Football Set for High-Stakes Showdown vs. Unbeaten CVCA on Friday in Division III State Semifinals
The Central Catholic football team will continue its quest to secure a 7th state title in program history against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (13-0) on Friday, November 28 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division III semifinals at Fostoria Memorial Stadium (530 Stadium Dr., Fostoria, 44830). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Dick Kidwell Field and Friday’s neutral-site matchup will be live streamed on BCSN+, spectrumnews1.com, and OHSAA.tv. It can also be heard on The Ticket l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 6 p.m. or streamed online HERE.
Tickets for Friday’s game MUST be pre-purchased online at OHSAA.org/tickets (Division III, Select Game). All playoff tickets are General Admission. Tickets will cost $16 for adults and $10 for students. In addtion, there will be a $5 cash ONLY per car parking fee collected on site.
Should Central Catholic (10-4) make it to the state championship game for the 4th-consecutive year, it will face the winner of Columbus Bishop Watterson (12-0) and Tipp City Tippecanoe (13-0) on Friday, December 5 at 3 p.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (1835 Harrison Ave. Canton, 44708).
Central Catholic advanced to the ‘Final 4’ for the 10th time (2012, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’19, ’22, ’23, ’24, ‘25) in the last 14 seasons following a dominating 57-28 win vs. No. 5 seed Rocky River in the Region 10 Finals at Robert J. Bishop, Jr. Stadium.
The No. 6 seed Fighting Irish took advantage of a season-high 5 scores from junior RB Jeremiah Fuller. A 2025 CHSL All-Catholic selection, Fuller found the end zone on scoring runs of 10, 1, 8, 50, and 15 yards vs. the No. 6 seed Pirates (11-3), respectively. He finished with a season-high 277 yards rushing on 25 attempts, averaging a whopping 11.1 yards per carry.
CCHS also benefitted with a 74-yard kickoff return by senior RB Jerome Davis V, and a pair of short TD bursts from senior RB Anthony Sylvester to prompt a running clock for the 4th-straight postseason contest. Sylvester also had a nice game running the game, totaling 78 yards on 15 carries.
The 2-headed monster of Fuller and Sylvester helped Central Catholic accumulate a season-high 402 yards on the ground and a season-best 447 yards of total offense.
Overall this fall, Fuller has registered 1,464 yards on the ground and 25 TDs. In the postseason, he has totaled 550 yards on 54 carries and 12 scores.
In addition, Beydoun has completed 118-of-196 passes (59.6 percent) for 1,903 yards and 15 TDs. His favorite targets have been the Davis (29 catches, 256 yards, 1 TD), senior WR Preston Fryzel (28 receptions, 781 yards, 7 TDs), and junior WR Amari Eliano (22 catches, 346 yards, 2 TDs).
A member of the North Coast Conference, the Royals have notched postseason victories against No. 10 seed Geneva, 42-7, No. 6 seed Akron East, 30-0, and most recently, No. 4 seed Cleveland Villa Angela – St. Joseph, 42-7, to appear in the state semifinals for the 1st time in program history. They are led by Head Coach Nick Cook.
Central Catholic and CVCA will meet on the gridiron for the 1st time.
