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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Buchtel 34, Firestone 0: Jarrod Wilson leads Griffins to City Series title
The Buchtel offense wasnt able to do a whole lot against Firestone, but when you have a strong defense and special teams, a potent attack isnt always necessary.
Such was the case Friday night at InfoCision Stadium, where the Griffins beat the Falcons 34-0 to claim their third consecutive City Series championship.
The Griffins can thank senior Jarrod Wilson, a Michigan recruit who probably played his best game of the season. He influenced all facets of the game.
Wilson created the Griffins first turnover on the Falcons first drive, intercepting a pass on Buchtels 14 to get his team out of a jam.
He also helped to set up his teams first score. Firestone faced a fourth-and-10 from its own 10-yard line and was punting. Three Griffins rushed in on the Falcons punter, and Wilson blocked it setting up the Griffins at the 6-yard line. It only took one play for Buchtel running back Darren McGinnis to run through a chasm of a hole that opened on his lines right side to take it into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Wilson was not finished.
During one of the Buchtel offenses best efforts of the game, an eight-play, 62-yard drive, they faced a third-and-6 from the Firestone 10-yard line. Their quarterback, Chris Davis, dropped back. The Falcons rush forced him to scramble to his left, but he found Wilson in the middle of the end zone for the score.
Hes special. He deserves everything thats positive that happens to him, Buchtel coach Ricky Powers said of Wilson. Hes going to Michigan. Need I say anything else?
Wilson said it was important for him to leave a legacy at Buchtel.
After the loss last week, I just realized that our playoff opportunities are very slim and this may be my last game, so I came out and gave it my all, he said.
Despite those huge plays, Wilson had plenty of help.
Offensively, it came in the person of McGinnis, who rushed for 183 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown to go with a 29-yard touchdown reception. McGinnis transferred from Firestone last season.
Its big. Its the first championship Ive won, so its real big, McGinnis said.
A few weeks ago, Falcons coach Tim Flossie said he wanted to play the Griffins for the title. He got his wish.
Defensively, the Griffins gave the Falcons no room to breathe, holding them to 120 total yards and sacking their quarterbacks six times. They also picked off two passes, including one that was returned for a touchdown but was called back after a penalty.
And, yes, special teams got into the act as well as the Griffins blocked two attempted Falcons punts.
Had the tension in the air for the game been flammable, InfoCision would have been blown off its foundation. Fans for Buchtel got into the act as the game neared its conclusion, shouting Flossie! Flossie! Flossie! The Falcons coach accused Powers of recruiting his players during a flap involving four transfers last year.
Both teams were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, and players had to be separated as the customary post-game handshake dissolved into some pushing and shoving. To avoid further confrontation, Powers had his team move to their locker room and the Falcons did the same.
The way you coach your kids is the way theyre going to present themselves. I dont blame those kids from Firestone, Powers said. I think those kids have just been doing what they were coached to do.
These kids are bigger than this game to me. I want these kids to learn respect. No one thinks they can learn respect because of where they are from. I want them to see a different way of doing things.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJ_Varsity. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tallmadge 42, Copley 14: Tyrin Williams powers Blue Devils
TALLMADGE: Coming off its big win at Wadsworth, Tallmadge fans wondered if the team might suffer a letdown facing Copley, which lost star running back Aregeros Turner last week for the season.
The Blue Devils quickly dispelled such thinking.
Using the running of Tyrin Williams and the passing of Anthony Gotto, the Blue Devils methodically defeated the Indians 42-14 on Friday night at Rossiaky Stadium.
The Blue Devils (7-2, 6-0) made Senior Night memorable by clinching a share of the Suburban League championship with their seventh consecutive victory after starting the season 0-2.
It is the sixth time in eight years that a program that was once the doormat of the league has brought home the title.
Tallmadge coach Joe Vassalotti was concerned coming into the game how his team would approach the game mentally.
From a coachs perspective that is always a concern, but our guys are resilient, Vassalotti said. The two tough losses early in the season made them stronger and taught them never to take anything for granted.
Gotto was not worried. He and his teammates realized this could be their last home game of the season and were going to go all out.
We knew it was a big win against Wadsworth so we had to come out with the same effort this week, Gotto said. We are just jelling together. We have so many targets I can throw to; I am much stronger than I was as a freshman. I could barely throw 45 yards and know I can throw 60.
The Tallmadge offense was sharp and balanced. Gotto connected with junior tight end Jacob Wood five times for 76 yards and Williams scored four rushing touchdowns.
Anthony does a great job of putting the ball right into my hands. He has a good arm and gets the ball quickly to his receivers, Wood said.
Things opened up tonight for Jacob. He has had a lot of game experience, Vassalotti said. It is nice to be able to call plays because you trust your quarterback. We have faith in Anthony.
Williams, a senior tailback, racked up 115 yards on 15 carries in the first half alone. He finished with 152 yards on 24 carries.
Tyrin is a fantastic strong running back that is a great weapon to have, Vassalotti said.
Gotto and the Blue Devils opened the scoring with 4:10 left in the first quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Linder. On the ensuing series, Williams broke off a 20-yard run and then scored on a 36-yard run that had jukes and moves that left defenders on the wet turf and put Tallmadge ahead 14-0.
Copley cut the lead to 14-7 when Will Thomas took a short kickoff at his own 25 and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.
The Blue Devils scored twice before halftime on a 2-yard run by Williams and Gottos second touchdown of the half, a beautiful 9-yard throw to Linder.
Copley cut the deficit to 28-14 when Isaiah Wheeler caught a touchdown pass from Lou Gigliotti in the third quarter, but Williams scored two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.
Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJ_Varsity. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
St. Vincent-St. Mary 17, Buchtel 14: Defense, running game carry Irish past Griffins
Points were hard to come by Friday night as Buchtel and St. Vincent-St. Mary scrounged around on defense at John Cistone Field in Akron.
In a game that featured scrappy defense on both sides and some truly special special teams play on the part of the Griffins, the Irish (8-1) came away with a 17-14 victory.
The two teams traded tough hits and punts for the better part of the first half, before the Irish broke through with under a minute left in the second quarter.
With St. V-M quarterback Kevin Besser nursing a knee injury suffered last week, it wasnt realistic to expect him to be at his offensive best.
It took away our ability to run Kevin. We ran him a little bit, but we were a bit leery, Irish coach Dan Boarman said. We knew we were going to have to run the ball, plus Buchtel was giving us some things run-wise.
Besser instead managed the Irish to victory, not trying to do too much. He received plenty of help and a heaping dash of luck.
The help arrived in the form of a nine-play, 29-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard field goal for the Irish with 51.7 seconds left in the first half.
Some coaches might be content to go into the half behind by three points, but not Buchtel coach Ricky Powers. Hes always expressed confidence in his players and showed it when the Griffins (5-4) got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff.
With first-and-10 at their own 24, Buchtels quarterback Chris Davis dropped back and fired a laser-deep pass that came up a bit short just short enough for St. V-M senior defensive back Sal Faetanini to leap and grab the ball. Faetanini set the Irish up at their own 40 with more than 40 seconds left in the half, precious ticks of the clock that they used to their advantage.
But Boarman wasnt about to nurse the lead.
After a 15-yard completion on a screen and two subsequent incompletions, Besser handed the ball off to running back Matt Matuska, who took it inside the numbers. Just before Matuska reached the end zone, Buchtels Ernie Calhoun punched the ball out. Matuska recovered the loose ball in the end zone and the Irish led 10-0.
When I played at Michigan and we played Notre Dame, they would always get the lucky bounce, Griffins coach Ricky Powers said. Its just the luck of the Irish. Its really living up to the name.
Matuska wasnt done. He eventually scored the winning touchdown on a 59-yard dash.
I was looking to not go out of bounds because coach says never go out of bounds. I was looking for a cut-back lane and it was there, said Matuska, who gained 152 yards on 14 carries and the two touchdowns.
Given the games early tone, it wouldnt have been surprising to see the 10-0 advantage the Irish held at halftime stand up.
Buchtel can thank its defense for keeping the Griffins in the game and punter Marnayre Drummonds foot for almost helping them come back to win it.
Late in the fourth quarter with the Irish ahead 17-7, Drummond nailed the ball 62 yards to trap the Irish at their own 4 yard-line. Three plays later, St. V-M fumbled and Davis eventually punched it in from the 1-yard line to cut the Irish lead to 17-14. From there, the Irish offense ran the clock down.
It was still a victory in which Boarman can thank his defense, which held Buchtel to 162 total yards, and the running game.
Weve been playing pretty good offense, but the defense came to play tonight, he said. They carried us tonight.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJ_Varsity. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
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