McDonald football’s 100th season came to a close on Friday, falling in the Division VII state semifinals to Jeromesville Hillsdale, 41-14.

On its first play from scrimmage, Hillsdale senior tailback Owen Sloan took the handoff 79 yards down the field to put the Falcons on the board. Late in the first, they scored again, this time on a screen pass to Ayden Salyer, capping off a five-minute drive that started on Hillsdale’s 26-yard line. That quick lead set the tone for the state semifinal.

The screen game was the Falcons’ biggest asset on Friday, scoring three of their four first half touchdowns via screen passes. Hayden McFadden and Davis Radcliffe each scored off screens, from 89 yards and 42 yards, respectively.

McDonald got its first points on the board from a 6-yard run from Casey Miller early in the second quarter. The Blue Devils were set up by a long kick return by Josh Krumpak to give McDonald field position.

Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, that was their lone score of the first half, going into the locker room trailing 27-7.

The second half was more of the same for Hillsdale, who received the opening kickoff. The Falcons drove 85 yards down the field, culminating in a touchdown from Sloan.

But McDonald wasn’t going to lay down without a fight.

On the ensuing possession, the Blue Devils made their way down the field. Jordan Perry set McDonald up at the goal line, and Krumpak got the nod, rushing in and cutting the deficit to 34-14.

That gave the Blue Devils some added momentum on the following Hillsdale possession, as McDonald stuffed the Falcons on a fourth-and-1 to give the Blue Devils great field position and a chance to further cut into their deficit. But quarterback Kyle Puckett threw an interception to Aiden Hoffman, giving the ball back to the Falcons.

McDonald wouldn’t find the end zone again.

Sloan scored once more in the fourth quarter for Hillsdale to help secure the win.

The loss was McDonald’s first of the season, ending a 12-1 campaign in 2025. This was the Blue Devils’ fourth time reaching the state final four, and the first time since 1994, when McDonald was the state runner up. The Blue Devils graduate 12 seniors from this year’s group.

The Falcons (13-1) advance to the state finals where they’ll face St. Henry on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in Canton.