A journey that many would have said was impossible six years ago met a joyous conclusion Friday in Massillon for Bellefontaine native Chris Schmidt.
Schmidt, a 1996 Bellefontaine High School graduate, led his New Bremen football team to a commanding 31-0 victory over Warren JFK in the Division VII state championship game at Paul Brown Stadium.
When Schmidt took over the Cardinals in 2015, they were in midst of a 24-game losing streak.
However, the former Chieftain gradually rebuilt the program into a winner.
After a 9-4 season last year that saw the Cardinals reach the regional final, they pulled off a sensational playoff run this season that was capped by Friday’s shutout victory in the title game.
The Cardinals (10-2) led 7-0 at halftime and then pulled away with a 17-point third quarter. They tacked on another touchdown in the final period.
New Bremen took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a 39-yard Hunter Schaefer touchdown run. Schaefer’s run finished off a nine-play, 80-yard drive.
The Cardinals increased their lead to 14-0 at the 9:09 mark of the third quarter when Mitchell Hays scored from one yard out.
Owen Gabel, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on his extra-point kicks, booted a 20-yard field goal with 6:02 left in the third period to give the Cardinals a 17-0 advantage.
The Cardinals then capitalized on a huge special teams play for their next score. David Homan fielded a punt and brought it back 45 yards for a touchdown, pushing New Bremen to a 24-0 advantage.
The Cardinals tacked on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dan Homan to Mitchell Hays in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.
New Bremen finished with 247 total yards while holding JFK to only 133 yards of offense.
JFK (9-3) mustered only 61 rushing yards on 33 attempts.
Schaefer led New Bremen’s rushing attack with 101 yards on 15 carries and Hays had 60 yards on 18 rushes.
Hays was 5-of-6 passing for 81 yards.