Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin held off Garfield Heights 14-7 on Friday night, Nov. 13, in an Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III, Region 9 semifinal in Chardon, in a game where every point was scored before halftime and both defenses owned the second half. The final score is listed in the Mansfield News Journal’s statewide regional-semifinal list, The Columbus Dispatch’s third-round scoreboard, High School On SI’s statewide finals and the Reflector’s Friday scores.
NDCL, the region’s No. 2 seed, hosted at Lion Stadium, and the night started sloppily in cold conditions: the teams combined for four turnovers in the first half alone, YSN reported. Kee On Sports reported that after a stop on the first series, a fumbled snap on a punt attempt gave Garfield Heights great field position, only for NDCL’s Joey Penny to recover a fumble one play later and give the ball right back.
The Lions turned the next Garfield Heights miscue into points. A loose ball on a punt hit a Garfield Heights player and was recovered by senior Collin O’Brien, Kee On Sports reported, and senior quarterback Brady Capel finished the short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Both Kee On Sports and YSN reported Capel’s 1-yard opening score.
Capel scored again in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 14-0, Kee On Sports and YSN reported. The two reports differ on the length of that second touchdown run, so the distance is not reported here; both agree Capel scored both NDCL touchdowns on the ground in the first half.
Garfield Heights answered just before halftime. Senior quarterback Jariah Morgan found Rayjon Anglen for a touchdown late in the first half, Kee On Sports and YSN reported — the two reports differ on the length of that touchdown pass, so it is not reported here either — and NDCL carried a 14-7 lead into the locker room.
Neither team scored again. Kee On Sports reported that NDCL drove into Garfield Heights territory early in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over on downs, and that when the Bulldogs got the ball back with a chance to tie, a tackle for loss by Braeden Ryan thwarted the threat. The Bulldogs were forced to punt, and NDCL chewed up the clock with a pair of key first downs to ice the game, Kee On Sports reported.
The win carries program history. NDCL captured its first 11-win season in school history, Kee On Sports reported, and advanced to its first regional final since 2016. YSN reported the win was the Lions’ 10th in a row and extended what YSN called a school record for victories in a season under first-year head coach Sam Vander Ven.
Garfield Heights finishes its season in the semifinal round. The Bulldogs, the region’s No. 3 seed in YSN’s account, rode quarterback Morgan and receiver Anglen to the third round, and their defense pitched a second-half shutout on the road — it simply came one touchdown short of extending the season.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the 14-7 final is confirmed across four statewide lists, and the scoring sequence — two Capel rushing touchdowns, then the Morgan-to-Anglen answer before halftime — is reported by both Kee On Sports and YSN. The OHSAA’s neutral-site announcement for the regional finals is still to come on Sunday, Nov. 15. Read our coverage of Kirtland’s 36-27 rally past Hillsdale, another Northeast Ohio program that reached a regional final Friday, and of Cuyahoga Heights’ 30-0 shutout of Mogadore.
NDCL’s opponent is the region’s lowest remaining seed, and it is rolling. Youngstown Ursuline, the No. 8 seed, beat Hunting Valley University School 50-21 in the other Region 9 semifinal on Friday, according to the Mansfield News Journal’s statewide list — Ursuline’s third straight road or neutral win of this postseason after beating Lake Catholic and top-seeded Willoughby South.
A decade has passed since NDCL last played for a regional championship. This team has already set the school wins record; one more win would send the Lions to the state semifinals for the first time in the run this group has put together since its first-round bye and a 49-11 win over Hawken, a result referenced in the Region 9 championship preview material.
What happens next: NDCL (11-1) meets Youngstown Ursuline in the Division III, Region 9 final on Friday, Nov. 20, at a neutral site the OHSAA will announce on Sunday, Nov. 15. The winner advances to the state semifinals on Nov. 27.
Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic, CC BY-SA 4.0