BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
DETROIT — Ishpeming delivered Pewamo-Westphalia a taste of its own medicine in the Division 7 state finals.
The state powerhouse Hematites used a ball control offense and sterling running game to rally past fourth-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia, 22-16, for the D-7 state title Nov. 28 at Ford Field.
Second-ranked Ishpeming (13-0) scored on touchdown runs in the second, third and fourth quarters and came up with several key defensive stops en route to the crown.
Well-seasoned Ishpeming played in its fourth straight state finals game, fifth in six years and the seventh overall. It marked the Hematites’ third crown in four years and fifth overall in school history.
“I think being here before, it made a huge difference,” said Ishpeming coach Jeff Olson.
P-W lost in the finals for the second time in five years, as the Pirates also dropped a 56-26 decision to Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central in the 2011 D-7 finals.
The Hematites watched P-W drive down inside their 40 yard line during the last minute — and batted down two passes in the end zone. The last bat down was by senior Ozzy Corp with 32 seconds remaining on fourth-and-five to clinch the title.
Corp, who had 39 rushes in the state semifinals, collected 132 yards on 32 carries in the finals and scored all three touchdowns for Ishpeming. Just as important, Corp aided his team’s defensive effort that kept Pewamo-Westphalia 27.6 points below its average.
The Hemitites put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive the was capped by Corp’s 1-yard run with 3:52 to go that put Ishpeming in the driver’s seat for good.
“That’s our offense, too,” smiled Olson of the ball-control running game. “We like to think we have a good running game. We ate up a lot of clock in the second half. I think keeping the ball out of their offense’s hands was huge. When (the opposition) has the state’s top running back, you have to keep him off the field and we were able to do that for much of the second half.”
Corp, along with Thomas Finegan, are both fourth-year veterans for Ishpeming and well-schooled in the Hematites’ schemes.
“Our running game is a big part of our offense. We try to control the clock as best as we can,” said Corp, who finished 3-1 in state titles games. “It’s worked for us all season.”
Pewamo-Westphalia’s Jared Smith finished with 27 carries for 149 yards teams to leave his single-season state record at 3,245 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns, another single-season state mark.
Still, the Pirates were halted on the big stage despite defeating five ranked reams and seven total playoff opponents this season. P-W came in averaging 43.6 points an outing with 566 points on the board but was held to a season-low 16 points.
Pewamo-Westphalia (13-1) was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on its game opening drive. The drive ate up 7:55 of clock, yet the Pirates came up empty-handed.
“I think we left a lot of points out on the field,” sighed Pewamo-Westphalia coach Jeremy Miller. “We get stopped on the 1, we had a fumble … and we didn’t (convert) on a few of our drives. You cannot do that against an excellent football team like Ishpeming.”
Smith scored on a 25-yard scamper and Bryce Thelen caught the two-point conversion toss from Jimmy Lehman for an 8-0 lead with 11:51 left in second quarter.
On the Pirates’ first pass play of the day, Thelen rambled 50 yards on the catch and run toss from Lehman, and — conveniently — Smith plowed into the end zone on the conversion run for a 16-0 advantage with 9:17 remaining.
Pewamo-Westphalia would not score again, turning the ball over on downs on both of the Pirates’ second-half drives.
“You look at Ozzy and Finegan and some of our other kids, this is their 20th playoff game,” noted Olson. “You can only play in 20 of them in your career, they’ve been here four times, they know the what it’s like in the lights. They know the routine the day before, the morning of and I tally think that plays a big part because they weren’t phased by anything.”
Despite trailing for most of the game, Ishpeming — playing in its fourth straight state finals game — was not intimidated and eventually started to move the football.
The second-ranked Hematites went 71 yards over 13 plays and scored with 2:41 remaining in the first half. The drive was capped by Ozzy Corps’ 1-yard plunge, as Ishpeming settled for a 16-6 deficit at the half.
Ishpeming kept plugging away over the final two quarters and maintained possession of the football for more than 15 minutes of the second half.
“You have to give them credit,” said Miller. “They kept the ball for long stretches (in the second half). They made the plays.”
Corp scored his second touchdown of the game a 4-yard run with 5:06 left in the third quarter and the conversion brought the Hematites to within 16-14 with 5:06 left in the third quarter.
Coming this close to a dream and have it vanish will help motivate Smith and the returning Pirates for next season. Pewamo-Westphalia will only graduate nine of the 48 players on the postseason roster.
“We have a lot of guys coming back next year,” noted Smith. “We’ll get right back in the weight room and begin working for next year. We’ll try to make it back and I think we can. We know what it’s like now.”