Anna Rockets Take Home Division VI Football State Title with 48-14 Win Over Springfield Local

By Donald DiFrancesco

Springfield Local 0 14 0 0 14
(Mahoning County)

Anna 7 21 13 7 48
(Shelby County)

CANTON, OHIO – The Anna Rockets earned their first OHSAA football championship Friday, defeating the Springfield Local Tigers by the score of 48-14.

The Rockets tallied first following a Springfield fumble on a punt return midway through the first quarter. After taking over at the Tigers’ 13-yard line, Anna running back Riley Huelskamp rushed for a 2-yard touchdown, his first of four scores on the day.

A disastrous 11-yard punt by Springfield Local put Anna in great field position at the Tigers’ 32-yard line. The Rockets converted a key fourth-and-2 play at the end of the first quarter to get first-and-goal just inside the 10. On the second play of the second quarter, quarterback Bart Bixler ran the final 4 yards to give the Rockets a 14-0 lead.

What turned out to be the biggest play of the game occurred just two minutes later.

On first-and-20 after a holding penalty, Tigers’ quarterback Beau Brungard was hit hard and fumbled as he tried to change directions in the backfield. Anna linebacker Kamren Steward recovered it for the Rockets at the Springfield Local 38.

It only took one play—a pass from Bixler to Nolan Emerson—to put the Rockets up 21-0.

Springfield Local finally demonstrated some effective offense, mounting two long scoring drives before halftime. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Anna scored a fourth touchdown when Huelskamp dashed 72 yards to the endzone. He made a shift to his left after passing the line of scrimmage, and was untouched until getting tackled as he went over the left pylon at the goal line.

The two Springfield Local touchdowns came on pass plays. On the first, Brungard found Evan Ohlin in the corner of the endzone with a perfect throw from 7 yards out. That made the score 21-7 prior to Huelskamp’s long run.

On the Tigers’ next possession, they executed a flea flicker play as Brungard connected with David Duvall for a 16-yard touchdown. With just 0:25 to play in the half, Springfield Local had closed the gap to 28-14 and had some momentum heading to intermission.

Anna quickly took that momentum back. On the third play of the third quarter, Huelskamp intercepted a Brungard pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The “pick six” extended the Rockets lead to 34-14 and essentially sealed the Tigers’ fate.

Anna’s running game chewed up much of the clock for the remainder of the game. And when Springfield Local did have possession, they were unable to generate much offense against the rugged Anna defense.

Two final touchdowns for the Rockets—a 20-yard run by Huelskamp in the third quarter and a 1-yard keeper from Bixler in the fourth—delivered the final margin of 34-14.

Anna dominated the rushing statistics for the game, outgaining Springfield Local 322 yards to 21. The Tigers did gain 213 yards passing, but most of that came with the game already decided.

First Quarter

A Riley Huelskamp, 2 run (Zach Ambos kick) [4:37]

Second Quarter

A Bart Bixler, 4 run (Ambos kick) [11:12]
A Nolan Emerson, 38 pass from Bixler (Ambos kick) [9:00]
SL Evan Ohlin, 7 pass from Beau Brungard (Clayton Medvec kick) [4:36]
A Huelskamp, 72 run (Ambos kick) [3:03]
SL David Duvall, 16 pass from Brungard (Medvec kick) [0:25]

Third Quarter

A Huelskamp, 32 interception return (kick failed) [10:09]
A Huelskamp, 20 run (Ambos kick) [3:09]

Fourth Quarter

A Bixler, 1 run (Ambos kick) [7:37]