Austin Johnson threw for three touchdowns to lead DeSales to a 37-18 road victory over Christian Academy and claim the fourth consecutive Class 2-A Regional title for the two-time defending state champions.
It was a 180-degree turn for the Colts (11-2), who lost to the Centurions (10-3) 16-0 in the regular season. DeSales scored two touchdowns in a 22-second span midway through a first quarter that featured a huge momentum shift.
The Colts struck first, finishing off a 13-play, 76-yard drive with a 5-yard Mitch Sirohman touchdown run with 4:54 left in the first quarter. Christian Academy seemed to tie it on the ensuing kickoff, but Milton Wright’s 94-yard score was negated by a penalty that pushed the Centurions back to their own 8. On the next play, Joe Sims picked off Austin Carr’s pass and returned it 15 yards for a score and a 14-point lead.
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DeSales pushed the lead to 21-0 as it dominated the first half. Johnson completed his first eight passes, and after the Colts went three-and-out on the first series of the night, they converted their next nine third-down attempts. In all, the Colts succeeded on 10 of 15 third-down conversions.
Johnson said the credit for that offensive success belonged to the offensive line, which made some adjustments after watching game film, and gave Johnson time to pass and the running backs holes to gain the needed yards.
“Really those nine (consecutive) conversions on third downs really just broke their hearts,” Johnson said. “We just wore them down.”
Christian Academy tried to rally, and got as close as 34-18 when Carr, a freshman, connected with Cal Lewellyn on a 56-yard touchdown pass with 5:50 left in the game. Wright, another freshman, connected with Jake Paulson on the two-point conversion to make it a two-score game. But DeSales recovered the ensuing onside kick, and CAL never threatened again.
For the fourth straight year, DeSales avenged a regular-season loss against the Centurions by ending their season, and it marked the third straight year the Colts did it in the regional final.
“I’m happy we could win,” he said. “I’m happy we got a win and we’re moving forward with this type of win. You know, we played very well.”
DESALES 37, CAL 18
| DeSales | 14 | 13 | 7 | 3 | – | 37 |
| CAL | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | – | 18 |
DeSales – Mitch Sirohman 5 run (Austin Johnson kick), DeSales – Joe Sims 15 interception return (Johnson kick), DeSales – Tyler Tucker 45 pass from Austin Johnson (Johnson kick), Christian Academy – Milton Wright 19 run (Eric Quinton kick), DeSales – Taylor Stemmle 8 pass from Johnson (kick failed), Christian Academy – Quinton 42 FG, DeSales – Gilly Simpson 4 pass from Johnson (Johnson kick), Christian Academy – Cal Lewellyn 56 pass from Austin Carr (Jake Paulson pass from Wright)
| DeSales | CAL | |
| Total yards | 308 | 247 |
| First downs | 17 | 10 |
| Rushes-yds. | 51-171 | 18-69 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 11-13-0 | 17-33-2 |
| Passing yards | 137 | 178 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yds. | 6-60 | 2-13 |
| Punts-avg. | 2-40 | 4-44 |