FIRST QUARTER
WALSH......Harris 11 run (Johnston kick), 14:44  
TIFFIN.....FG Neidenoff 38, 11:07
TIFFIN.....Spencer 5 pass from Whitfield (Neidenoff kick), 4:23
WALSH......Harris 26 run (Johnston kick), 2:22
WALSH......Schmitz 12 interception return (Johnston kick>, 1:05


SECOND QUARTER







THIRD QUARTER
WALSH......Harris 80 run (Johnston kick), 14:39
WALSH......Mitchell 88 interception return (Johnston kick), 9:59
TIFFIN.....Dixon 14 run (Lockhart pass from Whitfield), 8:14
WALSH......Spillar 17 run (Johnston kick), 3:07
FOURTH QUARTER
TIFFIN.....Spencer 29 pass from Perchinske (run failed), 12:19
TIFFIN.....Perchinske 2 run (pass failed), 4:27
TIFFIN.....Ewen 7 pass from Perchinske (Neidenoff kick), 2:27




RECORDS:TIFFIN 5-4  ; WALSH 6-2

FIRST QUARTER
WALSH.....Winphrie 54 pass from Pullen (kick blocked), 5:06  

Urbana....FG Kirby 28, 6:34




SECOND QUARTER
WALSH.....Harris 2 run (Mauer pass completion), 14:57
URBANA....Knorr 75 pass from Smith (Kirby kick), 14:33
WALSH.....Harris 3 run (Johnston kick), 12:01
URBANA....Kendall 7 pass from Smith (Kirby), 7:07



THIRD QUARTER
WALSH.....Winphrie 63 pass from Pullen (Johnston kick), 14:38



FOURTH QUARTER
URBANA....Knorr 5 pass from Smith (Smith run), 7:14






RECORDS:URBANA 1-8  ; WALSH 7-2

By FELLICIA SMITH
Repository sports writer

CANTON — For a game that had more than 900 yards in total offense, it really wasn’t a game of offense that gave St. Francis the Mid-States Football Association Mideast League championship and a berth to the NAIA playoffs.

It was defense that allowed St. Francis to defeat Walsh University 40-23, in college football Saturday afternoon.

“They say you win championships with defense,” St. Francis head coach Kevin Donely said. “On offense we played well enough to win as a team.”

St. Francis held Walsh’s all-time single season rushing leader Demetrius Harris to just 72 yards. Walsh quarterback Chris Pullen had 148 yards in the air, but he was also intercepted twice with one returned for a touchdown. The Cavaliers only had two fumbles, but lost possession on both. And Walsh had to punt the ball four times.

“What’s different from last year is our defense,” Donley said. In the school’s first football season the team was 2-8. This year the team finished the regular season 8-2. “Obviously this is a tremendous accomplishment to be here and win against Walsh.”

St. Francis began its scoring on a 63-yard drive from its own 37-yard line, Jeremy Hibbeln threw passes for 21 and 19 yards and then handed the ball to Eric Johnson, who scored on a 23-yard touchdown run. An extra point by Joe Klimaksi put the Cougars up 7-0.

Late in the first quarter Walsh started a drive on its own 10-yard line, but two plays into the drive, the Cavaliers fumbled the ball. St. Francis recovered on the Walsh 19-yard line. The Cougars were down to fourth-and-10 on the 19 when Hibbeln connected with tight end Tom Grasha for a 18 yard pass that took the Cougars to the 1. The next play, Grasha ran the ball in for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Cougars a 14-0 lead.

The Cavaliers went on the attack with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Pullen hit Ben Spillar for a 52-yard pass. Walsh couldn’t move the ball any farther and on fourth-and-11th the Cavaliers kicked a 36-yard field goal. Jeff Johnston’s kick made it 14-3.

In the second quarter St. Francis moved the ball through the air to score. In its second drive of the quarter, St. Francis started its drive on its own 49 yard line. Hibbeln threw for 46 yards, including a 8-yard touchdown pass to give the Cougars a 20-3 lead, after the extra point attempt was missed.

With only 58 seconds left in the first half, Walsh had the ball on its own it own 34 . Pullen ran for 11 yards and threw the ball for 34 more to get in field goal range. Johnston them made a 37-yard field goal as time ran out. The halftime score was 20-6

Opening the third quarter, the Cavaliers came out with an attitude and the moves to get the game back within striking distance. And it all happened within 30 seconds.

Walsh used 13 plays on an 80-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Demetris Harris at 9:56. The extra point by Johnston cut the Cougars lead to 20-13.

St. Francis fumbled on its first play of the third quarter. Walsh recovered on the Cougars’ 19. On the next play Harris used a stiff arm and leaped over a defender to get into the end zone on a 19-yard run at 9:33. With the extra point attempt good Walsh tied the score 20-20.

“We came back and placed ourselves in position to win,” Walsh head coach Jim Dennison said. “We had good effort, but our execution was not there.”

Walsh caused another Cougar fumble minutes later, but couldn’t capitalize on the turnover. The St. Francis offense and defense seemed to settled down.

On offense the Cougars needed just four plays to score on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Hibbeln to his favorite target, Jeremy Dutcher. The extra point was no good, but the Cougars were up 26-20.

Walsh tried a 22-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter, but it was wide right. St. Francis fumbled on its next possession, but again the Walsh offense was checked. The Cavaliers tried a 45 yard field goal, but this time it went wide left.

“It hurts when you get a chance but the momentum swings,” Dennison said. “When you have the chance to make plays, you have to make sure you do.”

With nine minutes left in the game, Walsh again tried another field goal. This time Johnston connected on a 35-yarder. That cut the lead to 26-23.

St. Francis wasn’t taking any chances. On the Cougars next possession, the offense drove the ball 65 yards in 10 plays. The drive included a 24-yard pass to the 1 on a fourth-and-six play. Ponder then ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown with four minutes remaining to give St. Francis a 33-23 lead after the extra point.

With a just over a minute remaining, Walsh tried to move the ball downfield, but Hibbeln was intercepted by Josh Todd who ran the ball back for a 40-yard touchdown. With the extra point St. Francis sealed the scoring at 40-23.

FIRST QUARTER
St. Francis....Johnson 23 run (Klimaski kick) 9:12  
St. Francis....Grasha 1 run (Klimaski kick) 2:36
Walsh..........Johnston 36 field goal 1:04




SECOND QUARTER
St. Francis....James 8 pass from Hibbain (kick failed) 3:48
Walsh..........Johnston 37 field goal 0:00





THIRD QUARTER
Walsh..........Harris 1 run (Johnston kick)9:55
Walsh..........Harris 19 run (Johnston kick) 9:33
St. Francis....Dutcher 56 pass from hibbein (kick failed) 4:46

FOURTH QUARTER
Walsh..........Johnston 35 field goal 7:55
St. Francis....Ponder 1 run (Privett kick) 4:23
St. Francis....Todd 40 interception return 1:15




RECORDS:ST. FRANCIS 8-2  ; WALSH 7-3

Walsh fans have visited this page times.