PHOTO by TOM LINDER

St. Vincent-St. Mary football coach Dan Boarman speaks with an official during his team's 30-12 loss Friday night to Chagrin Falls in the Division III, Region 9 regional finals.

BEDFORD, Ohio – A key injury and a handful of mistakes ended the football season for St. Vincent-St. Mary on Friday in the Division III, Region 9 final at Bedford Bearcat Stadium.

The Fighting Irish (10-3) lost quarterback Kevin Besser in the second quarter and could never mount a significant offensive attack without him during their 30-12 loss to the Chagrin Falls Tigers.  Chagrin Falls now advances to face Cardinal Mooney in the state semifinals next weekend.

Trailing 9-7 in the second quarter, Besser scrambled for a 5-yard gain but went down clutching his left knee. The senior signal caller, who had previously injured the knee on Oct. 14, limped off the field and did not return. On the drive during which he was injured, Besser completed passes of 21 and 29 yards to junior receivers Jordan Hargrove and Franshon Bickley, respectively. Besser finished with two completions for 50 yards.

In addition to losing its starting quarterback, St. V-M made a series of mistakes that gave the Irish an uphill climb for the duration of the game. In all, St. V-M fumbled three times and was intercepted once.

Following Besser’s injury, the Irish turned to the running game. Three straight runs by senior tailback Sae’von Fitzgerald moved the Irish to the Chagrin Falls 10, but Fitzgerald fumbled on the next play after a 4-yard gain. Chagrin Falls took over at its own 6.

Fitzgerald, one of the season’s heroes, had two fumbles. The first was on St. V-M’s second play of the game. On a second-and-3 from their own 27, Fitzgerald and Besser mishandled a handoff, and Chagrin Falls’ Jack Campbell pounced on the loose ball.

Fortunately for the Irish, the fumble did not cost them points as St. V-M senior Tyler Bischof recovered a fumble by Chagrin Falls quarterback Tommy Iammarino six plays later to kill the Tigers’ drive, but the early miscue was an omen for the rest of the game.

“We made too many mistakes,” St. V-M coach Dan Boarman said. “You can’t beat a team like that making mistakes.”

St. V-M’s seniors looked stunned to see their season end in such fashion.

“Heart-broken,” was all Fitzgerald could utter. Fitzgerald gained 124 yards on 11 carries. His 78-shuffle and burst through the line was the best play of the night for the Irish.

One of the biggest miscues came at the start of the second quarter. Chagrin Falls’ Alex Hallwachs kicked a 28-yard field goal, his second of the game, but St. V-M still led 7-6. On the kickoff, Hallwachs kicked the ball high against a strong wind, and the ball hung in the air before bouncing in front of a St. V-M player deep in Irish territory. It was recovered by Tigers sophomore Michael Munday at the St. V-M 18.

Chagrin scored on another Hallwachs field goal four plays later and led 9-7.

St. V-M trailed 16-12 with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. Irish backup junior quarterback Clayton Uecker threw an interception at the St. V-M 35. On the next play, Bischof came up big once again for the Irish and intercepted Iammarino at the St. V-M 7. On the play after that, Uecker again went to the air with 33-yard pass to Bickley, who wrestled the ball away from the Chagrin Falls defender. As Bickley tried to break into the open field, he was stripped of the ball, and the Tigers’ Anthony DeCamillo recovered at the Chagrin Falls 45.  Bickley had four catches for 83 yards to lead all receivers.

It was the last time St. V-M would threaten.

The Tigers used the Power-I formation and strong running by Campbell to extend their lead and then shut the door on the Irish. Campbell finished with 116 yards on 21 carries. His biggest of the night was a 20-yarder in the fourth quarter that drove the ball to St. V-M’s 20-yard line. Three plays later and Campbell, a 202-pound junior, scored from six yards out to push the Tigers’ lead to 23-12.

Iammarino’s 4-yard touchdown run with 2:11 left sealed the victory.