GIRARD OPENS SEASON WITH A BLAST

STREETSBORO OH- The Girard Indians beat the Streetsboro Rockets 42-24 in an inter conference showdown at Streetsboro. Girard had a lot to prove going into this Friday night matchup after being moved up in the rankings and after last years disappointing loss at home in their week one matchup versus these same Rockets.

Girard got off to a hot start after receiving the ball first in the first half. The Indians put up 14 against the Rockets in the first quarter and the defense was able to keep the Rockets off the board. While it looked like the Indians were going to run away with this one very early on the Rockets did have a response come the second Quarter.

Streetsboro was able to keep Girard off the board in the second quarter thanks to some Great defensive plays. The Rockets got an early touchdown in the quarter but was only able to get a field goal late which allowed Girard to take a 14-10 lead into halftime.

Streetsboro received the ball to start off the second half but didn’t get far as The Indians defense made the proper adjustments and came out ready for the third. Girard was able to put 14 more points up on the board in the third and keep the Rockets out of the end zone much like they did in the first quarter.
The fourth quarter was much more close as both teams defenses and offense seemed very similar by this point. We also had a good number of stoppage for kids going down with heat cramps. Both teams were able to put 14 up on the board but Girard’s offense through the the game combined with some great defensive plays allowed them to come out on top in this week one matchup.

While the team as a whole looked great, Senior Nic Bengala stole the show. Bengala was Girards starting quarterback for this game and also played, it seemed, in multiple different positions defensively as well. Bengala offensively made 16 throwing attempts and completed 14 which totaled 176 yards for the game. He was also able to find one of his teams many touchdowns via throwing as well. Bengala’s rushing yards totaled 67 (he really liked to run the ball himself too). Bengala finished the game with 243 yards which was far and away the most on the team.

For Streetsboro the best player was easily the running back Preston Hopperton. While I unfortunately don’t have any exact numbers for him it seemed like any time Streetsboro wanted to run the ball or had a short pass it found the hands of Hopperton and he made the absolute most of every play he had the ball for.

The Girard Indians start the season off the right way with a 42-24 victory over Streetsboro and go into next week with a 1-0 record. The Indians are back in action in a big home game versus close by rival Liberty on Friday August 26th. Kickoff is at 7pm but make sure you tune in to YSN a few minutes early for pre-game coverage by Matt Maher and Liberty alum, Jordan Barber.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Maher.