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Kenston, Orange drop short; West Geauga regroups
(by Tony Lange - August 30, 2012)
Kenston, Orange drop short; West Geauga regroups
By TONY LANGE
Perhaps more so than in the playoffs, much of the who's who in high school football unfolded last Friday night during week-one gridiron debuts.
The Chagrin Falls Tigers no doubt made an opening statement as they knocked the dust off the pigskin with a first-half blowout that allowed starters to be yanked early in the third quarter.
Headed by a new coach-quarterback combo, the Kenston Bombers got Northeast Ohio football fanatics buzzing about their contest against a the Division I-playoff-predicted Hudson Explorers, despite coming up a goalpost short of an overtime battle.
Overpowered by size and speed, the West Geauga Wolverines had nothing short of a head-hanger as they dropped to the Chardon Hilltoppers for the first time since the two teams starting matching up against each other for opening night three years ago.
Learning the importance of the small things, like nailing extra points, proved to be a tough lesson that the Orange Lions learned as they got edged by one point to Bay for the first time in three years.
While the Chagrin Valley Conference race does not start until week four of the regular season, every game matters in the playoff hunt.
Chagrin Falls 63
Revere 21
By judging the score of Chagrin Falls' 63-21 blowout victory against Revere last Friday, one might have two quick assumptions - the Tigers spent the majority of the game on offense, and they ran up the scoreboard.
Don't read a book by its cover.
The Tigers were up, 49-0, at halftime and probably could have repeated that effort in the second half for a 98-0 ballgame if they didn't pull their starters after the first offensive series in the third quarter.
And Revere actually ran 56 plays on offense,compared to Chagrin's 34 plays. The Tigers just took care of business with some big plays as they outgained the Minutemen, 431 yards to 268 yards.
For starters, senior running back Bradley Munday broke free on a 75-yard touchdown run on just the second play of the game.
While the Tigers gained 138 yards on foot with 19 carries, it was quarterback Tommy Iammarino who drove the dagger into Revere as he completed all 13 of his passes for 293 yards and five touchdowns.
His younger brother, Matt Iammarino, was his biggest target of the night with six receptions for 167 yards and three end-zone celebrations.
Munday also had a 34-yard reception for a touchdown, and Ben Vandertill had a 48-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Senior back Jack Campbell scored a touchdown on an 11-yard carry.
The Tigers added two defensive touchdowns with Lucas Sontich's 18-yard interception return in the first quarter and Sean Mackin's 46-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
Ed Shelley nailed five extra-point kicks, while Johnny Ciabotti kicked the other four.
Leading the tackling effort, senior linebacker Dan Kuenzig brought Minutemen down 11 times.
Senior safety Joey Casarona also had a standout defensive performance, head coach Mark Iammarino said.
Up next, the Tigers travel to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hudson 17
Kenston 14
Before the opening kickoff last Friday, many football predictors had Hudson penciled in as a Division I playoff team and Kenston as a Division II bubble buster.
Those pencil marks may have gotten the eraser after Kenston came up just short, 17-14. But the Bombers in no way celebrated a close loss.
The Bombers played their butts off, but they just made too many mistakes, Kenston head coach Jeff Grubich said.
"I've been telling the boys since day one that, if you are with a team in the fourth quarter, anything can happen," he said. "That's exactly what we did last night. We hung tight with them in the fourth quarter, and we missed a field goal from real close. It bounced off the right upright, and it didn't go in to tie the game."
Also, first-year senior quarterback Darryl Richards had a second-quarter touchdown run called back, which could have won the game.
In the first quarter, the Explorers struck first, scoring a touchdown off a 5-yard run.
The Bombers answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Richards to Joey Tomcufcik to make it a 7-7 game at the end of the first quarter.
Tomcufcik led Kenston receivers with three catches for 26 yards.
"We just have to get him the ball a couple more times," Grubich said. "That's on the coaches."
Hudson led, 14-7, at halftime and then extended its lead to 17-7 with a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter.
Richards scored on a 14-yard run at the 7:08 mark of the fourth, but the Bombers were unable to tie the game with a short dinger off the upright later in the quarter and fell, 17-14.
In a tightly contested matchup, the Explorers gained 257 total yards on 63 plays, while the Bombers gained 233 yards on 64 plays.
Richards completed seven passes on 23 attempts with two interceptions during his debut in the quarterback spotlight. He also rushed for 56 yards on 15 attempts.
Leading the ground game for the Bombers was senior back Nick Lombardy, who rushed 109 yards on 23 carries.
"I cannot be happier with my defense, and overall everyone battled their tails off for four quarters straight," Grubich said. "The good thing is there's a lot of ways we can clean up on both side of the ball, so we're only going to get better."
Chardon 41
West Geauga 12
Starting the game with two three-and-outs and then two interceptions, the West Geauga Wolverines appeared to be incurring self-inflicting wounds from the get-go last Friday.
But the Chardon Hilltoppers proved to be the driving force of those gashes as they went on to hammer West Geauga, 41-12, on opening night.
Chardon is just a really good football team, West Geauga head coach Lou Cirino said.
"I just don't think we were ready for how fast and how physical they were going to be, and it showed," he said. "I was impressed in how physical they were, how sound they were defensively, how well-coached they were. They played a very, very good football game overall, so very impressive."
The Hilltoppers ran night and day around and through the Wolverines as they led, 28-6, at halftime without throwing a single pass.
West Geauga's touchdown came off of junior quarterback Connor Krouse's 45-yard run with a 1:33 left in the first half to make it a 21-6 game.
The Hilltoppers scored 17 seconds later on a 56-yard run to steal the momentum back before heading into the locker room.
During the third-quarter kickoff, the intensity of the game picked up as double unsportsmanlike flags dyed the field yellow.
The Wolverines went on to drive the ball 62 yards but had their breath knocked out of them as they were stuffed at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal.
Chardon drove 99 yards the other way for a touchdown and a 34-6 lead.
The Hilltoppers extended that lead to 41-6 in the fourth before West Geauga sophomore running back Abdul Levy scored on a 7-yard run with to make it 41-12 with 15 seconds left.
Starting running back, senior Domenick Varga, finished the game with 16 carries for 69 yards.
"Whether you win or lose in a game like that, I think that you have to understand that you have another week to get ready for and prepare for," Cirino said. "It's a long season, and I think that's something we'll figure really quick what kind of team we really are. Can we bounce back? What are we going to do? So I'm interested to see that."
Bay 21
Orange 20
Extra-points kicks often are how games are won or lost, and the Orange Lions learned that the hard way in their 21-20 loss to the Bay Rockets last Friday.
The Lions failed to execute extra-point opportunities on two of their three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Rockets connected on all three of their extra-point kicks.
"We made a few too many mistakes and unforced errors and things that young players do," Orange head coach Adam Bechlem said. "They played hard though. I was definitely happy with their effort."
Orange, however, outgained Bay and had about 25 more offensive plays than the Rockets, Bechlem said.
"We controlled the game, and, when you have games like that, you only lose maybe 5 percent of the time," he said. "So, unfortunately for us, we were that 5 percent, and it came down to those little things that you always talk about and matter so much."
Without senior quarterback Dominic Vitali, who was sidelined by illness, sophomore quarterback Stephen Borgman led the Lions' huddle and got the go-ahead to fire away.
He finished the game completing 28 of 44 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
In that effort, senior wide receiver Will Carter broke the Orange single-game record with 17 receptions for about 200 yards, Bechlem said.
"We did give up two interceptions, and they were both inside the 10-yard line. Obviously, those could have been two more scoring opportunities," Bechlem said. "But we're not a very large team up front, so we're going to throw the ball."
Orange's first touchdown of the game, however, came on the ground by Borgman, putting the Lions up, 6-0, in the first quarter.
Senior receiver Alex Immel scored in the second quarter on a 6-yard pass from Borgman, and then RaShaan Arnold caught a two-point conversion to give the Lions a 14-7 lead at half.
Bay came out and scored two touchdowns in the third to claim a 21-14 lead.
Arnold caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Borgman in the fourth quarter, but the Lions had their tying extra-point kick blocked and lost, 21-20.
"With a young team, sometimes guys try to do too much and lose sight of their primary job," Bechlem said. "Moving forward, we have to learn to trust one another." Chagrin Falls unloads, 63-21
By TONY LANGE
Perhaps more so than in the playoffs, much of the who's who in high school football unfolded last Friday night during week-one gridiron debuts.
The Chagrin Falls Tigers no doubt made an opening statement as they knocked the dust off the pigskin with a first-half blowout that allowed starters to be yanked early in the third quarter.
Headed by a new coach-quarterback combo, the Kenston Bombers got Northeast Ohio football fanatics buzzing about their contest against a the Division I-playoff-predicted Hudson Explorers, despite coming up a goalpost short of an overtime battle.
Overpowered by size and speed, the West Geauga Wolverines had nothing short of a head-hanger as they dropped to the Chardon Hilltoppers for the first time since the two teams starting matching up against each other for opening night three years ago.
Learning the importance of the small things, like nailing extra points, proved to be a tough lesson that the Orange Lions learned as they got edged by one point to Bay for the first time in three years.
While the Chagrin Valley Conference race does not start until week four of the regular season, every game matters in the playoff hunt.
Chagrin Falls 63
Revere 21
By judging the score of Chagrin Falls' 63-21 blowout victory against Revere last Friday, one might have two quick assumptions - the Tigers spent the majority of the game on offense, and they ran up the scoreboard.
Don't read a book by its cover.
The Tigers were up, 49-0, at halftime and probably could have repeated that effort in the second half for a 98-0 ballgame if they didn't pull their starters after the first offensive series in the third quarter.
And Revere actually ran 56 plays on offense,compared to Chagrin's 34 plays. The Tigers just took care of business with some big plays as they outgained the Minutemen, 431 yards to 268 yards.
For starters, senior running back Bradley Munday broke free on a 75-yard touchdown run on just the second play of the game.
While the Tigers gained 138 yards on foot with 19 carries, it was quarterback Tommy Iammarino who drove the dagger into Revere as he completed all 13 of his passes for 293 yards and five touchdowns.
His younger brother, Matt Iammarino, was his biggest target of the night with six receptions for 167 yards and three end-zone celebrations.
Munday also had a 34-yard reception for a touchdown, and Ben Vandertill had a 48-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Senior back Jack Campbell scored a touchdown on an 11-yard carry.
The Tigers added two defensive touchdowns with Lucas Sontich's 18-yard interception return in the first quarter and Sean Mackin's 46-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
Ed Shelley nailed five extra-point kicks, while Johnny Ciabotti kicked the other four.
Leading the tackling effort, senior linebacker Dan Kuenzig brought Minutemen down 11 times.
Senior safety Joey Casarona also had a standout defensive performance, head coach Mark Iammarino said.
Up next, the Tigers travel to Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hudson 17
Kenston 14
Before the opening kickoff last Friday, many football predictors had Hudson penciled in as a Division I playoff team and Kenston as a Division II bubble buster.
Those pencil marks may have gotten the eraser after Kenston came up just short, 17-14. But the Bombers in no way celebrated a close loss.
The Bombers played their butts off, but they just made too many mistakes, Kenston head coach Jeff Grubich said.
"I've been telling the boys since day one that, if you are with a team in the fourth quarter, anything can happen," he said. "That's exactly what we did last night. We hung tight with them in the fourth quarter, and we missed a field goal from real close. It bounced off the right upright, and it didn't go in to tie the game."
Also, first-year senior quarterback Darryl Richards had a second-quarter touchdown run called back, which could have won the game.
In the first quarter, the Explorers struck first, scoring a touchdown off a 5-yard run.
The Bombers answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Richards to Joey Tomcufcik to make it a 7-7 game at the end of the first quarter.
Tomcufcik led Kenston receivers with three catches for 26 yards.
"We just have to get him the ball a couple more times," Grubich said. "That's on the coaches."
Hudson led, 14-7, at halftime and then extended its lead to 17-7 with a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter.
Richards scored on a 14-yard run at the 7:08 mark of the fourth, but the Bombers were unable to tie the game with a short dinger off the upright later in the quarter and fell, 17-14.
In a tightly contested matchup, the Explorers gained 257 total yards on 63 plays, while the Bombers gained 233 yards on 64 plays.
Richards completed seven passes on 23 attempts with two interceptions during his debut in the quarterback spotlight. He also rushed for 56 yards on 15 attempts.
Leading the ground game for the Bombers was senior back Nick Lombardy, who rushed 109 yards on 23 carries.
"I cannot be happier with my defense, and overall everyone battled their tails off for four quarters straight," Grubich said. "The good thing is there's a lot of ways we can clean up on both side of the ball, so we're only going to get better."
Chardon 41
West Geauga 12
Starting the game with two three-and-outs and then two interceptions, the West Geauga Wolverines appeared to be incurring self-inflicting wounds from the get-go last Friday.
But the Chardon Hilltoppers proved to be the driving force of those gashes as they went on to hammer West Geauga, 41-12, on opening night.
Chardon is just a really good football team, West Geauga head coach Lou Cirino said.
"I just don't think we were ready for how fast and how physical they were going to be, and it showed," he said. "I was impressed in how physical they were, how sound they were defensively, how well-coached they were. They played a very, very good football game overall, so very impressive."
The Hilltoppers ran night and day around and through the Wolverines as they led, 28-6, at halftime without throwing a single pass.
West Geauga's touchdown came off of junior quarterback Connor Krouse's 45-yard run with a 1:33 left in the first half to make it a 21-6 game.
The Hilltoppers scored 17 seconds later on a 56-yard run to steal the momentum back before heading into the locker room.
During the third-quarter kickoff, the intensity of the game picked up as double unsportsmanlike flags dyed the field yellow.
The Wolverines went on to drive the ball 62 yards but had their breath knocked out of them as they were stuffed at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal.
Chardon drove 99 yards the other way for a touchdown and a 34-6 lead.
The Hilltoppers extended that lead to 41-6 in the fourth before West Geauga sophomore running back Abdul Levy scored on a 7-yard run with to make it 41-12 with 15 seconds left.
Starting running back, senior Domenick Varga, finished the game with 16 carries for 69 yards.
"Whether you win or lose in a game like that, I think that you have to understand that you have another week to get ready for and prepare for," Cirino said. "It's a long season, and I think that's something we'll figure really quick what kind of team we really are. Can we bounce back? What are we going to do? So I'm interested to see that."
Bay 21
Orange 20
Extra-points kicks often are how games are won or lost, and the Orange Lions learned that the hard way in their 21-20 loss to the Bay Rockets last Friday.
The Lions failed to execute extra-point opportunities on two of their three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Rockets connected on all three of their extra-point kicks.
"We made a few too many mistakes and unforced errors and things that young players do," Orange head coach Adam Bechlem said. "They played hard though. I was definitely happy with their effort."
Orange, however, outgained Bay and had about 25 more offensive plays than the Rockets, Bechlem said.
"We controlled the game, and, when you have games like that, you only lose maybe 5 percent of the time," he said. "So, unfortunately for us, we were that 5 percent, and it came down to those little things that you always talk about and matter so much."
Without senior quarterback Dominic Vitali, who was sidelined by illness, sophomore quarterback Stephen Borgman led the Lions' huddle and got the go-ahead to fire away.
He finished the game completing 28 of 44 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
In that effort, senior wide receiver Will Carter broke the Orange single-game record with 17 receptions for about 200 yards, Bechlem said.
"We did give up two interceptions, and they were both inside the 10-yard line. Obviously, those could have been two more scoring opportunities," Bechlem said. "But we're not a very large team up front, so we're going to throw the ball."
Orange's first touchdown of the game, however, came on the ground by Borgman, putting the Lions up, 6-0, in the first quarter.
Senior receiver Alex Immel scored in the second quarter on a 6-yard pass from Borgman, and then RaShaan Arnold caught a two-point conversion to give the Lions a 14-7 lead at half.
Bay came out and scored two touchdowns in the third to claim a 21-14 lead.
Arnold caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Borgman in the fourth quarter, but the Lions had their tying extra-point kick blocked and lost, 21-20.
"With a young team, sometimes guys try to do too much and lose sight of their primary job," Bechlem said. "Moving forward, we have to learn to trust one another."
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