CANTON — A torrential downpour. A lightning delay. An unexpected underdog champion.
The first OHSAA girls flag football state tournament at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium had it all on Saturday, May 16.
The day started with dark clouds and raindrops but ended with smiles for Nordonia. The fourth-seeded Knights from the Cleveland Browns Division upset three teams to earn the first ever OHSAA state championship in the sport.
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Nordonia defeated No. 4-seeded Mount Notre Dame from the Cincinnati Bengals Division 20-19 in the state championship game after beating No. 1-seeded Hamilton Badin 13-0 from the Cincinnati Bengals Division in the quarterfinals and No. 3-seeded Burton Berkshire 38-20 from the Cleveland Browns Division in the state semifinals.
Nordonia clinched the state title in dramatic fashion. Ava McLendon caught a touchdown with under a minute to go in the second half to give the Knights the one-point win. Mount Notre Dame got the ball back with approximately 50 seconds to play but the Nordonia defense held to secure the victory.
It looked like it might be a runaway win for Nordonia early in the state title game. The Knights (15-1) intercepted Mount Notre Dame on the first play of the game and built an early 14-0 lead. Nyla Burns and Charlotte Naymik each had a touchdown reception for Nordonia.
Mount Notre Dame (15-2) was far from finished. The Cougars scored 20 unanswered points to gain the lead early in the second half. Hayden Emlinger and Kaylee Watson had touchdown catches for Mount Notre Dame.
Eight teams competed in the first state tournament at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. In other quarterfinals, Mount Notre Dame defeated Madison 26-20, Midview beat Cincinnati Princeton 15-14 and Berkshire downed St. Ursula 38-18. Mount Notre Dame then defeated Midview 14-13 to reach the state championship game before falling to Nordonia.
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Nordonia wins first OHSAA girls flag football state tournament
Reporting by Cliff Hickman, Canton Repository / The Repository
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