NEW PHILADELPHIA — Dan Williams was just 29 years old in 2000 when he accepted the football coaching job at McDonald High School, the place where graduated in 1988.
Fast-forward a quarter of a century and 184 wins later and the now-Trumbull County Sports Hall of Famer has his Blue Devils knocking on the door of the first football state championship.
McDonald (13-0) will take on Hillsdale (12-1) in the Division VII state semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium in New Philadelphia, a historic ball yard that opened in 1936 and seats 4,400 fans.
The OHSAA announced semifinal playoff locations on Sunday.
St. Henry (12-1), which ended Marion Local’s 76-game winning streak on Friday with a 24-7 win, will take on Columbus Grove (10-3) in the other semifinal at Memorial Stadium in Troy.
The winners will meet Dec. 6 at 10:30 a.m. in the state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
McDonald, celebrating its 100th season of high school football in 2025, advanced by winning a regional title game Friday against perennial-power Mogadore, 42-21.
It was the Blue Devils’ first postseason win in seven tries against Mogadore, a four-time state champion and regional runner-up for the sixth time in eight years.
McDonald set the tone by scoring on its opening drives of the first and second halves and never trailed.
The Blue Devils impressed the opposing coach on Friday night.
“We’d have had to have scored almost every time we possessed the ball,” Mogadore coach Matt Adorni told the Kent-Ravenna Record Courier after the game. “They were really hard to get off the field.”
Hillsdale defeated Danville, 25-20, in a regional championship game Friday night, just one season removed from last year’s state title game loss to Marion Local.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline said. “It’s a regional championship. It should be a close game.”
McDonald, a Trumbull County community of about 3,100 residents located about 45 minutes east of Akron, also knows the pain of losing in state title games.
The Blue Devils, who have never won a state title, lost to Fort Recovery, 20-7, in the 1994 state championship game and to Minster, 16-7, in the 1989 title game.
McDonald, which has only had 11 coaches in its century of football, recorded the 17th undefeated season in program history while winning a league title for the 33rd time. The Blue Devils own three regional crowns.
McDonald presents a great deal of balance on offense with two 1,000-yard running backs (Drew Zajack and Casey Miller) and a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior quarterback (Kyle Puckett), who has passed for more than 1,700 yards.
Zajack (6-foot-3 and 215 pounds), a state discus champion in track, also plays defensive end.
Miller had 171 yards on 21 carries against Mogadore. Zajack added 98 yards on 23 attempts. Puckett completed 8-of-12 passes for 110 yards.
Defensively, McDonald is also yielding just 13.25 points per game, though the Blue Devils have not recorded a single shutout.
Hillsdale too has been making plays all season. The Falcons are led by the most successful senior class in the history of the program, already posting more than 40 wins in four years.
The Falcons have scored more than 40 points in a game seven times this season.
Hillsdale has learned heavily on record-setting running back Owen Sloan, quarterback Kael Lewis and receiver Hayden McFadden.
Sloan is the program’s career rushing leader and has gained more than 1,800 yards this season. Sloan rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns in Hillsdale’s win over Danville.
Just a junior, Lewis has rewritten Hillsdale’s record book, passing for more than 2,000 yards in 2025.
McFadden is one of the most accomplished receivers in north central Ohio history. He has 700-plus receiving yards and 11 TDs.
OHSAA Football State Semifinal Playoff Pairings
All games on Friday, November 28, at 7 p.m.
Designated home team listed first.
Winner of first game listed in pairings will be designated home team in state championship game.
State championship games December 4-6 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton
Division I
Middletown (11-2) vs. Cincinnati St. Xavier (10-2) at Dayton Welcome Stadium
Lakewood St. Edward (11-2) vs. Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (13-0) at Mansfield Arlin Field
State Championship: Friday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.
Division II
Avon (12-1) vs. Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (11-1) at University of Akron InfoCision Stadium
Cincinnati Anderson (13-0) vs. Sunbury Big Walnut (12-1) at Historic Crew Stadium, Columbus
State Championship: Thursday, December 4, 7 p.m.
Division III
Toledo Central Catholic (10-4) vs. Cuyahoga Falls CVCA (12-0) at Fostoria Memorial Stadium
Tipp City Tippecanoe (13-0) vs. Columbus Bishop Watterson (12-0) at Mason Tri-Health/Beacon Stadium
State Championship: Friday, December 5, 3 p.m.
Division IV
Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (12-0) vs. Cleveland Glenville (10-3) at Minerva High School
Shelby (13-0) vs. Cincinnati Indian Hill (13-0) at Sidney Memorial Stadium
State Championship: Friday, December 5, 10:30 a.m.
Division V
Wheelersburg (13-0) vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (10-2) at Westerville Central High School
Liberty Center (13-0) vs. Lewistown Indian Lake (11-2) at Lima Spartan Stadium
State Championship: Saturday, December 6, 7:30 p.m.
Division VI
North Robinson Colonel Crawford (13-1) vs. Kirtland (13-0) at Parma Byers Field at Robert Boulton Stadium
Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (12-1) vs. Coldwater (10-4) at Wapakoneta Mercy Health Wapak VFW Field
State Championship: Saturday, December 6, 3 p.m.
Division VII
Columbus Grove (10-3) vs. St. Henry (12-1) at Troy Memorial Stadium
McDonald (13-0) vs. Jeromesville Hillsdale (12-1) at New Philadelphia Quaker Stadium
State Championship: Saturday, December 6, 10:30 a.m.
