Football: Upper Arlington Golden Bears’ stellar season ends in state semifinal

In time, disappointment should give way to perspective for the Upper Arlington football team.

The Golden Bears won their first 14 games, were ranked as high as third in the state and pulled off the program’s deepest playoff run since the Division I state championship team of 2000 went 15-0.

But none of that was any consolation to UA after a 16-10 loss to Lakewood St. Edward in a state semifinal Nov. 26 at Arlin Field in Mansfield.

The Eagles took away the balanced offense that got the Bears that far in the first place, and although UA’s defense held St. Edward to a season low in points, gave up only three plays of more than 15 years and forced seven punts, the season ended two wins short of the only satisfactory result.

“We did a lot, but at the end of the day our expectation was to win every game and we didn’t do that,” senior quarterback Simon Monnin said, holding back tears. “We’re not going to be happy with the outcome.”

UA, which averaged 38.1 points and 357.1 yards of offense in its first 14 games, was held to 131 yards. Senior running back Carson Gresock, the district Offensive Player of the Year and OCC-Central Division co-Player of the Year, was limited to 36 yards on 14 carries and finished the season with 2,366 yards and 33 touchdowns on 287 carries.

The Bears’ only touchdown came on senior Sam Cannon’s 94-yard kickoff return in the final minute of the first quarter. That tied the game at 7 and answered a 48-yard touchdown pass from Christian Ramos to Rayshawn Manning Jr. moments earlier.

Senior kicker Zac Yoakam made a 19-yard field goal as the first half expired to give UA a 10-7 lead, but that came after the Bears had first-and-goal at the St. Edward 9-yard line. Each of the seven plays UA ran across midfield came on that possession.

The Bears got the ball back with 31 seconds left on their own 1, but senior Doak Buttermore was tackled in the end zone for a safety to effectively end the game.

“We did not have our best offensive effort, but their defense was exceptional,” coach Justin Buttermore said. “We kept a much bigger team at bay most of the night, but we couldn’t get anything rolling offensively.”

With 28 seniors on the roster, UA’s postseason run was the latest step in a turnaround that began in March 2020 when Buttermore was hired as the team’s fourth coach in less than two calendar years.

The Bears went 3-5 last season and made their first playoff appearance since 2015, then after opening this year with a comeback 42-41 win over Reynoldsburg on Aug. 20 did not play a game decided by fewer than 17 points until edging perennial power Pickerington Central 21-14 in triple overtime in the Region 3 final Nov. 19 at Westerville Central.

Behind a senior-laden offensive line, Monnin completed 162 of 242 passes for 2,210 yards and 30 touchdowns — breaking by one the previous program record set in 1998 by Kyle Slager — with four interceptions.

Cannon set program records in receptions (60) and receiving touchdowns (18) and finished with 884 yards. Classmate Chris Mazzaferri caught 36 passes for 603 yards and six scores.

Senior linebacker Carter Brock led the defense with 107.5 tackles, including 10 for loss, and an interception. He was named first-team all-league along with Doak Buttermore (DB/RB), Gresock, Monnin and senior offensive linemen Jacob Pritchett and John Pritchett as well as first-team all-district with Buttermore, Monnin and Jacob Pritchett.

Cannon and Yoakam were second-team all-league with classmates Luke Frederick (DB) and Riley Shimp (OL) and junior Collin Ansel (LB), and second-team all-district.

Senior linebacker Asher Hamilton was special mention all-league and special mention all-district along with Frederick and John Pritchett. Junior defensive back James Hayek was honorable mention all-league and honorable mention all-district with senior defensive back Kuyper Lashutka.

Other players eligible to return include juniors Joey Harder (TE), Henry Rappolt (OL) and Lance Thrush (WR) and sophomore Stephen Ye (LB).

“We weren’t a great team at the beginning of the year, but we became a great team because of (the seniors’) leadership,” coach Buttermore said. “I’m proud of the legacy they left. They brought the community back to loving football and got the young kids and school excited about football again. That’s what we wanted to do.”

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave

UPPER ARLINGTON FOOTBALL

•Record: 14-1 overall

•OCC-Central standings: Upper Arlington (5-0), Hilliard Bradley and Hilliard Davidson (both 3-2), Olentangy Liberty (2-3), Dublin Coffman and Olentangy Orange (both 1-4)

•Seniors lost: Jake Badgeley, Charlie Ballou, Carter Brock, Doak Buttermore, Grant Cameron, Sam Cannon, Luke Frederick, Nikko Gerber, Dino Gesouras, Carson Gresock, Asher Hamilton, Hayden Kegg, Kuyper Lashutka, Reid Martin, Chris Mazzaferri, Charles McCarty, John Mollmann, Simon Monnin, Ned Neely, Aidan Oliver, Jacob Pritchett, John Pritchett, Jack Purcell, Chris Reynolds, Doug Ryan, Jonathan Schenk, Riley Shimp and Zac Yoakam

•Key returnees: Collin Ansel, James Hayek, Henry Rappolt, Lance Thrush and Stephen Ye

•Postseason: Def. Thomas Worthington 56-0; def. Reynoldsburg 31-12; def. New Albany 41-10; def. Pickerington Central 21-14 (3OT); lost to Lakewood St. Edward 16-10 in Division I state semifinal

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Football: Upper Arlington’s stellar season ends in state semifinal