St. Charles is headed back to a state championship game. The Cardinals edged defending Division I state champion Dublin Jerome 1-0 in a state semifinal on Wednesday, November 11, at Olentangy, with senior forward Sam Lofthouse scoring the game’s only goal with 10:48 left in the second half, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s account of the match.
Lofthouse finished a cross from junior outside back Tyler Bushong in the middle of the box, punching a one-touch shot into the bottom corner through a crowd in front of the net. “I saw my outside back dribbling down, he crossed it in and I made a one-touch finish to the bottom corner,” Lofthouse told The Columbus Dispatch. “We have been talking about just putting it on frame. That’s all you can do and let the rest take care of itself.”
The goal rewarded a halftime adjustment that changed the game. Outplayed in the first half, St. Charles clogged the middle of the field after the break and forced Jerome to attack from the perimeter. “We decided to clog up the middle because they didn’t have many people outside,” Cardinals senior defender Tyler Stoner told The Columbus Dispatch. “So it would slow down the process if we had more people inside.”
Jerome still finished with more chances, outshooting St. Charles 10-7 and mounting one final serious charge with about five minutes left. Sophomore goalie Eli Wichlinski made seven saves to preserve the shutout, and Lofthouse himself shifted to defense after scoring to help close out the win. Jerome sophomore goalie Micah Neil made three saves for the Celtics, who finish 18-3-1.
“They had more chances than us — hats off to everything they did,” St. Charles coach Chris Vonau told The Columbus Dispatch. “I am just super proud. We have been using the ‘climb the mountain’ slogan with everything we have been through. I am speechless, and I am never speechless about how proud I am of my guys.”
The run carries extra weight because of how the season began. St. Charles tangled with the Ohio High School Athletic Association in September and October simply to play in Division I after originally being assigned to Division II, and it is now playing in its fourth consecutive state tournament. The Cardinals, 18-3-1, reach their second state final in four seasons.
Waiting in the final is Kettering Fairmont (14-5-3), which reached its first championship game with a 2-1 win over Strongsville at Westerville Central. The Division I final is set for 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus.
St. Charles is one of four central Ohio teams playing for state titles this weekend. CCL rival Watterson beat Avon Lake 4-2 to reach the Division III final, Worthington Christian blanked Zanesville West Muskingum 4-0 in Division IV, and Fairbanks edged Xenia Legacy Christian 4-3 in Division V. Watterson and Worthington Christian are each seeking a repeat championship. In Division V, Norwayne’s boys reached their first state final in school history with a 5-2 win over Rootstown.
The rest of the championship weekend at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field is now set. In Division II, Brecksville-Broadview Heights beat New Albany 2-0 and Avon beat Toledo St. Francis 2-1 in the semifinals, and they will meet in the final at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 16. In Division III, Watterson will face Dayton Carroll, a 2-0 winner over Richfield Revere, at 4 p.m. on November 16. All five boys finals are played at the Columbus venue across November 15 and 16, according to the schedule reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
For St. Charles, the final is also a chance to finish a climb the program has been making for four straight state tournaments. The Cardinals have reached the season’s last weekend every year in that span, and Sunday’s game gives this senior class — Lofthouse and Stoner among them — one last match together with a state championship on the line.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the semifinal result, the scoring play and the final pairing are confirmed. What remains is the only thing that matters now — whether the Cardinals’ defense, which has carried them through the tournament, can hold for 80 more minutes against a Fairmont side playing in uncharted territory of its own.
What happens next: St. Charles and Kettering Fairmont meet for the Division I state championship at 7 p.m. Sunday, November 15, at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. The Division IV final (Worthington Christian vs. Cincinnati Wyoming) kicks off the day at 1 p.m., followed by the Division V final at 4 p.m.
Photo: Matthew Bernhardt, CC BY-SA 2.0