[ back ]
Perfect beat goes on for West G, Chagrin, Hawken
(by Steve Novak - September 16, 2009)
Perfect beat goes on for West G, Chagrin, Hawken
By STEVE NOVAK
Somewhere, in the locker room of some area teams this season, there almost has to be a poster that says: Refuse to Lose.
As far as four area football teams are concerned so far this year, the idea of losing hasn't even entered the picture yet.
At the end of Week 3, Chagrin Valley Conference teams Hawken, Chagrin Falls and West Geauga have posted perfect 3-0 marks.
In his 38th year of head coaching, Hawken's Cliff Walton has to go back rather far in his memory to remember the last time that one of his Hawks' squad has posted a 3-0 mark.
"It's been a long time," he said. "We usually open up with University School and when we beat U.S. the first week of the season this year, it was the first time since 2001. So, it might be even longer that we've had three wins in a row."
In a Saturday afternoon contest, the Hawks posted a convincing 48-16 victory against host Gilmour Academy.
Hawken took a commanding lead of 19-0 at the end of the first quarter on with two touchdowns by John Wilson and another by senior Eric Wenz. Gilmour came back with 10 points to put the halftime score at 19-10.
But another offensive onslaught of 29 points for the Hawks in the second half more than salted away the game. John Wilson had three more touchdowns in the second half and Teddy Hook added one more score. Wilson also scored three times the previous weeks against Lutheran West.
The touchdowns for Gilmour came on a two-yard run by John Harper and a 15-yard pass reception by Graham Boduszak from Zach Buehner.
Hawken will try to make it four games up and none down when it faces its first CVC opponent of the season. The Hawks play at Kirtland in a 7 p.m. matchup.
As for Gilmour, under first-year coach Matt Simon, the Lancers will see if their first victory will come this week against host Cleveland Central Catholic at 1 p.m. Saturday. CCC has a 3-0 record and is averaging 43 points per game.
West Geauga 57
Eastlake North 30
West Geauga third-year coach Dave Bors is enjoying his first time to reach the 3-0 mark. The Wolverines traveled to Eastlake North and put a 57-20 stomping on the Rangers last Friday night.
Quarterback Joe Drenski ran for four touchdowns and connected on 10 of 13 passes for 152 yards. Anthony Cataliato scored on a 73-yard run.
Bors said that first-year quarterback Drenski "had a real nice game," but he was quick to add that defense, along with kick and punt teams did a good job of holding back a Rangers team that had more than 500 yards of total offense the previous week.
"The score was 50-6 at one point of the game before we started to freely substitute. We just played well across the board," Bors said. "Our special team squad and the defense did a good job of keeping them from advancing past the 50-yard line for most of the night. It was definitely a bend but don't break defense."
This week, West Geauga begins its CVC schedule at 7 p.m. against visiting Painesville Harvey. The Red Raiders begin their first season in the CVC with this opening conference game.
Chagrin Falls 32
Woodrige 26
Chagrin Falls upped its mark to 3-0 Friday with a hard-fought 32-26 win over previously undefeated Peninsula Woodridge.
With a skillful blend of passing and running, Tigers' quarterback Chris Trinetti guided the team by running for two touchdowns. He finished with 135 yards rushing, as well as connecting on nine passes for 124 yards.
The Tigers held a 22-13 lead at halftime, and then the teams traded touchdowns in the third period. Chris Gorman finished the scoring for Chagrin Falls in the fourth quarter with a 22-yard field goal.
The other two Chagrin Falls touchdowns came on running plays by Bob Winkelman. He finished the game with 65 yards rushing, while Gorman rushed for 95 yards.
The Tigers visit Aurora tonight (Sept. 17) at 7 p.m. Last year, the Greenmen got the better of Chagrin Falls with a 49-27 victory.
Orange 24
Wickliffe 21
Orange picked up its first win of the season for first-year coach Adam Becklam as the Lions topped Wickliffe last Friday, 24-21.
At the end of the game, Orange quarterback Ryan Bitzer had so many numbers after his name that it looked like a mathematical formula. He threw two touchdown passes, kicked three extra points, kicked one field goal and completed 17 passes for 285 yards.
Orange trailed by four points at the end of the first half. The Lions' first-half touchdowns came on a 40-yard pass to Scott Fuller and then a 50-yard pass to Chase Ullman. Bitzer kicked a 22-yard field goal in the third period and then Josh Rogers scored for Orange on a 4-yard run in the fourth period. Bitzer connected on passes to six different receivers during the contest.
Tonight at 7 p.m., the Lions host Perry (3-0) in a CVC contest.
Kenston 28
Nordonia 14
Kenston has two wins after three weeks of play as the Bombers overcame a two-touchdown deficit at halftime to post a 28-14 win over host Nordonia.
Two weeks ago, Kenston head coach Roger Vasey praised quarterback Kyle Weninger as being one of the key elements of the team's first win of the season when Bombers defeated Chardon.
Weninger earned more praise last Friday when he found the end zone four different times on four quarterback sneak plays. He also hit on 9 out of 18 passes for 72 yards. Tailback Pat Porter gained 131 yards for Kenston in 30 carries.
Vasey also said that Pat Behm had a good game on the defensive side of the ball. Behm is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior linebacker.
Vasey said he was very pleased with the team's confidence in the third quarter, despite Nordonia having a 14-0 advantage.
"They got up on us at halftime, but we just came out very focused in the second half," he said. "We just came out with a great drive to start the third quarter. It's just to the point now, where they've learned to deal with adversity."
Kenston hosts an Wickliffe, which is 0-3, in its CVC opener tonight at 7. The Bombers will dedicate their new athletic turf field and entranceway in pre-game ceremonies.
University School 31
NDCL 3
University School rebounded from a disheartening overtime loss to Villa Angela-St. Joseph's two weeks ago, and picked up its first win of the year with a convincing 31-3 win over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin last Friday night.
Preppers head coach Jim Stephens said that there was no lack of confidence from his players, despite suffering losses in the first two contests of the season.
"The attitude has been very good," he said. "It's just that the results of the first two games didn't reflect the overall talent of our team. For this game, we finally had everything together."
Quarterback Dan Frate passed for one touchdown and ran for another. University School also had touchdowns on a 66-yard run by John McKelvey and on an interception by Anthony Muraco. Clay Mischka booted a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The University School secondary grabbed five interceptions and held NDCL to only 80 yards by way of the pass.
Tonight, the Preppers host Willoughby South in a 5 p.m. contest. The Rebels stand 1-2 and are coming off of a 48-45 loss to Euclid last Friday.
[ back ]
