Tag Archive for: OHSAA Playoffs

RAIDERS END FITCH’S SEASON

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AUSTINTOWN, OH- In a classic matchup between steel city foes, Fitch battled Warren G Harding for the 2nd time this year. After defeating The Raiders 25-21 earlier this year, The Falcons looked for a repeat performance.

The first half was dominated by Fitch and their defense. Highlighted by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Evans from Devin Sherwood. The Falcons jumped to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first half, giving them all the momentum heading to the 2nd half.

However, Coach Arnold of The Raiders made the adjustments needed and flipped the script in the 3rd quarter. Scoring 21 unanswered points in the quarter, backed by the running of Brysen Powell.

Adding a field goal in the 4th and the shut down defense in the 2nd half from The Raiders. Harding was able to upset Fitch by a final score of 24-10. The Falcons may have been eliminated from the playoffs, but T.J. Parker’s staff look to be consistent visitors of the post-season in the future.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

JFK HOLDS BACK ST PAUL TO GET INTO SEMIFINALS

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WARREN OH- Warren JFK had to hold strong on a final drive from St Paul to hang on to their late lead and win 27-21 in the quarterfinals. The Eagles built a two score lead in the first half, but St Paul’s offense came out swinging and gave the Eagles a battle to the end.

Jesse Likens got the Eagles on the board first with a one yard run capping an 80 yard opening drive. Then after forcing a three and out, Likens struck again this time from 13 yards out. Cam Hollobaugh was also productive for the Eagles gaining 168 yards on the ground with 30 carries. He also added 59 yards through the air. Hollobaugh scores maybe the most important touchdown of the day with a 50 yard blast when the game was 20-14 Eagles. The 13 point lead was just enough to hold on to a 27-21 win.

The Eagles advance to the regional semifinals next week as they’ll host Dalton.

SCHADL GOES OFF AS MCDONALD UPENDS BEARS

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LEETONIA OH- Two of the best runners in the area were slated to go against each other in Friday night’s division 7 regional quarterfinal between Leetonia and McDonald. Marco Ferry and Dom Shadl put on a show, but it was Shadl who was front stage as the Blue Devils ran to a 41-24 victory.

The Blue Devils short ahead with a huge first half that saw Schadl run for 157 yards and four touchdowns before Leetonia could find any balance on offense. On the flip side Marco Ferry struggled his way to just over 50 rush yards in the first two quarters.

The second half saw Leetonia finally find life on offense. They scored 16 unanswered points to cut the Blue Devil lead to 28-16. A big key to their spark was a fumbled kickoff that the Bears were able to recover. Ferry then ran them to the one yard line, eventually putting it in. After McDonald answered, Dylan Lennon found a big target in Jaedon Finley for a 39 yard score to make it 34-24. Schadl would have the Last Laugh though as he ran one in from 39 yards out to get McDonald to the final score of 41-24.

McDonald will find out their next round opponent on Saturday as the game between Independence and Lucas was postponed due to weather. Leetonia is still eligible to schedule a regular season game.

FALCONS THRASH TWINSBURG

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AUSTINTOWN OH- The Falcons carried their regular season dominance into the postseason, with a 35-0 thrashing of The Twinsburg Tigers.

Austintown may have been without their top receiver in Todd Simons, but that did not stop The Falcons from rolling. Backed behind the running performance of Jamell James who totaled 118 yards on the ground. The Falcons rushing attack was striking early and often.

When Twinsburg adjusted to the run, The Falcons responded with an air assault from their outstanding quarterback Devin Sherwood. Paired with the playbook wizardry from Coach Parker, Sherwood threw for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns. In a blink of an eye the lead was 35-0 Falcons.

The most impressive performance of the night went to The Falcons utility man Nate Leskovac. Flooding the stat book in multiple categories, by far his best stats came on the defensive side of the ball. Leading the team in total tackles (8), solo tackles (6), tackles for loss (1.5), and adding a sack to his performance.

The Falcons proved to be too much for Twinsburg. Extending their record to 7-0 on the year, as they look ahead to face Warren G Harding for the 2nd time this year.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

REBELS RUN OVER SOUTHEAST

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COLUMBIANA OH- Both teams came into this game with a lot of momentum as the Crestview Rebels who had a first round bye,  hosted the SouthEast Pirates who were trying to steal the Rebels gold while getting a big win in the first round against Buckeye Local 35-6 last week 

 

The Rebels got the first points on the board as senior Brandon Yanssens knocked a 30-yard field goal in making it 3-0.  Later on in the first, it was Yassens again, using his big power to get a seven-yard touchdown.  The extra point was no good however and it was 9-0.  

 

Now, Pat Mcafee would be proud of Yanssens as he hit a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter which meant the Rebels were in it for the brand.  Then, there was the rushing attack led by Ethan Powell and William Hardenbrook as both combined for 261 yards in the backfield.  These two were like the Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt of high school football.  Hardenbrook went 13-yards for the score which made it 19-0 at the half and adjustments for the Pirates needed to be made. 

 

Crestview ended up scoring two more touchdowns in the third before the running clock started.  Those touchdowns were a Anthony Cusick three yard run and Yanssens picking off Pirates quarterback Aidan Fischer for a 72-yard interception which was returned for a touchdown making the final 33-0 as the Pirates were unable to get the treasure of a victory.  Now, head coach Paul Cusick and his team are on a roll after a bye week, and we will have to see if that continues. 

 

Stats

 

William Hardenbrook finished the game with 134 yards on the ground and a touchdown, while Ethan Powell had 127 yards.  Quarterback Anthony Cusick had 30 yards with a touchdown too.  Cusick also finished 5-10 for 90 yards passing.  Brandon Yanssens was all over the field, kicking two field goals and getting that big interception. 

 

Next: the Crestview Rebels  (5-1) will have to make a trip to play Garrettsville Garfield (7-0) who just snuck in a 24-21 win against Cardinal Mooney.  That game will be next Saturday at 7pm.  For SouthEast, they end their season at .500 with a record of 4-4 and will look to get stronger for the 2021 season. 

 

*contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien* 

TIGERS POUNCE ON WESTERN RESERVE

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SPRINGFIELD OH- The time has come for the Springfield Tigers to focus on returning to the State Championship game. They took their first step on Saturday winning a rematch with Western Reserve 35-7.

The Tigers scored on their very first offensive snap as Bo Snyder took a 60 yard run to the house. This was after a big stop on defense on a Blue Devils 4th and 1 at the 40. Springfield would go on to score in all four of their first half possessions. Beau Brungard ran one in from three yards out, then found Seandelle Gardner for a 25 yard touchdown pass. After recovering an onside kick, Brungard then found Jakob Joyce for a 35 yard touchdown before the end of the half.

The Blue Devils scores their first touchdown of the season against Springfield late in the game when Nicky Cavoulas found Brock Miller for a 68 yard touchdown.

Springfield advances to host St Thomas Aquinas next Saturday at 7:00.

RIDGE’S RUN ENDS

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NORWAYNE OH- Mineral Ridge came into Saturday’s round 2 matchup as one of the hottest teams in the area outscoring opponents 133-16 in the last three games. Norwayne brought the fire hose to quickly cool off the Rams and end their playoff run 55-14.

Mark Bunch finished the night for the Rams going 13 for 24 with 99 yards and 2 touchdowns. Shakir Perkins gained 35 yards on 10 carries. Mineral Ridge could only manage 177 total yards of offense.

The Rams are eliminated from the playoffs and carry a record of 4-4. They are still eligible to schedule regular season games until week 10. Stay tuned for schedule updates.

GIRARD CANT OVERCOME CANAL FULTON

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CANAL FULTON OH- Girard had the offense clicking last week for the first time in a while, and they carried their offensive success to Saturday in round 2 of the OHSAA playoffs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep Canal Fulton’s offense at Bay as the Indians fell 52-29.

Preston Mays got Girard on the board quick with an 85-yard kick off return. Andrew DelGarbino did not go down without a fight. He totaled 270 yards through the air with a touchdown, and also gained 56 yards with his legs.

Girard falls to 3-5 on the season and is eliminated from tournament play. The Indians are still able to schedule regular-season games up until week 10. Stay tuned for all the schedule updates.

RAIDERS SAIL PAST HARRISON CENTRAL

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CANFIELD OH- After a slow start and an early deficit, South Range stormed ahead of Harrison Central in round 2 of the OHSAA playoffs. The Raiders used 42 unanswered points to blow out the Huskies 55-14.

Dylan Dominguez ran for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 10 carries for the Raiders. Michael Patrone went 4 of 7 with 188 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. He was also a threat with his legs gaining 72 yards on the ground with a pair of scores. Luke Crumbacher has a big night with 3 catches and 173 yards with two touchdowns.

The Raiders advance to host Beachwood in the next round of the OHSAA playoffs on Saturday night at 7:00.

IRISH GRAB FIRST PLAYOFF WIN SINCE 2015

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YOUNGSTOWN OH- For the first time since 2015, the Ursuline Irish were in a playoff game, but in order to make it to the next round, they’d have to face a tough Villa Angela St. Joseph’s team that was red hot after getting a big upset win against Fairless last week by a score of 28-17.  

The Vikings continued the momentum by picking off Brady Shannon and scoring first as Nicholas Mcclinton took it in for a 10-yard touchdown making it 7-0.  However, the Irish knew what to do next, as Brady Shannon found Jakylan Irving for a 38-yard touchdown tying it at seven all.  Later on, it was our player profile guest DeMarcus McElroy who ran his feet into the endzone three-yards out making it a seven-point game going into halftime with a little upset alert on our hands. 

This game continued to have upset alerts written all over it as both teams went back to back in scoring.  Once again, it was McElroy showing off the J.K. Dobbins speed from 10-yards out making it 21-7.  The Vikings were still rowing the boat, however.  Just before the end of the third, quarterback Kevin Eiseman found Jordan Dean for a 39-yrs touchdown, and the lead was cut back to seven.  

However, Shannon went off, giving us flashbacks like Tom Brady against Tennessee back in 2009.  Shannon found Terrell “TG” Dillworth twice and Matthew Reardon once.  The Irish got their last touchdown of the night when John Edmonds picked off Eiseman taking it in for a pick-six.  The Vikings got one more touchdown but it was not enough as the Irish advance with the final of 47-21. 

This is Ursuline’s first win in the playoffs since their 41-13 quarterfinal win against Crestwood in 2015.  

 

Stats

Brady Shannon: 15-20 for 238 yards and four touchdowns. DeMarcus McElroy: 17 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.  Matthew Reardon three receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.  

 

Sixth-seeded Ursuline (5-2) will now have to make a trip to Beloit to face the third seed West Branch Warriors (7-0)  next Saturday at 7pm.  You can catch that game live on YSN! 

 

*contributed by YSN’s Ian O’Brien*