SIDNEY – Coldwater clinched their 11th regional championship in the past 13 seasons on Saturday night in Sidney as they raced past Allen East 49-7 to claim the region 24 crown.
Cavalier defensive back Marcel Blasingame snagged a pass from Allen East quarterback Jacob Hershberger on the third play of the game and returned it to the 35 to set up the opening score of the game.
Eight plays and over three minutes after starting their opening drive the Cavaliers fired the opening salvo on a three yard touchdown reception by Isaac Fullenkamp from Reece Dellinger to take a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Though Allen East was able to move the football nearly at will on their second drive the orange and black defense struck again as Fullenkamp himself snatched a ball off the turf to set up his offense and prevent a tie game.
Four first downs and 69 yards after the start of their second possession the Cavaliers pushed their advantage to 14-0 on a 10 yard pass from Reese Dellinger to Tanner Muhlenkamp with 1:50 remaining in the opening quarter of play.
Starting with just seconds left at the end of the first the Cavaliers notched another score, the second touchdown jaunt from Fullenkamp from a yard to take a 21-0 lead at 9:12 to go in the half.
Forced to punt after a three and out the Mustangs punter snagged a high snap and attempted to connect for a first down pass but was intercepted by Braylen Harlamert at his own 37. Junior running back Luke Sudhoff put Coldwater on top 28-0 moments later as he rushed in from a yard away to cap off a three play drive.
Senior defensive lineman Josh Kaup’s fumble recovery five plays later set the visitors up once again with the football at their own 38 with under five minutes to play in the first half before a 14 yard touchdown pass to Marcel Blasingame ended an eight play drive to make it 35-0 Cavaliers.
After a second Allen East punt of the first half the Cavaliers used just a single play, a 44 yard touchdown toss from Dellinger to 6’4 senior Jesse Meyer to give the defending state champions a 42-0 halftime lead.
Under a running clock with a 30 point or more advantage the Cavaliers wasted little time to begin the second half by picking up three first downs on an eight play drive covering 82 yards to take a 49-0 lead on Isaac Fullenkamp’s third overall score of the evening and 16th of the season on the ground with 6:09 to go in the third.
The games final score came from the Allen East side as the Mustangs were able to push into the endzone with 6:36 remaining in the game against a defensive comprised of Coldwater subs on a two yard rush by Jack Hoel for his 14th and final touchdown of the season to cut the lead to 49-7.
Coldwater outgained the Mustangs 372-222 on the evening led by a four touchdown performance by Reece Dellinger who moved into 7th place in a single season with his 27th passing score. Wideout Tyler Schwieterman hauled in four catches for 72 yards and became just the sixth receiver in Cavalier history to amass 1000+ yards in a single season.
Allen East sees their season come to an end at 10-4 while Coldwater (12-2) will travel to Bellefontaine to take on a West Jefferson team they defeated last season 42-7 in a state semifinals matchup next Saturday evening slated for a 7:00 P.M. kickoff.