25 years later: St. Paul football started its state title game run

NORWALK — There were three phases. In 1995, players and coaches in the St. Paul football program were thrilled to be in the state playoffs for the first time in program history. Just a year later in 1996, the Flyers surprised themselves. They were tied at halftime with powerhouse Mogadore in a Division VI state semifinal on the turf at Baldwin Wallace University before falling, 26-13, to finish 12-1. By 1997, the mindset had greatly shifted under head coach John Livengood, then in his seventh season. St. Paul brought back 16 of the 22 starters from the year before, including three first-team All-Ohioans. The Flyers debuted at No. 4 in the first Associated Press state poll just 48 hours after drubbing an eventual 9-1 Div. V team by 35 points. In short, a program that had never been in the position before was in "championship or bust" mode. And everyone knew it. "There was no question, it was, 'this is what we're going to do,'" said Aaron Kalizewski, the senior starting quarterback in 1997. "We were going to win the Firelands Conference, then we were going to go on a deep playoff run and try to win a state championship. "But, there was also the mindset of, 'this was how we were going to do it and what it was going to take to make it happen.' Sometimes, that meant treating a 1-9 team like they were 9-1." On Nov. 29, 1997, the Flyers played Delphos St. John's in the Division VI state championship game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon. And while the Flyers were unable to sustain a fast start, the 42-28 loss to the Blue Jays in front of a then Div. VI record 8,012 in attendance proved to be the start of an unprecedented run. St. Paul went on to play in four more state championship games, including three in an eight-year span. The Flyers returned to Massillon in 2009 and beat St. John's in a third title game matchup with the Blue Jays on a touchdown with just five seconds remaining. But in 1997, there was a newness to the experience that left its mark. Now, 25 years later from that title game, a look back at a season that helped set a new standard for a small-school dynasty: Next level confidence As Kalizewski noted, there wasn't much sense in hiding it. Everyone that followed the sport locally knew the 1997 Flyers, barring injury, were going to be as good if not better than the 12-1 state semifinal team from 1996. They returned almost 75 percent of its starters. But mainly, that included two All-Ohio first team running backs who had combined for 3,251 yards and 46 touchdowns the year before. With Dan Pugh often going between the tackles and Mike Morrow to the outside, the Flyers had a lethal combination of power and speed between the two. "We were very blessed to have great athletes across the board, but the great thing about those two was how they complimented each other," Kalizewski said. "You had the hammer and the finesse. It also led to a successful passing game as well, because when teams were gearing up too much on the run, Coach Livengood would dial up a pass play and we'd hit a long gain on an opponent." The pair was also running behind a massive and experienced offensive line, which included Eric Schild, Andy Cooksey, Luke Wasiniak, Tom Pfeiffer and Adam Konik. "I think what was unique is Mike and I figured out we could both equally benefit by complementing one another," Pugh said. "We both had two different running styles. Because of it, we really helped balance out the offense in a pretty unique way." Defensively, the Flyers were also loaded with three of their top five tacklers back. Junior Jeremy Morrow, senior Scott Brutche, and both Pugh and Morrow also brought back big numbers on defense. With all the talent back, the results didn't disappoint. No contest The regular season proved to just be a 10-week showcase for the Flyers to prove they were a legitimate threat to the state championship. Their closest margins of victory was by 28 and 29 points, respectively. Otherwise, no team was within 5 TDs of the Flyers, who were dialed in from the start. "You can never chase Week 14 until you've gotten through Week 1," Pugh said. "You can never approach it like that, because one game back then can trip you up. Every single week we were 0-0. By focusing every week, we knew we'd find ourselves in that situation." St. Paul opened with wins over St. Mary Central Catholic (45-6) and at Tiffin Calvert (35-7). Hosting Bloomdale Elmwood in Week 3, that 49-14 win proved notable by season's end. Elmwood went 9-1 that season, winning the Suburban Lakes League with just the one loss — by 35 points — to the Flyers. Four consecutive FC routs over South Central (36-7), New London (62-6), Western Reserve (49-6) and Plymouth (48-0) set up what on paper was one of the most hyped league games of all-time. In Week 8, the Flyers hosted arch rival Monroeville in a matchup of 7-0 teams. The previous meeting was the first-ever playoff meeting between the two, a St. Paul win in the regional title game in 1996. With the game on a Saturday night, a crowd of 4,102 piled into Whitney Field for the showdown. "I remember it was big," Pugh said. "It was Monroeville's opportunity to hand us that first loss, to get back at us from a year ago … but it was also our chance to leave our marks on the rivalry." But like the other games, it was essentially over from the start. The Flyers led 35-7 at halftime — which sent much of the big crowd home early to watch the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series against the Florida Marlins — and cruised to the 55-15 win. St. Paul didn't let up from there, winning at Mapleton (62-0) and Crestview (53-7) by a combined 115-7 score to cap off a second straight 10-0 regular season. Playoff run The first round of the state playoffs was more of the same. Playing at Medina's Ken Dukes Stadium, the Flyers overwhelmed Cuyahoga Heights with touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second half of a 51-6 win. But the first true test of the season came in the regional championship game against Independence at frigid and icy George Daniel Stadium in Lorain. The Blue Devils (11-0) had accumulated more computer points than any team in Div. VI The Devils also had their own postseason clout, having won regional titles in 1992 and 1995. The game itself didn't disappoint. Tied at 7-7 at halftime, Kalizewski connected with Jeremy Morrow for a 76-yard TD pass. Then, Pugh scored on a short run for a 21-7 lead. But Independence countered to pull within a score, and the Flyers had to turn it away three times in the fourth quarter, twice inside their own 40-yard line, to preserve a return trip to the state semifinals — thanks in large part to three fumble recoveries by Wasiniak. "It proved we could win the close one," said linebacker Adam Butler, a senior who totaled 122 tackles and four sacks in 1997. "It wasn't so much relief as much as it added even more confidence." One win away from the title game, the Flyers made the trip to Kent State University's Dix Stadium to face Cadiz. For a second straight week, St. Paul found it tough-sledding as Cadiz held an 8-7 halftime lead. Then came a signature scoring drive that one could argue defined the St. Paul program — both then and now. The Flyers put together an 18-play, 94-yard scoring drive that took 8:23 off the clock, then added a field goal for the 17-8 win. Fittingly, Pugh — who capped the long drive with a 2-yard TD — became the first player to reach 2,000 yards in the win. Mike Morrow also eclipsed 1,000-yards to give the duo consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus yards. Cold shoulder by FC Not all the memories of title game proved positive, but were memorable nonetheless. Just five days before the first time a Firelands Conference school was to play for a state title in football, the league confirmed a bombshell to the Reflector. Under the headline, 'Cold shoulder for St. Paul' the FC admitted a discussion was ongoing about the possibility of the seven other schools leaving and starting their own league with a new eighth member — leaving St. Paul behind. The Flyers had won the all-sports trophy for the first time in 1996-97. The boys basketball team and football team had reached the state championships. As a parochial institution, St. Paul was also the lone private school in the league. Several follow-up stories cited recruiting as a factor in the breakup. The obvious, noted that St. Paul doesn't have the boundary lines that public schools have in drawing students to the school. Several key players had moved to St. Paul — but in grade school. Others had moved in from out of state. The numbers didn't add up. Just 74 of the 289 students at SPH were from outside school districts, but 54 of them had already attended St. Mary's and St. Paul elementary schools in Norwalk. Of the 74, just 32 were involved in athletics, and only three of those athletes had not previously attended a Catholic school. "You're so focused and don't ever want to get caught in the moment," Livengood said. "What I recall most about the experience was during the week of the game, the talk of removing us from the conference. "I was nervous and didn't have any type of expectation of what it was like to play in a state championship game," he added. "Just the awe of that, and what was going on elsewhere was a lot at the time." Ultimately, on Dec. 8, just 10 days after the title game, the FC announced the entire issue had been dropped. The league has had the same eight member schools since the 1993-94 school year. The quote of the entire saga belonged to Hall of Fame Monroeville head coach Steve Ringholz, who candidly spoke against the idea from the start. "The last several days I've been doing something I never thought I would — defend St. Paul." Runners-up The paid attendance of 8,012 to see No. 1 Delphos St. John's against No. 2 St. Paul in a matchup of unbeaten is still the fifth-largest title game crowd in Div. VI history. The game was memorably delayed by nearly 30 minutes as the Div. IV title game between Akron Manchester and Germantown Valley View went five overtimes — also still a championship game record. "We were put in Massillon's gym with no idea what is going on or the timeline," Livengood said. "State title games are regimented down to the second, and I like that a lot. But that particular game was so off the cuff." In a stunning start, Jeremy Morrow returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown — the first in state championship history to start a game. It served as the longest kickoff return TD in Div. VI title game history for all of two years — when teammate Jordan Wangler also opened the 1999 title game against St. John's with an 88-yarder — which still stands as the record. "I'll never forget the roar of the crowd," Livengood said. "We never played in front of a crowd like that, and that roar … it was a feeling we had never experienced before." After a turnover on downs, the Flyers got the ball back and quickly scored a second time on a 32-yard run by Mike Morrow. When Jay Morrow picked a fumble and appeared to return it 46 yards for a third TD and a three-score lead halfway through the first quarter — it appeared to be too good to be true. And it was. The fumble return was wiped out on a illegal block, and St. Paul was unable to score. Slowly, missed opportunities turned the game into a 21-14 halftime deficit. Less than two minutes into the second half, future University of Toledo tight end Greg Grothous caught a 50-yard TD pass and suddenly the Flyers trailed 28-14. Pugh capped a long drive with a short TD to make it 28-21, but running back Chad Schulte scored a third time, and Grothous added a 60-yard TD catch with 9:38 left. Pugh — who's name is still all over the record books at St. Paul, Mount Union, and NCAA Div. III. — made his final high school run count for a 3-yard TD with 2:53 left in the 14-point loss. Widely regarded as the best player in program history, he also made the final tackle of the game. Pugh (36 for 174) and Morrow (19 for 121) combined for 295 yards, still the 11th-highest total by two running backs in state title game history. The pair was again All-Ohio first team along with Taylor, and Schild was honorable mention. St. Paul went on to title game losses to St. John's in 1999 (42-10) and Dola Hardin Northern (20-8) in 2004. After the Flyers beat the Jays (24-21) for the title in 2009, they fell to Marion Local (41-0) in the 2014 Div. VII state title game. But playing on the biggest stage started 25 years ago. "There is a sense of pride obviously," Butler said. "When you look back and see what Coach Livengood was able to build from there, it's humbling to know you were a small part of that foundation." ---------------------------------- 1997 St. Paul schedule/results (13-1) Aug. 30: vs. St. Mary C.C., Won 45-6 Sept. 6: at Tiffin Calvert, Won 35-7 Sept. 13: vs. Elmwood, Won 49-14 Sept. 19: vs. South Central, Won 36-7 Sept. 26: at New London, Won 62-6 Oct. 4: vs. Western Reserve, Won 49-6 Oct. 10: at Plymouth, Won 48-0 Oct. 18: vs. Monroeville, Won 55-15 Oct. 24: at Mapleton, Won 62-0 Oct. 31: at Crestview, Won 53-7 Division VI playoffs Nov. 8: vs. Cuyahoga Heights, Won 51-6 (at Medina) Nov. 15: vs. Independence, Won 21-13 (at Lorain) Nov. 22: vs. Cadiz, Won 17-8 (at Kent State) Nov. 29: vs. Delphos St. John's, Lost 42-28 (at Massillon)