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State champs

Blue Storm defense rains on Minster in 24-6 triumph

JFK's #44 Jacob Coates and head coach Jeff Bayuk celebrate their victory. OHSAA D7 Football Championship John F Kennedy Eagles vs Minster Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on OSU Campus in Columbus, OH

COLUMBUS — Minster coach Geron Stokes and his Wildcat football team have faced some of the fiercest competition in the state.

They play in the Midwest Athletic Conference with past state champions like Maria Stein Marion Local and Coldwater, and they beat the vaunted Cavaliers this season to help vault them into the postseason after a 2-4 start.

The Wildcats showed their MAC power with an early touchdown, but that’s when John F. Kennedy displayed its Blue Storm.

That vaunted Eagle defense, which held opponents to 29 points in five playoff games, suffocated Minster’s balanced offensive attack en route to a 24-6 victory in Saturday’s Division VII state championship at Ohio Stadium.

That was combined with Evan Boyd’s 36 carries for a Division VII state championship record 166 yards with two scores.

JFK's #7 Evan Boyd stiff arms Minster's #23 Austin Brown on his way to a 1st down. OHSAA D7 Football ChampionshipJohn F Kennedy Eagles vs Minster Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on OSU Campus in Columbus, OH

This is JFK’s second state title — the Eagles also won in 1991 — and first state title appearance since 2006 when the Eagles lost to St. Henry.

“They make you speed things up,” Minster coach Geron Stokes said. “They swarm to the ball. Rattled us a little bit.”

Minster was held to 80 rushing yards and 79 passing for 159 total.

“When I watched Minster on film, I thought they were really versatile on offense,” JFK coach Jeff Bayuk said. “We weren’t 100 percent sure exactly how we were going to attack them because we don’t have a read defense. We attack. They are so good at counterattacking where you’re coming from.”

Defensive coordinator Dominic Prologo has been instrumental in implementing this defense. This is the same squad that had three defensive scores in the Region 25 title game against Norwalk St. Paul.

JFK's #11 Alec Burzynski hits Minster's qb #2 Jared Huelsman in the end zone causing him to throw an interception. OHSAA D7 Football ChampionshipJohn F Kennedy Eagles vs Minster Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on OSU Campus in Columbus, OH

Saturday, it was back-to-back drives by Kennedy (14-1) that changed the momentum in the first half.

Kennedy and Minster (10-5) traded fumbles on drives deep inside Wildcats territory with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

With the ball at their own 6, Wildcats quarterback Jared Huelsman, who was 3-for-3 for 70 yards in the first quarter, threw a pass in the arms of JFK senior linebacker Ryan Lee at the 8 with 7:26 before halftime.

The Eagles only took three plays before Greg Valent went 1 yard for the score with 6:02 before intermission. Justin Bofenkamp’s extra point gave JFK a 7-6 lead — one the Eagles never relinquished.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bofenkamp recovered a Jon Neimeyer fumble at the Minster 30 — a fumble forced by JFK’s Zach Lewis.

JFK's #44 Jacob Coates celebrates the victory. OHSAA D7 Football Championship John F Kennedy Eagles vs Minster Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on OSU Campus in Columbus, OH

The Eagles took nine plays, endured an 18-yard holding penalty, and went 18 yards to set up Bofenkamp’s 29-yard field goal with 1:40 left to give JFK a 10-6 advantage before the break.

“Even though most of you guys in the press think it’s coach speak when we say no turnovers, you can’t have turnovers,” Bayuk said. “You see what happens when the ball gets turned over. I’m sure both coaches weren’t happy at halftime with the amount of times the ball was on the ground.

“That’s given us a spark. Our defense has given us a spark all year. They’ve really towed the line for us until we figured out what we can do to move the ball on offense.”

JFK found its momentum in the second half.

“One of the formations we hadn’t shown this year that we showed quite a bit today was a two tight end, two flanker situation that brought their outside linebackers up on the tight ends,” Bayuk said. “We had a couple key passes to Hyland Burton because we brought those guys up in that formation.

“Then, we ran a little bit of tight zone with one of the best tailbacks in the state right here. I thought our kids executed it very well.”

Boyd had 118 of his yards in the second half, including a 1-yard run in the third and a 39-yard touchdown scamper on a fourth-and-2 with 3:10 remaining to solidify the victory.

“After the first guy made a cutback, all I could see was the corner of the end zone, red end zone and open field. I was hoping not to get tracked down and make it to the end zone,” Boyd said. “I knew that would be it.”

Kennedy limited Minster to 5 yards passing and 42 yards rushing in the second half. Huelsman was the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 53 yards.

“Their quarterback did a great job, great job calling plays today,” Bayuk said. “We went to a one-linebacker set, we call it our tracer set, in the second half. I think that helped us on the back end a little bit. We have a lot of respect for that team and all the things they can do offensively.”

All it took for Kennedy is rallying from a 6-0 first-quarter deficit and rolling from there.

“I really thought they punched us in the mouth early,” Bayuk said. “Our kids were a little nervous. This is my first time here. I was a little nervous, but we got our feet underneath us. I was proud of the way they’ve performed. I was proud of the way they performed all year. They’re relentless.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them. State championship for Warren JFK has been something that has been or goal for the last three years. We talked about getting to Game 14. We talked about winning the state championship. I couldn’t be more proud of the school and everybody that’s associated with it.”

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