BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio – Tavien St. Clair has played his final high school football game for Bellefontaine High School. Ohio State’s five-star quarterback recruit and the Chieftains lost in the first round of the OHSAA playoffs to Chaminade Julienne, 44-28.
It would have been hard to find a dry eye after the game at AcuSport Stadium in Bellefontaine as St. Clair and the Bellefontaine seniors said their goodbyes to high school football with teammates, coaches, family and fans.
As per tradition at Bellefontaine, all the non-seniors lined up in the end zone as the seniors walked across sharing hugs, handshakes and love with their underclassmen. St. Clair had experienced the tradition three times in his career, but it was completely different on the seniors’ side.
“I was dreading it, for sure,” St. Clair said of the end zone walk. “The end is eventually going to happen, you know. It’s a surreal moment, but at the same time … it’s just devastating, I felt the tears and the emotion from the other side of it.
“When I got to my little brother, I think that’s when it hit me the most.”
St. Clair’s younger brother, Reign St. Clair, is a freshman quarterback for Bellefontaine. Seeing his brother grow and develop over the course of the season has been one of the highlights of Tavien’s year. And being able to experience the evening and share emotions with Reign, along with the rest of his family, was nothing short of special for Tavien.
“I don’t even know where to start,” St. Clair said about the love and support of his family.
“The support I’ve had from my family is unlike any other. I don’t know if any other family supports the way my family does. I love everyone in my family. They’re proud of me, they’re going to love me through it and I always know I can lean on them to help me out.”
Countless Bellefontainites watched from across the way as the seniors made their way through the end zone. At the conclusion of the hugs and greetings with the underclassman and coaches, all members of the football program huddled together for one last chant.
After a loud “One, Two, Three, Family” roared from the huddle, the Bellefontainites watching erupted into applause and cheer.
St. Clair has never been short to credit the community of Bellefontaine for all the positive support the team has received over the years, and he left a message for all of them.
“I appreciate all the support, it was unlike any other,” he said. “Continue to support the way you do and you’ll find that the team will have success because of the support we get from you. I don’t think the community realizes how much we feed off them and how big of a role they play. I love this community and wouldn’t change it for the world.
“We fought as hard as we could for our ‘lil reign here in Bellefontaine.”
After addressing teammates, family and fans, there was no one left to address but himself.
St. Clair used a variety of words to describe how he was feeling after the loss, spanning from “disappointed” and “sad” to “grateful” and “thankful.” After racking up a career featuring just under 10,000 passing yards, over 100 passing touchdowns and three conference offensive player of the year awards, he left one last message for himself.
“I don’t like having this feeling at all so for me I always tell myself I never want to feel this pain again,” St. Clair said. “I think that’s just going to drive me and motivate me this offseason while I’m [in Bellefontaine] finishing up and when I get to Ohio State. I’m just going to work and be the best version of myself I can be.”