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The 2004 postseason

-A stirring halftime speech by defensive coordinator Bill Roberts lit a fire under the Flyers who trailed 7th-seeded Mogadore 28-8. St. Paul was able to make it 28-16 at the end of three periods when Zack Wasiniak plunged in and Justin Nickoli snared the 2-point pass. As the Flyers raced against time, Mogadore went conservative and tried to keep the clock moving. St. Paul quarterback Trevor Strohm fired a bullet to John McFadden for a 20-yard touchdown pass and Frank Blechschmidt pulled in the two-pointer to make it 28-24 with 4:04 remaining. Strohm had taken the Flyers 78 yards in 89 seconds. Mogadore refused to throw the ball and was forced into a punt with 1:01 left. Strohm again hit receiver after receiver bringing the Flyers to the goal line with short time remaining. He then found Nickoli in the right corner for the game-winner.

-Still riding high following the team's emotional win against Mogadore, the Flyers looked to grab another post-season win from Cuyahoga Heights. The Flyers drove 64 yards on the opening drive to make an early statement. Although the Flyers misfired on the conversion, they were back in the end zone 16 seconds later when Brett Welfle picked off a wobbly pass and raced in from 40 yards out and the rout was on. St. Paul scored four more touchdowns in the first half to lead 40-0 on 323 yards of total offense. The second half was merely a curtain call for the Flyers who marched 66 yards - Gabe Stoll collecting the final 15 on a right side run, his third score of the night. The Flyers improved to 3-1 against the Redskins with prior wins in 1997 and 1999.

-The Flyers were desperate for a second showdown with hated rival Monroeville after the Eagles surprised the Flyers 19-6 in week five. The two teams met in cold, drizzly conditions in Elyria and the Eagles forged ahead 7-0 after one. St. Paul responded with a clutch 4th down touchdown pass from the 11 to take the 8-7 lead. The Flyers trailed 15-8 at halftime, but took the lead back on an electrifying 64-yard touchdown pass from Strohm to Nickoli. St. Paul lengthened its lead in the fourth period on a Gabe Stoll run. The Flyer lead stood at 24-15 with 3:58 remaining in regulation. Any Eagle comeback hopes were dashed on the very next play when Adam Schaffer batted a Kurt Leber pass to himself and raced 45 yards to send the Flyer Nation into a frenzy. The Flyers clinched their fourth regional title.
 

-St. Paul's next opponent was enjoying a magical first-time ride through the playoffs. Hicksville's Aces were 12-1 and had eliminated the defending state champions two weeks prior. The Flyers established the line of scrimmage from the opening bell and built a 22-0 halftime lead as Trevor Strohm found Adam Schaffer from six yards out and Justin Nickoli from 10. Sandwiched between the passing strikes was a six-yard run by Joe Stoll and the Flyers had all they'd need after 24 minutes. The St. Paul defense kept the previously powerful Aces running game in check all evening and forced Hicksville into three deadly turnovers - the first of which was a fumble that led to the first score of the night. St. Paul's win propelled the team into its third state championship game since 1997.

 

- Light flurries and a crisp breeze welcomed the Flyer Nation in Massillon as the St. Paul Flyers came into town for their third attempt at state gold. The very first drive of the game set the tone of missed opportunities for the Flyers. Taking the opening kickoff, St. Paul went 60 yards to the Hardin-Northern three. Trevor Strohm's next pass was picked off in the end zone to end the threat. owever, St. Paul was still able to draw first blood when Strohm found Josh McFadden for 69 yards to the Polar Bear one. Corey Spaar busted through on the following play to give the Flyers the lead. The 2-point try was successful and for the third time in state final contests, the Flyers had scored first.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, Spaar's run would be the extent of their highlights on the day. Using a jumbo set, Hardin-Northern banged out 235 rushing yards on the day and controlled the clock. Late in the first half, St. Paul had two shots at the end zone from the Polar Bear three, but both Strohm passes were deflected and the Flyers came away empty-handed. Leading by six after three, the Bears put one final touchdown on the board when Michael Ridgeway scored from the three to make it 20-8. The Flyers accepted the state's silver runner-up trophy for the third time, joining Columbus Bishop Watterson, Cincinnati St. Xavier and Lakewood St. Edward as teams who dropped their first three attempts at winning state crowns.

Attendance: 6,269 fans

- St. Paul shared the Firelands Conference title with both Monroeville and Ashland Crestview as all three schools finished at 6-1 in conference play.

- The Flyer offense in 2004 rivaled that of the 1997 Flyers.  The 537 points scored by the ’04 Flyers was 74 fewer than the record 611 set in 1997, but the ’04 Flyer offense set new program marks in total yardage  (1,909), first downs in a season  (310), most passing yards in a season  (2,371) and largest margin of victory in a single game  (67 vs. Mapleton on Oct. 2).

- Outstanding quarterback Trevor Strohm ended his merciless assault on the Flyer single-season passing record books when he threw for 2,358 yards, 26   touchdowns, attempted 263 passes and completed 154 pass attempts.  He established career records for touchdown passes (45) and completions (284).

- Joe Stoll set a new program record for tackles in a season in 2004 when he was credited with 208.

- St. Paul’s incredible 24-point, second-half rally against Mogadore was the biggest deficit the Flyers have ever erased to win a post-season game.  In an ironic twist, it was Mogadore which shocked the state with a furious second-half rally to beat St. Henry in the 1996 state finals.  Mogadore trailed 35-3 and won 61-58.

- The same night the Flyers took on the Cuyahoga Heights Redskins in Lorain, the Flyers volleyball squad eliminated the Redskins in Dayton to advance to the state championship match.

- St. Paul’s state championship game vs. Hardin-Northern was the closest contested game of the six during championship weekend.  The margin of victory was 40 points in Division I, 21 in Division II, 13 in Division III, 22 in Division IV and 28 in Division V.  Only the D-VI game remained in doubt in the final five minutes.