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Magical Knight

MAGICAL KNIGHT
By Ben DiCola

St. Thomas Aquinas students swarmed the field at Sirpilla Stadium like bees in pursuit of honey. Nobody gave a second thought or had any inclination about October 2020 at Ralph Adams Stadium in Cuyahoga Heights. The Knights won a Division VI football playoff game that night, defeating Garfield Hts. Trinity, 42-26. Little did anyone know at the time that Aquinas would not savor another football victory until nearly four years later on October 4th, a 28-14 win at home against Crestline.

In between were 32 consecutive losses, five canceled games, one head coaching change, and too many running clocks in the second half to mention. For the Knights, it's a good thing that nothing in life lasts forever, and that includes 32-game losing streaks. For the school, St. Thomas has been on both ends of the spectrum. On the same night it severed its long-losing skid, the school welcomed back members of its fabled 1984 state championship team. From 1984 through 1985, Aquinas went a sterling 25-1-1, winning a state title in Division IV in '84 and finishing as state runner-up a year later. 

"My first thought after the game was the seniors," said Aquinas' second-year coach Kevin Henderson. "They have been through a lot these past few years and they've waited a long time for this." Henderson didn't discount the notion that with members of the '84 team in the house, it brought some much-needed positive karma. "Oh, I think it had a lot to do with it," the coach said. "It was my honor to see that team and Coach (Jack) Rose here. I'm just trying to get this program back to where it needs to be. (Tonight) this was a building block."

Before the game, the 1984 Knights gathered at the nearby Emmaus House just up the hill from Sirpilla Stadium. That team never had the opportunity to compete on its own home turf. Sirpilla Stadium opened in 2005. Prior to that, Aquinas played its home games at rival Central Catholic's stadium. Shawn Robertson was a linebacker on the '84 team. His daughter Bridget is a sophomore placekicker on this year's squad. She connected for four extra point kicks in the victory over Crestline. "When we went to St. V's (Akron St.Vincent-St.Mary) and won at Green Street, that was the turning point that season," Robertson recalled. "They were No. 1 in the state, and we went up there and beat them." Just seven nights later, Aquinas found itself entangled in a 7-7 tie with upstart Claymont at home. "That was a trap game the next week," he said. "But we hung in there and fought hard not to lose."

"That 7-7 tie, we were in the fight for our lives," added coach Jack Rose who also taught business law at Aquinas in the early years of the school. "We had a goal-line stand in that game, and we came off the field after that knowing what we had to do. After that game, we started scoring a ton of points." The Knights went to Lorain Catholic and blitzed the hosts, 69-13. Their post-season run included a comeback 40-24 win over Belpre, a 41-0 shutout against Mogadore followed by a 23-0 whitewash of Columbus Bishop Hartley in the championship game at Ohio Stadium. "We ran the ball during the season, but we threw it for 230 yards against Hartley," Rose said. "Chris Lorentz was our quarterback and he asked me if he could call a play! He had a perfect ACT score of 36, and our defensive captain was Steve Grossi. He had an ACT score of 35. Our kids were brilliant academically," Rose added. "On the field, you only had to tell them something once, and they had it."

Joel Weingart was a tight end on the '84 and '85 teams. He said the Knights had something else besides intellect. "We had great leadership, and we would hold people accountable," he said. "We had guys who were the first ones on the field or the weight room and the last ones out. Jim Kessler was responsible for a lot of that," added Weingart in reference to the school's long-time head trainer and weight training guru. "Kess had us prepared and we owe him a lot for the success we had."

Many believed Rose's best hire was Kessler. The Knights were on the cutting edge of weight training preparation when Kessler was brought on board in Rose's first season as head coach in 1980. Greatness was not immediate, but it was clear something great was brewing on Reno Drive. Chris Lang also returned to join his teammates and provided a touch of frivolity to the evening. He had seen that Rose was providing his best players with chances to earn a college scholarship, and Lang wanted to share in that joy. " I saw guys like Lorentz, Chris Soehnlen, and Darren Johnson getting scholarships," Lang said. "I told coach I wanted him to help me out. So, he gave me one. It said 'Massillon State' on it!'

Like clockwork, just moments after the '84 group stood on the track and watched the game, senior DJ Cross was off and running to the end zone for a 7-0 lead. The victory culminated with a 55-yard interception return for a score by Mehki Taylor. Karma? That's anyone's guess. But in sports, just as in life, nothing lasts forever...


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