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CHILLICOTHE — Unioto’s football program is currently hurting.
Many tears were shed on Friday night and the sting of a season-ending loss is still resonating.
But in the near future, and then for years to come, this year’s group is going to look back on the season they had and remember just how special it was.
The Shermans (9-2) came to the end of the road in a Division IV, Region 16 first round playoff game, falling to Urbana by a 56-21 final.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“I’m very proud of these guys,” Unioto coach Matt Hoops said. “I told them after the game that every team in Division IV is going to have this feeling at some point except one. It just so happens that our turn to do that was tonight.”
Urbana (8-3) was aggressive and physical from the get-go.
The Hillclimbers’ defense forced a three-and-out to get things started before quarterback Will Donahoe led Urbana on the night’s first scoring drive.
Donahoe found Aiden Bradshaw twice on the drive, gaining 74 yards on the two plays, before Austin Hill plunged into the end zone for a 7-0 lead from a yard out.
The Shermans again went three-and-out and Donahoe and company, again, made them pay.
On 4th & 7 from Unioto’s 18-yard line, Donahoe found Julian Davis for an 18-yard score, pushing the lead to 14-0 with just under eight minutes to play in the first quarter.
Unioto, to its credit, provided an answer.
Ashton Crace returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to Urbana’s 39-yard line. A few plays later, Newton Hoops found his brother Blake for a 28-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit in half.
The two would repeat that process after their defense forced a three-and-out of its own. Just before the first quarter ended, Newton found Blake for a 39-yard score, capping a 78-yard drive and forcing a 14-14 tie.
“[Urbana] is well-coached, they’re athletic and their quarterback is elusive,” Matt Hoops said. “It was a tough matchup. But we weren’t going anywhere. We knew it was going to be a fight and a battle. We talked about that in the locker room before it started. It’s a playoff game. You’re not going to just walk out there and do what you want on every single snap. But are you going to answer that or are you going to fold up? We didn’t fold. We kept battling.”
Unfortunately for the Shermans, so did Urbana.
Before halftime, the Hillclimbers forced two turnovers and tacked on 21 unanswered points to their total — a 29-yard pass from Donahoe to Bradshaw, a one-yard run from Hill and a 14-yard pass to Colton Teepe.
All of the sudden, Unioto was in a 35-14 hole at the break.
And it didn’t get better in the second half as Urbana kept its foot firmly on the gas pedal.
The Hillclimbers took a 42-14 lead with 9:45 left in the third on a third one-yard touchdown run from Hill. Unioto answered with another Hoops-Hoops touchdown connection, this time from 17 yards out, at the 11:12 mark in the fourth.
But just 12 seconds later, Donahoe scampered 80 yards to the end zone, delivering the knockout punch before the Hillclimbers found the end zone one more time to end the night.
The end of Unioto’s season signals the end of, by all accounts, one of the best in school history.
The Shermans earned nine wins, the program’s sixth postseason berth, their first SVC title since 1998 and their first Gold Ball since 1981.
“This group, last year, felt like they should’ve won the league,” Matt Hoops said. “We didn’t and they had to face that. They embraced it pretty much all offseason and led that charge into this season. We stumbled a little early on. But we came back better and stronger. That has to do with our seniors. It’s a hard night for them and it’s a hard night for our underclassmen because you can see it written on their faces how much the seniors meant to them.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
One of those seniors is the team’s leader and signal caller in Newton Hoops.
During his four-year career, Hoops basically rewrote the school’s record books. He set new high marks in career, single-season and single-game passing yards and touchdowns.
He ends his stay as a Sherman with 62 touchdown passes, 32 of which came in 2023, and well over 5,400 passing yards.
“He and I will both tell you that it’s not been easy,” Matt Hoops said of Newton. “Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure on the quarterback and coach. That’s especially true when you lose. You’re going to get all the negatives. We knew that. There’s been a lot of late nights and tough discussions. But Newton is a hard worker, he competes and he loves his teammates. He’s just a great kid. I’m really proud of him.”
While this year’s senior class leaves the program, they leave a foundation of success behind.
Hoops is hoping next year’s team can continue carrying that torch.
“I think this team is going to be the team that sets the standard for what we want to accomplish,” Matt Hoops said. “We see how hard we’ve worked to get to where we are, and that’s still not where we want to be. This year’s team took a step from where we were last year. Hopefully next year’s team will take another step. We’ll just keep building. That’s what I hope happens.”
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