JEROMESVILLE — St. Henry’s championship pedigree speaks for itself.

While fellow Midwest Athletic Conference powerhouse Marion Local has reigned over Ohio small-school football since the dawn of the new millennia, it was St. Henry that put the MAC on the map in the 1990s.

The Redskins won four state titles in the 1990s (’90, ’92, ’94, ’95) and two more in the 2000s (’04, ’06). That dynasty was fueled by NFL talent, including offensive linemen Jim Lachey and Jeff Hartings, as well as quarterback Bob Hoying.

St. Henry is gunning for state title No. 7 at 10:30 a.m. Saturday against Hillsdale in the Division VII final at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

“St. Henry is a great program from a great conference,” Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline said. “Coming out of the MAC and coming out of their region (Region 28), they’re going to be the best team we’ve played.”

The Falcons counter with a squad even better than the one that reached last year’s Division VII championship game. Hillsdale fell to Marion Local 74-0.

“I think they would compete very well in our league,” said St. Henry coach Josh Werling, who compared Hillsdale schematically to Fort Recovery and New Bremen.

Know Your Foe

St. Henry finished second in the MAC to Marion Local. The Redskins lost to the Flyers in Week 3 of the regular season, but avenged that defeat with a convincing 24-7 pounding in the Region 28 final — snapping Marion’s national-best winning streak at 76 games.

“We’re a senior-led team and that helped carry us through some of the trials and tribulations of our league,” said Werling, a defensive back and receiver on St. Henry’s 2004 and 2006 state championship teams.

“Our league is not forgiving.”

The Redskins followed the win over Marion with a 13-10 victory over battle-tested Columbus Grove in last week’s semifinals.

“That Columbus Grove team was excellent,” Werling said. “You’re talking about a team that has won four regional championships in a row.”

St. Henry quarterback Charlie Werling was the MAC Offensive Player of the Year. He led the MAC in rushing with 1,313 yards and 24 touchdowns on 195 carries.

The Redskins lean on a physical offensive line anchored by senior center and MAC first-teamer Jake Schwieterman (6-foot-2, 230 pounds).

Tackle Nick Lefeld (6-3, 240) and tight end Brayden Heath (6-1, 195) joined Schwieterman on the MAC first team. Senior guard Henry Puthoff (6-2, 280) was a MAC second-teamer.

St. Henry led the MAC in total offense (330.9 ypg) and ranked second in scoring offense (31.1 ppg).

The Redskins ranked second in rush defense (81.5 ypg), total defense (181.2 ypg) and scoring defense (9.4 ppg). Linebacker Anderson Kramer had 81.5 tackles.

High-flying Falcons

Hillsdale’s offense is led by Kael Lewis, a record-setting junior quarterback. Senior running back Owen Sloan is the program’s career rushing leader.

“Their quarterback is a great decision-maker in their (run-pass option) game,” Werling said. “I think their running back is a very good player.

“We’re going to have our hands full, for sure.”

The lessons learned in last year’s championship game loss have served the Falcons well this fall.

“For us it was a great opportunity for our players to see what else is out there,” Cline said. “We were a great team last year, but there is another level out there.

“It was a great opportunity to see what the standard is and work toward that.”