MASSILLON -- Delphos St. John's proved the doubters wrong once again Friday morning, as the Blue Jays flew past the heavily-favored Hopewell-Louden Chieftains with a 34-14 pounding to capture the Division VI 2008 State Championship Trophy on the gridiron.
MASSILLON -- Hopewell-Loudon’s unbeaten Chieftains (14-0) vie for their first Division VI state championship 11 a.m. Friday against 12-2 Delphos St. John’s at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
DELPHOS -- Tickets for St. John's Division VI football state championship game against Bascom Hopewell-Loudon at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon will be on sale Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. untill 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. until Noon and again from 1-3:30 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 7-8. Tickets will be sold in the high school office.
The Blue Jays will face the Chieftains at 11 a.m. Friday morning.
All tickets purchased at St. John's are $8 each and are reserved seats. The school will receive a percentage of all tickets purchased at St. John's High School. All tickets at the door will be $10. Gates open at 9:30 a.m.
A 'Welcome Home' ceremony will be held on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Robert Arnzen gymnasium.
DELPHOS -- Work to move the football field at Stadium Park is underway. The sod has been moved to the baseball diamond north of the field and workers are now laying the new drainage system. The project will be tackled in three phases: Phase I includes moving the existing football playing field approximately 10 feet north to allow more space for handicapped accessibility and more generous sidelines. Drainage and irrigation systems will be installed and new sod will be laid over a sand base as the field is recrowned. More than 1,000 tons of sand will be brought in and mixed with existing topsoil for the project. In addition, artificial grass will be installed on both sidelines to prevent deterioration where teams stand during games. Phase I will cost $300,000. Donations of all types are welcome.
Delphos St. John's defeated Sidney Lehman 32-13 on Friday in a Division VI state semifinal game at Wapakoneta. The Blue Jays will play for the state title at 11 a.m. Friday at Massillon Paul Brown Stadium.
The Blue Jays will play Bascom Hopewell-Loudon, which won 55-20 over Malvern.
WAPAKONETA – The Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays (11-2) and the Sidney Lehman Catholic Cavaliers (11-1) will do battle Friday night (7:30 p.m.) at Wapakoneta’s Harmon Field in a Division VI state semifinal contest with the winner gaining a berth in the state finals at Massillon.
Delphos St. John's 21 Carey 14;
KENTON - Delphos St. John's capitalized on two recovered fumbles and a roughing the kicker penalty to bump off Carey 21-14 in the Division IV football regional semifinals Friday at Kenton. The Blue Jays (10-2) advance to the regional championship game against Ada (12-0) next Friday at a site to be named. Carey ends its season 10-2. The Blue Jays led the whole game, including 14-0 after the first quarter and 14-7 at the half. St. John's held a 21-7 lead after three quarters, but Carey got within 21-14 with 8:36 to play. DSJ quarterback Wes Ulm paced the St. John's attack by completing 6-of-11 for 92 yards and touchdown. He also ran for 40 yards and a 25-yard score. Jordan Leininger finished with 58 yards on 14 carries. Overall, St. John's defense was steady, holding the wishbone to 213 total yards, 206 on the ground. St. John's linebacker Chris Pohlman finished with 14 tackles.
DELPHOS -- The Delphos St. John's Blue Jays will do some traveling in the second round of the playoffs. The Blue Jays, who are the VW-Area's lone team left in the 2008 playoff picture, will have to travel to Kenton Friday night. Delphos St. John's (9-2) will meet Carey (10-1) in the Division VI regional semifinals at 7:30 p.m.
