To say that No. 11 Mentor and No. 16 St. Edward are evenly matched would be an understatement. Friday night, Mentor nipped the defending Division I state champs 36-35 in overtime, which practically mirrored the season-opener between the two won by Mentor 29-28.
Mentor, which advances to the state semifinals with the victory, had to fight back from a 21-7 first half deficit with junior quarterback Ian Kipp leading the way with his arm and legs.
Down 28-14 in the third, the Cardinals were able to send the game into overtime with a 25-yard flea-flicker from Kipp to Luke Floriea and another Kipp TD pass to Brian Trobel.
In overtime, St. Ed got the ball first and scored to take a 35-28 lead.
TOUCHDOWN EAGLES!! Joey Formani with the grab!!
— St. Edward Football (@SEHS_FOOTBALL) November 23, 2019
Eagles:35
Cardinals:28 pic.twitter.com/YAID5O4maj
Kipp scored on a fourth down keeper and then Mentor decided to go for the win.
Final:
— St. Edward Football (@SEHS_FOOTBALL) November 23, 2019
Touchdown Mentor. 2 pt try is good.
Eagles:35
Cardinals:36 pic.twitter.com/oHg7bzoxZA
Kipp finished with three passing touchdowns and two on the ground.
Caught up with Ian Kipp, who scored the game-tying TD and threw the game-winning 2 point conversion as @MentorAthletics beat @sehsathletics @SEHS_FOOTBALL 36-35 to advance to the State Semifinals. @wkyc #3HSSports pic.twitter.com/vLL19y2WHY
— Dave DeNatale (@dinocleveland) November 23, 2019
Mentor, which has never won a state title in football, will face No. 95 Pickerington Central next week in the semifinals.
