TOLEDO, Ohio — You could tell early on last week that Central Catholic's state semifinal game was going to be a track meet. Both teams traded punches all night long but in the end it was the Irish landing the final blow.
The similarities to the 2014 State Championship game against Joe Burrow are obvious, and just like that game, the Irish escaped with a victory.
"It was a tennis match being played with football," said Central Catholic head coach Greg Dempsey. "You definitely have flashbacks and that's a natural one to compare to because it was one of the games where it was a night where you had to score every time you had the ball."
The Kings quarterback put on a show throwing for more than 500 yards, but on the other side, Irish Senior quarterback Ty’Waun Clark held his own and made enough plays to lead his team to the championship game.
"I knew their quarterback was really great so if they score, in my head, I just know that offense, we have to go out there and score," said Clark. "
In the semifinal win, Clark threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran it 18 times for 128 yards. He threw the team on his back and was not going to let them go home early.
"I was just thinking in my head, 'We're not going home,'" said Clark. "As long as I know they got my back, I got their back."
"He's a young athlete that could throw a football, and now he's a quarterback that's a leader of the locker room and the team," said Dempsey. "His maturity, his work ethic, all those things that you look for intangibles in a quarterback, he possesses all those. He's got a great personality that draws people to him."
As a senior, Clark has become the leader for this Irish team and and has now helped lead the Irish to the 2022 Division-II state championship.