Winton Woods redefines 'underdog' with its sixth straight double-digit win to take the D-II state championship

A No. 7 seed in their region, the Warriors finish their historically dominant playoff run by unseating defending champ Archbishop Hoban.

By Ryan Isley | Photos by Mike Cook

CANTON, Ohio — On a cold night Thursday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the glass slipper fit perfectly on Winton Woods.

The Warriors controlled their sixth playoff game in a row, dominating the line of scrimmage in a 21-10 win over Archbishop Hoban in the Division II state championship game.

Despite outscoring their opponents 177-99 in the playoffs leading into the championship game as a No. 7 seed in their region, the Warriors heard all the noise coming in against the defending state champions, who had won the Division II title three times in the last four years and had won the Division III crown the two years prior.

“Being that it has been five years since we have been to a state title game, we had a lot of reporters say we were going to lose by 14 points,” Winton Woods linebacker Seven Blue said. “We just shut that out and locked in.”

The Winton Woods defense was locked in all night, allowing no offensive touchdowns, something that had not happened to the Knights all year. The Warriors contained the Hoban running game, led by junior Lamar Sperling, who entered averaging 258 yards rushing per game in the postseason.

While Sperling finished as just the second back to gain 100 yards against the Warriors this season with 121 on 24 carries, he didn't break off any big runs that had become commonplace for him during the playoffs.

“We are the best D-line in the state,” Winton Woods defensive lineman Jay’ron Gibson said. “If I don’t make it there, I can trust my guys that they are going to make it there.”

A lot of those plays were made upfront by a defensive line that stood up and took the fight to an offensive line that had led the way for Sperling and the running attack all season. The Knights offense gained just 192 yards, 127 rushing.

“We knew Hoban was going to be physical,” Winton Woods coach Chad Murphy said. “We knew if they were physical, then we need to match that physicality.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Warriors put the ball in the hands of their run game and took it to the Hoban defense for 288 yards on the ground, led by 5-foot-4 running back TyRek Spikes with 153 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown.

KC Spears added 54 yards on four carries, and quarterback Austin Ellery had 87 yards rushing on 10 carries with each scoring a touchdown.

Tyrek Spikes with a 2-yard TD run for Winton Woods.

Winton Woods leads Archbishop Hoban 14-3 with 46 seconds left 2Q. pic.twitter.com/MkEoWM35gk

— Ryan (@Isley23) December 3, 2021

The last touchdown, scored by Spears on the second possession of the third quarter, came after Hoban had cut the halftime lead of 14-3 to 14-10 on the first play from scrimmage when linebacker Caleb Kepler ripped the ball out of the hands of Spikes and took it 22 yards for a touchdown.

Caleb Kepler just ripped the ball from the ball carrier and took it to the house for an Archbishop Hoban TD.

Winton Woods leads Joban 14-10 with 1150 left 3Q. pic.twitter.com/jUobjHIAPq

— Ryan (@Isley23) December 3, 2021

“Handling sudden change is nothing more than handling adversity,” Murphy said. “Adversity just takes toughness. I think that’s just another testament to the toughness of this football team.”

The Warriors faced adversity the same way they have all year — with toughness and resiliency. Winton Woods marched 80 yards in just four plays and scored when Spears took the handoff and bounced off Hoban tacklers to get to the outside and run 53 yards to give them back a two-score lead at 21-10.

Winton Woods with the answer as KC Spears goes 53 yards for a TD.

Winton Woods leads Archbishop Hoban 21-10 with 1020 left 3Q. pic.twitter.com/aVIU56g2b8

— Ryan (@Isley23) December 3, 2021

“I would love to tell you I had time to yell at them and tell them all these great quotes, but no,” Murphy said. “You have to rely on your guys and rely on your leadership.”

The toughness never wavered, as the Winton Woods defense made the 21-10 score hold up by pressuring Hoban to put the game in the hands of quarterback Jayvian Crable, something the Knights had not faced throughout the playoffs. Crable finished by completing just 7 of 17 passes for 65 yards and an interception.

“Our key this week was to focus on not letting (Sperling) get into open space or run the ball all over us,” Blue said. “We knew that if they had to throw the ball, we won the game.”

Winton Woods players brought a stuffed unicorn to the postgame press conference and called it their good luck charm.

But there was no luck needed on this night.

The Warriors stuck to their game plan and were left hoisting the state championship trophy as the clock never struck midnight.