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Tigers dominate everything, except score
(by Steve Novak - November 12, 2008)
Tigers dominate everything, except score
By STEVE NOVAK
Statistics don't win games. But when the Chagrin Falls football team puts some time and distance between itself and last Saturday's Division III playoff loss to Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, the Tigers will remember that they largely dominated the game they ultimately lost.
In Chagrin Falls' 21-17 loss to Walsh at Stewart Field in Solon, the Tigers led their opponents in time of possession, first downs, total plays from scrimmage and total yards gained.
If not for a 93-yard touchdown screen pass in the fourth quarter, along with subsequent Chagrin Falls turnovers, the outcome might well have been different, and the Tigers would be heading for the regional final instead of the Warriors.
The Tigers trailed 14-10 at halftime, but a five-yard touchdown run by Chris Gorman put them ahead. Chagrin Falls led after three quarters, 17-14.
But with less than six minutes to play in the game, a Warrior interception gave Walsh back the ball inside its five-yard line. A couple of plays later, Cameron Ontko took a screen pass and turned it into a 93-yard scoring run.
Chagrin Falls turned over the ball on its next two possessions and Walsh's 21-17 lead held up.
The Tigers nearly doubled Walsh in time of possession and they had 19 first downs to 10 for the Warriors. Chagrin Falls had 339 total yards to 264 total yards for Walsh and the Tigers had 69 offensive plays to 40 for the Warriors.
Gorman, a junior who converted a 33-yard field goal in addition to scoring the third-quarter touchdown, said, he felt they were at least an equal match for Walsh Jesuit.
"We just felt that we outplayed them," he said. "We knew that if we played as well as we could that we could stop them. We were confident going into the game."
Gorman still has another year to play on the varsity. He said that although the team will lose some valuable starters to senior graduation, he believes that the experience the returning members of the team received this year can pay dividends next season.
"We'll lose two of our linebackers and some of our receivers, but we'll have a lot of our guys back," Gorman said. "I think it (playoff experience) will really help us to handle the pressure and carry it over to next year."
Chagrin Falls finished the 2008 season with an 8-4 record. The Tigers posted four shutouts in the regular season and blanked Youngstown Liberty in the first round of the playoffs.
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