Three chairs to Schobel's right sat his son, Adam, the senior quarterback of the team who had just been named the Offensive MVP following an electric performance on the biggest stage at AT&T Stadium.

"It's easily my favorite victory that I've ever been a part of at any level as a player or a coach," said Schobel, who played at TCU and in the NFL after graduating from Columbus. "Obviously, it's special with having some kids on the team and nephews. But this whole team, I've been with them since they first got into high school, and they've always done everything we've asked of them. When you come up short in previous years, that's just life, that's athletics. But to see it work out for them, their personal goals and our team goal -- really cool, really fulfilling."