Glenville's star-studded cast leads Tarblooders past Archbishop Alter to win back-to-back state titles

Glenville scored 26 points in the first half en route to winning the championship

CANTON, Ohio - The stars came out to play for Glenville on Saturday night and the result was a 38-3 victory over Archbishop Alter to win the OHSAA Division IV state championship for the second year in a row.

Quarterback Ruel Tomlinson was 10-of-17 passing for 207 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 83 yards and a pair of scores on 10 carries. The Walsh Jesuit transfer had not played at Walsh the last three seasons and took the role of starter in his one year at Glenville.

"I'm proud of him," Glenville head coach Ted Ginn, Sr. said. "For three years (at Walsh) he really never played. But I've known him ever since he was a little boy. To see him come and develop to lead us all the way to a state title, it shows he can achieve at the highest level in the position of quarterback."

Tomlinson also had a 92-yard touchdown called back on the second play of the game. After that play, the entire team had to come back down the field and mentally get it out of their minds how winded they might be.

"When Ruel scored and then it came back it was like, 'Hey, man, come on, man,'" Glenville senior offensive lineman and University of Louisville commit Freddie Johnson said. "It was like you gotta get back up, you better finish. The game ain't gonna stop for us, we have to keep playing tough, physical and smart."

Two of Tomlinson's three touchdown passes went to Ohio State commit Damarion Witten, who had five catches for 89 yards.

"(Ruel) played a great game," Witten said. "Just him being here, leading our team as QB1, he knows the playbook like the back of his hand. He is never mean to anybody, never brings anybody down, he's always uplifting. So I feel like he played a real big part in the state championship. Without him, I feel we would have had some struggles throughout the season. But he came through for us. I love him. You know he's forever my brother."

Glenville quarterback Ruel Tomlinson runs the ball against Dinwiddie (Virginia) during the 2023 season. Photo credit: Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports  / Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports

Witten drew high praise from his head coach because of his versatility.

"He can play seven positions on the football field and can be a pro at all of them," Ginn, Sr. said. "He can kick, he can punt, he can quarterback, he can be receiver, he can be tight end, he can be a defensive end, he can be a safety. He can do it all. He's real special. And I think he's gonna be a superstar at Ohio State."

Running back D'Shawntae Jones led the run attack with 161 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.

Jones has gotten more than 20 Division I college offers, but has not received the kind of college offers his coach thinks he deserves.

"I still say he's under recruited," Ginn, Sr. said. "I don't know what they want. I don't know what they are looking at. Their evaluation is poor to me. What you can get in him you can't see on film first of all. He's a bulldog inside. He loves football. But I don't know what they want. They have their reasons but somebody is going to get him. If you don't take him, he is going to beat you."

One of the lighter moments of the game came in the fourth quarter, as Glenville was set to take the field on offense. Before the Tarblooders could start their possession, there was a tv timeout that forced the players to stand around in the huddle. Instead of remaining idle, the Glenville players started dancing to the music playing in the stadium.

"I felt like we were just having fun," Johnson said. "Even though dancing was very unprofessional but we just felt like we did it one more time with our brothers. You get this one last moment with them (and) you can never get this back."