Youngsters shine in lopsided 69-18 Warrior win

Oehlstrom, Colletti, Carman, Henry, Benner, McConnell score touchdowns

By Carol McIntire

Editor

Underclassmen shared the spotlight with Carrollton’s first string starters Friday under the football lights at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

Once the starting offense began to click late in the first quarter, they scored five touchdowns and built a 35-6 lead at halftime. The 30-plus point lead triggered a continuous clock in the second half and provided the opportunity for the younger players to shine, which they did, scoring 34 points en route to a lopsided 69-18 win. 

Carrollton’s first drive of the game ended in a missed field goal. That would be the only miscue of the night for the Warriors. 

After St. Thomas turned the ball over on downs with 3:26 left in the first quarter, senior quarterback Austin Colletti orchestrated a seven-play drive, capped off by a 43-yard scoring pass to junior running back Chase Oehlstrom for his first of four touchdowns in the first half. Junior kicker Quentin Rosenberger added the extra point and the Warriors were on their way. 

With less than one minute off the second quarter clock, Oehlstrom ran through and around the Knights on his way to another 43-yard touchdown. The extra point failed and Carrollton led 13-0.

Carrollton’s next score was set up when the Knights turned the ball over on downs at their own 29-yard line. Colletti found sophomore Josh Carmen open over the middle for a pass-and-catch to the 12-yard line. Oehlstrom took over from there, scoring on the next play. Rosenberger’s kick was good and Warriors stretched the lead to 19-0 with 9:02 left on the second quarter clock.

Less than two minutes later, Colletti found junior wide receiver Ethan Benner open down field. The junior wide receiver pulled down the pass, tucked it away and crossed the field for a 59-yard touchdown. Rosenberger added the extra point and Carrollton led 27-0.

The Knights started the next drive on their own 20-yard line and, on the first play from scrimmage, fumbled and turned the ball over to the visitors on their own 22-yard line. Oehlstrom picked up 10-yards on a first down carry to the 12-yard line. Colletti scored on the next play on a 12-yard keeper and then lobbed a pass over the St. Thomas line to an open Darick Miller for the two-point conversion. 

St. Thomas’s starting offense scored their only points of the first half on the next series when sophomore quarterback Owen Burick threw a six-yard pass to senior Luke Burick with 1:40 remaining in the half. The two -point conversion failed. 

It looked as through the two teams would end the half with Carrollton holding a commanding 29-point lead, but the Warriors had other things in mind.

After recovering an onside kick on their own 47-yard line, the Warriors quickly went to work. Colletti used his own legs to pick up a first down and then found Carmen open for a 16-yard gain to the Knights’ 22-yard line. Oehlstrom capped off the three-play drive with a 22-yard scamper to the end zone, dragging St. Thomas players with him as he crossed the pylon with 47 ticks left on the clock. Rosenberger added the extra point for a 42-6 Carrollton lead at halftime. 

The starters had the opportunity to cheer on their younger counterparts from the sideline in the second half. 

Sophomore Brandon Carman scored the first of his two second-half touchdowns on a six-yard run with 7:03 left in the third quarter. He added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter on a two-yard run. Rosenberger was good on both extra-point kicks. 

Senior Hunter Henry scored a touchdown on a 70-yard kickoff return with 3:40 remaining in the third period and sophomore Isiah Mc Connell closed out the Carrollton scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run with 4:17 left on the clock in the fourth period. Rosenberger added his seventh extra point of the night to close out the game. 

With the non-league win, the Warriors improved to 2-1 on the season. St. Thomas fell to 0-3.

Carrollton will host Canton South this Friday at Community Field at 7 p.m. Senior golfers and cross country runners will be recognized prior to the game.