squad was picked to finish fourth in the SBC Bay Division in a preseason poll of local media. The Redskins' records from 2017 to 2020 were 5-5, 6-4, 4-6 and 5-4. No one on the outside had reason to expect a playoff run of this magnitude. But maybe that was shortsighted. PC returned its quarterback, its leading rusher, its top three receivers, its leading tackler, its leading sacker and its top two interceptors. There are two ways such a returning group can go — it can stay mired in a middling state as a group with average talent, or it can grow with a year's more experience, a year's more weight room work, a year's more on-field growth. Port Clinton did the latter. "These are the things you dream of as a kid," Hurst said. "... It's just remarkable. No one expected us to be this far. We were fourth in our conference. So for us to be in the final four in the state speaks volumes about our character." On Friday night, Ursuline won the opening coin toss and deferred, so Port Clinton chose to receive to open the game. But the Fighting Irish kicker dinked a bloopy kick toward the right sideline, where it hit off a PC player and was recovered by Ursuline. "When you kick an onside kick and we don't field it, that's a tough start right there," Carmon said. That drive ended with no points, but the ensuing field position paid off after a Port Clinton three-and-out. DeMarcus McElroy took a carry 33 yards off right guard for his 37th rushing touchdown of the season, a new Ursuline single-season record. The Fighting Irish converted a two-point conversion with a run to go up 8-0. Following another Port Clinton punt, Ursuline quarterback Brady Shannon completed a 40-yard pass to Dean Boyd down to the 8-yard line. That set up McElroy for another touchdown on the very next play, and the point after kick made it 15-0. PC answered with a scoring drive bridging the first two quarters. Cornell ran for a first down, then caught one on a wheel route for 16 yards from Cam Gillum. Gillum proceeded to run for a first down himself. On the second play of the second quarter, Gillum scrambled right but then rolled back to his left and spotted an open Colton Yarbrough, but the tight window led to a deflection off a diving Ursuline player. The initial bounce then hit off another Ursuline player before landing in Hurst's arms for a 4-yard TD catch. "All these younger guys, they look up to us, and it's our job to make sure we set a good example," Hurst said. "I feel like they've got a lot of potential. They're always making jokes, like you think Romney (Turner's) gonna be the next Josh Hurst? I'm like, I think any of you guys could be. You've just gotta put in the work." Port Clinton got the ball back soon after by backing Ursuline into a third-and-23, and then after a long QB run, getting a pass breakup from senior Jackson on fourth-and-6. The game nearly swung twice on two plays soon after. First, Gillum found Hurst for 37 yards down the field, but it was called back for an ineligible man downfield penalty. And on the next snap, Gillum was intercepted by CJ Frasco, who ran it back nearly 50 yards for a touchdown — but a roughing the passer penalty canceled it out. Gillum ran for multiple first downs after that sequence, and then he ran around right end for a 6-yard touchdown with 2:22 until halftime. PC kicked the extra point again with Andrew Hanson to pull within 15-14 at halftime. "Certainly you don't want to have a slow start against a team as talented as them," Carmon said. "It's tough to come back from that point. We did. We were able to make a game out of it." Port Clinton scored first in the second half after stuffing a fourth-down attempt. The Redskins drove for more than seven minutes before Hanson knocked in an 18-yard field goal to go up 17-15. But PC wouldn't score again. Exactly a minute of game clock after the field goal, McElroy ran right up the middle for a 42-yard touchdown. Then after two scoreless possessions, McElroy took a screen in the right flat for 55 yards to set himself up for a 2-yard score. And after a Port Clinton turnover on downs, McElroy went 74 yards to the house to remove any final doubt. Ursuline's star running back ran for 261 yards and five scores while adding his 55 receiving yards. "He's a talented running back," Carmon said. "We were there at times. There were tackles for loss, tackles for no gain, and then he broke a few. A kid like that's gonna do that." After the final whistle and handshakes, Port Clinton gathered in front of its band for one last rendition of the PC alma mater. Then Carmon spoke to his team, praised the seniors, and spoke about memory. "I'm gonna remember it as a season that I don't think I'll ever forget anytime soon," Carmon said following the speech. "Aside from everything, they represented Port Clinton extremely well... It makes Friday night fun to come to True-Lay Stadium in the fall, for sure." Carmon implored his team to use the bus ride home as an opportunity to appreciate what they'd done. Port Clinton's football team truly touched the entire PC community. On Monday, after Port Clinton's players had cleared out of their turf practice area in the school district's new field house, a young boy waiting for a different activity peered into the space. "This is so cool," the youngster remarked, awe in his eyes. To be sure, the high-end facility could've inspired wonder whether or not the football team that had just practiced there was a state semifinalist. But as time goes on, as more small athletes enter the field house or drive by True-Lay Stadium or walk by trophy cases, there will be a new story to tell. The story will be of a team picked to finish fourth in its own division that finished top-four in the entire state. It will be of a team that set individual and team records, rallied a community and fought against that outside doubt until there was no time left to fight. The story will be passed down to that next generation — how the 2021 Port Clinton football team overcame an 18-0 deficit in Week 1, went perfect in the SBC Bay Division, won four playoff games and knocked off the defending state champion to claim PC's first-ever regional title. And so even though Port Clinton's players won't return to that field house for another Monday practice this season, it'll still be there, waiting for those who will follow in this historic team's footsteps. Cool, indeed. --- Port Clinton 0 14 3 — 17Ursuline 15 0 6 13 — 34 U — DeMarcus McElroy 33 run (Ty'Req Downlow run)U — McElroy 8 run (Reagan Smith kick)PC — Josh Hurst 4 pass from Cam Gillum (Andrew Hanson kick)PC — Gillum 6 run (Hanson kick)PC — Hanson 18 field goalU — McElroy 42 run (run failed)U — McElroy 2 TD (kick blocked)U — McElroy 74 run (Smith kick)