Maple Heights' magic run ends in a rush

Tim Rogers, The Plain Dealer, December 05, 2009 7:27 a.m.

Winton Woods quarterback Dominique Brown, left, leaves Maple Heights' Terrace Tisdel behind during the Division II state championship game Friday in Massillon. - (Tracy Boulian / The Plain Dealer)

Massillon -- They knew it was coming and there were no surprises.

That didn't make things any easier for Maple Heights on Friday when it fell to Cincinnati Winton Woods, 42-12, in the Division II state championship game in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Simply, Winton Woods ran the ball more effectively than anyone had against the Mustangs all season, and it led to a frustrating end to the most successful football season in school history.

Maple Heights, which had been on a storybook run through its first playoff appearance with victories over Lake Catholic, Toledo St. Francis, Toledo Central Catholic and Toledo Rogers, finishes with a 12-3 record. Each of the beaten opponents were seeded higher than the sixth-seeded Mustangs when the playoffs began.

The magic came to an end on a chilly and clear evening in Stark County and it came to an end on the ground, where Winton Woods sliced, diced, bulled and darted its way to 376 yards rushing, a Division II state tournament record.

Maple Heights entered the game having held its previous 14 opponents to an average of 143 yards rushing. Winton Woods, led by quarterback Dominique Brown and tailback Jeremiah Goins, obliterated that mark by halftime.

Brown, a Cincinnati recruit, rushed for 172 yards on 20 carries and scored four touchdowns. The 6-2, 203-pound senior, also completed two of two passes for 28 yards and another score. His 24 points tied him with Dayton Chaminade-Julienne's Javon Ringer for the most points scored in a Division II game. Ringer did it in 2002 against Nordonia.

Goins, 5-10, 227, failed to score but gained 155 yards on 21 carries and helped make life miserable for the Mustangs.

"They are great players," Maple Heights coach Todd Filtz said of Brown and Goins, while acknowledging that Winton Woods had the best ground game his team has faced this year. "They have some great players and a great run game, and we had some breakdowns, and it didn't go our way. They have great players, a great run game and we tried our best to stop it."

Maple Heights' defensive end Dominic Flewellyn, who had another outstanding game in defeat, said the Winton Woods game plan was tough to decipher.

"We tried to adjust on the fly, and we couldn't get it done," he said. "They [the Warriors] were firing up pretty good. Their offense was difficult to stop. It wasn't a conventional offense, and it was hard to prepare for in just a week. We played our hearts out but just couldn't get it done."

He also had high praise for Brown, who scored on runs of 50, 58, 17 and 1 yard, and threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Juan Glover.

"He was hard to bring down," Flewellyn said. "He broke through a lot of arm tackles. You won't find any better players in the state."

Brown, the Division II offensive player of the year in Ohio, said it became apparent in the second quarter that Maple Heights was having a hard time coping.

"I looked over at their bench when it was like 20-6 [it was 21-6] and all their guys were standing around the heater and that told me they were more worried about the cold than making plays."

Watch the video archive of the game.