The football rivalry between Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary has been exclusively contested in the regular season — until Friday.
Hoban (11-1) and St. V-M (11-1) will meet in the playoffs for the first time at 7:30 p.m. in a Division III regional final at the University of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium.
The winner earns the standard regional championship plaque from the Ohio High School Athletic Association and extends its season. The loser has its season end.
Hoban defeated St. V-M 24-7 in Week 5 of the regular season on Sept. 25 at UA. The Knights reclaimed the coveted Shillelagh Trophy after the Irish had won the rivalry game from 2007-2014. Hoban won the game from 1998-2006.
“That was a great game,” Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. “It was closer than the score indicates. We have watched it a whole bunch of times this week on film.
“They are well coached. It will be really tough to beat a good team like them twice. We don’t think we played a perfect game in that game. We were still figuring things out on the offensive line. That was R.J. Kelly’s first game back following a preseason injury.
“I thought we played pretty well defensively, with exception to that one big play [when St. V-M senior Dom Davis tossed a 75-yard touchdown pass to junior Malik Wooldridge].”
St. V-M coach Dan Boarman said he also expects his team to play better this week.
“I thought they played a good game, but I don’t think that we played our best game,” Boarman said. “There are not too many times where you get a second chance against a team. We are fortunate to get the opportunity to play them again.
“We never got great field position [Sept. 25]. Part of it was our own doing and part of it was they were kicking the ball very well with their punts [by senior Dane Kersh] and kickoffs [by junior Grant Kersh]. ... I think we can definitely play a better game.”
Tyrrell and Boarman each said the Shillelagh Trophy is not up for grabs this weekend.
“We are playing for the opportunity to play another week,” Boarman said.
Said Tyrrell: “We are excited to play in this game. This is a rivalry game, but a lot of the kids are close and they know each other very well.”
Players to watch
Hoban is led by junior running back Todd Sibley, senior wide receiver-defensive back-linebacker Jonah Morris, junior quarterback Danny Clark and the Kersh brothers.
Sibley rushed for a 19-yard touchdown in Hoban’s win two months ago. Sophomore Nate Bauer returned an interception 70 yards for a score, Grant Kersh kicked a 22-yard field goal and Clark tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Morris.
Other top Knights players are seniors Tyler Gilchrist, Jacob Kepler, Jacob McNeil and Nick Lewis, sophomores Kelly and Daeshon Coppinger and freshman Nolan Rumler.
St. V-M features quarterback Davis, senior running back Markus Hurd, senior offensive lineman Zach Corrigall and Wooldridge and junior DeAmonte’ King at wide receiver.
Other top Irish players are seniors Dom Sciarretti, Niko Lalos and Marcus McAlister and juniors Eric Bentley, Justin Sampson, Brandon Bischof and Donte Taylor.
Quick history of rivalry
Hoban and St. Vincent played each other in football from 1959-1971, with St. V holding a 7-6 advantage. Hoban played St. Mary in 1958 and 1959 and won both games.
St. Vincent and St. Mary merged in 1972 and continued to play Hoban in football until 1977. St. V-M went 5-1. The schools did not play football against each other until 1996, when Hoban won. St. V-M won in 1997. Hoban then compiled its nine-year win streak and St. V-M followed with its eight-year win streak.
St. V and St. M played annually from 1948 to 1958 with St. V posting a 9-0-2 record.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.