[ back ]
Comets, Tigers, Lions and Wolves dominate foes
(by Tony Lange - September 09, 2010)
Comets, Tigers, Lions and Wolves dominate foes
By TONY LANGE
Solon 42
Worthington 13
Despite two turnovers and four penalties in the first half, host Solon still went into the locker room at halftime ahead 21-6 during last Friday night's Worthington Kilbourne game. The Comets ended up winning 42-13.
Up to that point, the Comets' defense held the Wolves to less than 70 total yards. The Wolves ran a triple-option offense that involved various fake handoffs and trick runs by fullbacks. However, with several stops for losses, the Comets' defense did not appear to be fooled. Leading the way was linebacker A.J. Hick with 13 tackles.
By the end of the night, Solon accumulated 410 total yards, while Worthington Kilbourne had 156 total yards.
The Comets' first two touchdowns were scored by running back Kyle Hammonds. He scored on a three-yard run in the first quarter and a two-yard run in the second stanza.
The Wolves made it a one-score game after a touchdown with 1:23 left in the first half.
However, the ensuing kickoff was returned by the Comets' C.J. Jackson, who ran 50 yards before being tackled at the Wolves' 45-yard line.
With a couple passes, quarterback Chris Humphrey was able to get the Comets to the 20-yard line with 29 ticks left on the clock. Humphrey dropped the following snap and looked to be sacked for a loss but escaped a tackle and ran into the end zone, putting the momentum back in the Comets' favor heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Humphrey connected with Tres Barksdale for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Halfway through the third, backup quarterback Patrick Kramer fired a shot downfield from the Comets' 46-yard line to a wide open Braksdale for another touchdown.
At the end of the third, the Comets looked to third-string quarterback Drew Stankiewicz, who led a seven-minute, 83-yard drive that ended with him running 11 yards into the end zone.
Head coach Jim McQuaide said he expects Kramer and Stankiewicz to play every game. "They're considered main players like all our other guys are," he said.
Chagrin Falls 23
NDCL 6
Chagrin Falls might not have had its best performance last Friday against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, but a win is a win.
Tigers head coach Mark Iammarino said he was a little disappointed with the offensive execution, but he liked the aggressiveness and speed of his players. He was very pleased with the defense, he said.
"It was a good accomplishment for our team to not play our best game but still win convincingly," he said. "I think it says a lot for our potential."
The Tigers held the Lions to 96 yards rushing, including 69 of them on one play in the third quarter, when NDCL scored its only touchdown.
The Tigers' first touchdown came in the first quarter, when NDCL was backed up in its own territory. Chagrin Falls' Andrew Winkelman blocked a punt, and Tom Weston recovered it.
In the second quarter, Tigers' senior quarterback Timmy Porter connected with Marc Geraci for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Quinn Malone added a 25-yard field goal during the quarter.
In the third, Tommy Iammarino, Chagrin Falls' sophomore quarterback, threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Lelonis.
In regards to his two quarterbacks, Iammarino said he plans to utilize both of them. "We'll see who has the hot hand," he said. "I think it's an advantage that we have two guys who can give us some help."
Kenston 21
Chardon 14
When it comes to winning and losing, statistics may not count for much in football. Three big plays enabled Kenston to post its first victory last Friday night during its home opener with the Hilltoppers.
Shortly after a long kickoff return to the Chardon 44-yard line, Pat Porter ran 26 yards into the end zone during the Bombers' first possession.
Kenston's Darryl Richards scored the other two touchdowns in the third quarter. The first came on a 78-yard pass from Jim Sciortino and the second on a 76-yard run.
Those three touchdown plays accounted for 180 of Kenston's 279 total yards. The Bombers had 30 offensive plays.
Chardon rushed for 385 yards and passed for 40. The Hilltoppers also had more than 20 first downs and ran 76 plays.
Bombers head coach Roger Vasey said it was a hard-fought game. "We made some big defensive plays when we had to," he said. "I'm sure it was an exciting game for the fans. It was certainly nerve-racking for us."
Orange 28
Beachwood 6
Orange came out with force last Friday night, scoring early and often.
The Lions' Anthony Garofoli and Nate Terhune set the tone during Beachwood's opening drive by delivering hard hits and sacks, Orange head coach Adam Bechlem said. Terhune blocked a punt and an extra point.
"The defensive performance was just incredible, and it really shut down the Bison's entire attack," he said. "The thing we told our kids is that we want to make sure we're in control the whole game."
All four of the Lions' touchdowns were scored in the first half. In the first quarter, Ryan Bitzer completed two touchdown passes to Julian Turner. One went for 53 yards and the other for 25 yards. Bitzer was 10 of 19 passing for 187 yards to four different receivers -- Turner, Garofoli, Darian Johnson and Demo Solaru.
In the second quarter, Marcus Henderson scored on an 11-yard run. He carried the ball 12 times for 94 yards.
Also in the second period, Bitzer ran two yards for a touchdown.
West Geauga 42
Riverside 0
West Geauga's offense and defense played off each other as the Wolverines routed the Beavers. Both teams know the triple-option offense.
The Wolverines never know how opposing teams will counter their offense, so they concentrate on the other side of the ball, head coach Lou Cirino said. "We focus on preparing defensively, and that's it," he said. "Overall, I'm very happy. We held them to nine total yards of offense."
The Wolverines' defense scored one touchdown, and the offense scored five. Quarterback Joe Drenski had a hand in five of the touchdowns. Nick Cuthbert scored a touchdown. Joe Ziccardi picked up a fumble for a touchdown. His brother, Vince, got into the end zone on a 20-yard run.
Hawken 40
Lutheran West 28
It was a completely different game last Friday night when Hawken returned to the Longhorns' field for the second half.
The Hawks started the game down seven points after giving up a touchdown on the opening kickoff in 12 seconds. The Longhorns also had runs of 68 and 94 yards later in the first half and went up 28-7.
The Hawks put together a nine-play drive at the end of the second quarter to pull within 14 points. They went on to score four more unanswered touchdowns in the second half.
Hawks head coach Cliff Walton said it was satisfying to see his team finally make some drives.
"In the first half, we had given up some huge plays to them. We were having trouble stopping their option on offense," he said. "In the second, we just started making plays and just shut down their offense, which was critical."
Leading the way on offense for the Hawks was Jeremy Simmons. He scored two touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of five yards and four yards. He added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter on runs of five yards and 23 yards.
Also scoring for the Hawks was Matt Burns on a 47-yard run in the third period. Jacob Gries scored a touchdown in the fourth on a five-yard pass from Liam Green.
University School 42
VASJ 21
There are 11 positions on offense and 11 on defense, but when University School is on the field, it seems like one Prepper plays them all.
Junior John McKelvey scored two receiving touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, a kick-return touchdown and had an interception during last Saturday's game against Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
The Preppers' sixth touchdown was scored by sophomore Kevin Smith on a 10-yard carry. University School was up 42-7 after three quarters.
The Vikings scored their final two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Woodridge 41
Gilmour Academy 0
Woodridge handed Gilmour its second straight loss by a convincing score.
[ back ]
