SMCC gets payback against SJCC in Northern 8 semifinals

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic had a record-setting night Saturday. The 2025 Panthers became the highest single-season scoring football team in school history, now with 405 points in 11 games. Bryan Gibson scored four touchdowns against Fremont St. Joseph, passing Spencer Dye for the most touchdowns in a single season with 35. That all added up to a 39-18 Northern 8 Conference semifinal win over the Crimson Streaks at Strobel Field. The previous mark for points in a season was 369 points by the 2015 team. Dye had the previous high mark for touchdowns with 33 in 2004. "It didn't really come up on my radar that anything like this was possible until last week," Gibson said. "Our AD (Steve Ruthsatz) came up and said something. The guys found out and my offensive line wanted it just as much as I did. They were talking about it all week and I was getting nervous. "They pulled through and I think I carried my weight." No. 2 SMCC improved to 10-1 and will face No. 1 Chalker (10-1) for the championship at 6 p.m. next Saturday at Leetonia High School. SJCC handed SMCC its only loss this season, a 29-28 decision Sept. 27, also at Strobel Field. "This senior group has been really special," SMCC coach Toby Hammond said. "Like I told Grant (Swain, injured quarterback) when we scored that last touchdown, he's been a big part of this and not to feel bad because he wasn't playing. He was a leader for us and he worked his butt off. That's why we're in the position we're in. The Panthers led just 18-12 at halftime, but the pressure SMCC was getting on SJCC quarterback Zach Ohms proved to be the difference. Ohms completed his first nine passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Ohms didn't complete any of his last four passes in the first half, including an interception by Cullen Dillard. As SMCC started to get some stops, Ohms at one point completed just three of 10 passes in a span in the second half. The Panthers' Jackson Grimm played more like the Grim Reaper, wreaking havoc on the SJCC offensive line and Ohms in the backfield. Grimm added a tackle on a safety to aid SMCC in the fourth quarter. "It was about the mentality of getting back the win that we lost by a point last time," Grimm said. "I couldn't have done it without the offense since I don't play it very much. Our team carried me and I carried them." The Panthers guzzled time off the clock on their first drive of the second half. SMCC went 70 yards in 17 plays, converting on fourth down twice. The Panthers took 9:20 off the clock before Gibson scored on a one-yard touchdown run for a 24-12 lead. It didn't take SJCC anywhere near as long to respond. Ohms completed a few passes, including a 25-yard strike to Andrew Spieldenner to the SMCC 1. Ethan Grahl scored from that distance on the next play and the Crimson Streaks were within 24-18 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. SMCC controlled the rest of the game. Grimm's tackle for two points pushed the Panthers' lead to 26-18 with 8:50 to play. SMCC good field position and Gibson exploded through the line for a 55-yard touchdown. It came one play after a holding penalty pushed the Panthers back 10 yards. SMCC was ahead 32-18 with 8:04 remaining. "I was more afraid of us being so jacked up to beat these guys that we wouldn't read our keys and we'd miss tackles," Hammond said. "We couldn't have everyone be a hero, but the kids did a really nice job. I think defensively we changed a lot from when we played the first time and put more pressure on them." SJCC looked to respond and SMCC nearly cost itself as two pass interference penalties gave the Crimson Streaks two free first downs. Eventually, the Panthers forced three incompletions before a short gain gave SMCC a turnover on downs. Who else was there but to put the game on ice, but Gibson? After two first downs, Gibson's number was again called after an offensive penalty on the Panthers. This time, he went through the line and was off to the races for a 63-yard touchdown. Ohms finished 21 of 40 passing for 250 yards. In the teams' first meeting, he was 28 of 44 for 295 yards. "He's the best quarterback throwing the ball that we've played," Hammond said. "I think we were still giving him too much of a cushion early in the game. We told them at halftime to scoot up. We brought a lot of pressure. Our defense, coach (Toby) Notestine did a nice job with getting pressure." Gibson finished with 32 carries for 272 yards and four touchdowns. "Coach Hammond definitely reminded us every single week about what we did the last time we played St. Joe," Gibson said. "It's been a constant reminder that's the one in our record. "We don't have an undefeated record anymore, but I think we got our revenge tonight." SJCC 12 0 6 0 — 18SMCC 12 6 6 15 — 39 SMCC — Josh Will 11 run (kick blocked)SJCC — Andrew Spieldenner 8 run (kick blocked)SMCC — Bryan Gibson 9 run (kick failed)SJCC — Landen Thiessen 4 pass from Zach Ohms (pass failed)SMCC — Cullen Dillard 30 run (run failed)SMCC — Gibson 1 run (pass failed)SJCC — Ethan Grahl 1 run (pass failed)SMCC — SafetySMCC — Gibson 55 run (run failed)SMCC — Gibson 63 run (Cayden Wikel kick)