The 2021 Chardon football team was looked at like it was confetti left on the field last November at Massillon’s Paul Brown Stadium.
They were looked at as the aftermath.
“The forgotten class,” as Coach Mitch Hewitt called them.
The leftovers from a storybook 2020 season in which the Hilltoppers defeated Columbus DeSales in a thrilling overtime game for the Division III state championship.
Oh, what a miscalculation that notion has been.
To the surprise of many — maybe even to Hewitt himself — the Chardon Hilltoppers have won 14 straight this season and will play West Holmes in a Division III state semifinal on Nov. 26 at Twinsburg’s Tiger Stadium.
“Oh, by far and away,” Hewitt said when asked if his team exceeded expectations this season.
The 2021 Hilltoppers have tied a program record for most wins in a season with 14, matching the 1994 state championship team. They’ve run the current winning streak to 26 games, dating to last year’s 12-0 state-title squad.
“And the mission isn’t complete yet,” Hewitt said. “The thing is, the 2020 team EXPECTED to win it. Their only concern was if they’d get an opportunity (because of the coronavirus pandemic).
“I don’t think anybody thought we’d be practicing on Thanksgiving this year, and if we did, it wouldn’t be with an unblemished record. This group did it with a bull’s-eye on their back all year, too.”
That bull’s-eye will be there again on Nov. 26 when West Holmes — making its first state final four appearance — throws its hat into the ring as a challenger to the Hilltoppers’ state title defense and 26-game winning streak.
The Knights have outscored the opposition by an average of 39-17 this season. They are coming off a 31-21 win over Holy Name in the Region 10 championship game.
Following the regional final, coach Zach Gardner told his team, “We’re going to enjoy every minute of this, but by no means are we finished.”
The fifth-year coach elaborated earlier this week in a story written by
thebargainhunter.com.
“We’re focused,” Gardner said. “Our kids understand where we’re at, and they understand the task that we have. We’re excited. It’s one of those measuring sticks to see where the program’s at. We told the kids, ‘If you want to be the state champion, you’ve got to beat the state champion at some point,’ and that’s what we have before us.”
West Holmes has leaned heavily on sophomore running back Sam Williams-Dixon. The 6-foot, 194-pounder has carried 241 times for 1,505 yards (a 6.24-yard average) and 25 touchdowns. He is also the team’s leading receiver with 53 catches for 976 yards (an 18.4-yard average) and 10 scores. Williams-Dixon also has a defensive score, giving him a program-record 36 touchdowns this year.
“He’s 70 percent of their offense,” Hewitt said. “They move him around, motion him in, motion him out, put him at receiver. They do a really nice job with him.
“Obviously, the thing we have to do is contain him. But they have other weapons, too.”
Such as quarterback Noah Clark, the East District’s offensive player of the year. Clark has thrown for 2,819 yards and 27 touchdowns against only five interceptions.
Garrett Eastep (51 catches, 819 yards, 10 TDs) and Tucker Kaufman (40-591-6) also have big numbers in the passing game.
Chardon counters with two 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Alex Henry (1,191 yards, 20 TDs) and Sean Carr (1,016 yards, 23 TDs). Henry has also thrown for 745 yards and seven scores.
Hewitt said the linchpin of Chardon’s success this year offensively has been the revamped offensive line that, aside from tight end Alex McDonald, is brand new this year. Aidan Ishay (6-foot, 240), Logan Bryant (6-0, 245), T.J. Altman (5-11, 215), Adam Jackson (5-11, 230) and Simon Rodriguez (6-0, 240) are all first-time varsity starters.
“That’s all Coach O,” Hewitt said of line coach Bill Overton. “He’s one of a kind. He has as much passion today as he did when he started here in 1973. He has a charm, talent and connection that has transcended over the decades.”
Overcoming adversity has been the trademark of the Hilltoppers this season, and not just because they had to replace all but two starters on offense and three starters on defense from last year’s championship team.
Chardon played a gantlet of teams this year, including a nonconference quartet of Glenville, Akron Buchtel, Youngstown Ursuline and New Philadelphia, not to mention a rugged Western Reserve Conference slate.
The Region 9 run was arguably the toughest in the state, too.
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The next challenge is a West Holmes team riding the high of the program’s state final four bid.
“Does our experience help? I think so,” Hewitt said of last year’s state championship run, as well as this year’s rugged schedule. “Our kids have been in this before. (West Holmes) has probably gotten more media coverage, calls, pats on the back and attention they’ve ever gotten. Rightfully so. Our kids have dealt with this bullseye for the last 26 weeks.
“We’re going to have to play very well this week to keep this thing going.”
Chardon vs. West Holmes
What: Division III state semifinal
When: 7 p.m., Nov. 26
Where: Twinsburg Tiger Stadium
Records: Chardon 14-0, West Holmes 14-0
Chardon’s playoff path: Defeated Akron East, 38-7, def. Streetsboro, 63-7, def. Canfield, 27-14, def. Dover, 31-3
West Holmes’ playoff path: Def. Sylvania Southview, 60-14, def. Tiffin Columbian,28-25, def. Rocky River, 51-28, def. Holy Name, 31-21
On deck: Winner advances to the state championship game to play the winner of Hamilton Badin (13-0) and Granville (13-0) at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3.
The 2021 Chardon football team was looked at like it was confetti left on the field last November at Massillon’s Paul Brown Stadium. They were looked at as the aftermath. “The forgotten…
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