CANTON, Ohio — For the first time in the 51-year history of the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoff tournament a Cleveland Metropolitan School has won a state title.
Glenville earned that accolade by defeating Wyoming 26-6 to capture the Division IV crown.
What You Need To Know
- Glenville captures the first OHSAA football state championship for a Cleveland public school
- D'Shawntae Jones ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns
- Wyoming's CJ Hester ran for an OHSAA Division IV championship game-record 81-yard touchdown
All the talk coming in was about the Tarblooders' offense facing off against Wyoming’s formidable defense, but it was Glenville’s tacklers that rose to the occasion.
The Cowboys’ CJ Hester, an Ohio Mr. Football finalist, was “held” to 98 yards, but 81 of those came on a first-quarter touchdown run that set a Division IV record for longest scoring run in a state championship game. Hester, headed to Western Michigan next season, ran for over 3,000 yards this year.
Glenville forced three turnovers and kept Wyoming to 276 yards of total offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Tarblooders’ D’Shawntae Jones carried 28 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Jones is the nephew of former Glenville and Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones.
Wyoming had 10 shutouts on the season coming into the game and had only permitted 55 points for the whole year, just 27 of which were in the playoffs, before Glenville posted 26 Saturday night.
For Wyoming, it’s just the fourth loss in the past four seasons, which includes a Division IV state championship in 2018. All four losses were in the playoffs, all to the eventual state champions (Clyde in 2019, Van Wert in 2020, Clinton-Massie in 2021 and Glenville in 2022).
It was Glenville’s third appearance in a state championship game. Glenville joined South Range and Canfield as first-time state title winners in Canton this weekend.
It was an emotional night for longtime Glenville head coach Ted Ginn Sr., who finally captured a state title during his legendary career on the east side of Cleveland.