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[Rocketcorner News]

Top-ranked Kenton routs Galion
By Eric Lessig

Throwing for 500 yards in a high school football game is an extraordinary feat, one almost unheard of.

Yet Kenton’s senior quarterback Grant Sherman did just that in Friday night’s Region 12 playoff game.

In a single half.

Sherman put up video game-like numbers, completing 37 of 50 passes for 510 yards and eight touchdowns – all before intermission – and engineered the Wildcats to a 58-14 thrashing of the Galion Tigers at Robinson Field.

Perhaps his favorite target in the prolific first two quarters was Kollin Stollar. Sherman connected with the junior wideout eight times for 172 yards and four touchdowns. All four scoring strikes and all but one of the eight receptions came in the first quarter.

It was a first quarter that left no doubt about the game’s eventual outcome. Sherman completed 8 of 10 passes on the opening drive, which was capped off when he connected with Colyn Blackford on an 8-yard scoring strike. He then found Stollar on the two-point conversion to give Kenton an 8-0 lead with 9:23 remaining in the first quarter.

The stout Kenton defense, which held Galion to 60 yards of total offense in the first half, forced the Tigers to a three-and-out and wasted no time taking advantage. The Wildcats needed just four plays and 44 seconds to find the end zone. Stollar’s 22-yard pass from Sherman increased Kenton’s lead to 16-0.

Galion lost a fumble on the first play of the ensuing possession, which led to the second Sherman-to-Stollar scoring connection. Kenton then recovered the onside kick and Sherman connected with Stollar for the third time in four possessions.


With 3:42 still remaining in the first quarter, the Tigers had ran just five plays from scrimmage and found themselves facing a 30-0 deficit.

The score quickly ballooned to 44-0 early in the second quarter when Sherman connected on his second scoring strike to Colyn Blackford. Kenton finished its scoring barrage on an Angelo Lombardo 37-yard touchdown reception that came at the 5:41 mark of the second quarter and a 7-yard Justin Sawmiller scoring play with just seven seconds remaining until the intermission.

Everything that could go wrong in the first half for Galion did go wrong. The Tigers committed four turnovers, all of which directly led to a Kenton touchdown, and failed to recover an onside kick.

The problems were compounded by the fact that they played the game without the services of senior quarterback Dareian Watkins. The Northwestern-bound Watkins, who represented nearly 90 percent of the Galion offense coming into the game, was not in uniform due to disciplinary reasons.

Facing the second-string Kenton defense, Galion finally found the end zone with 7:17remaining in the game when Josh Keller connected with Cario Davison from 13 yards out. The Tigers’ other touchdown came with 1:10left when Keller connected with Tyler Castline on a 33-yard scoring strike.

Galion finishes its North Central Conference co-championship season with a 9-2 record. The #1-ranked Wildcats, now 11-0, advance to play Wooster Triway, a 26-21 winner over Wauseon, at a site to be announced by the OHSAA on Sunday afternoon.

Score by Quarter
Galion -- 0 0 0 14 -- 14
Kenton - 38 20 0 0 -- 58

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
K -- Blackford 9-yard pass from Sherman (Sherman pass to Stollar), 9:23
K -- Stollar 22-yard pass from Sherman (Sherman pass to Blackford), 7:40
K -- Stollar 50-yard pass from Sherman (Sherman pass to Sawmiller), 6:07
K -- Stollar 39-yard pass from Sherman (pass failed), 3:42
K -- Stollar 18-yard pass from Sherman (Sherman run), 0:07

Second Quarter
K -- Blackford 8-yard pass from Sherman (pass failed), 10:22
K -- Lombardo 37-yard pass from Sherman (pass failed), 5:41
K -- Sawmiller 7-yard pass from Sherman (Sherman run), 0:39

Fourth Quarter
G -- Davison 13-yard pass from Keller (Moreton kick), 7:17
G -- Castline 33-yard pass from Keller (Moreton kick), 1:10