It’s the Labor Day weekend. That means Geauga County Fair time, and also a big weekend with a home game against a quality foe for the Berkshire Badgers.
Game photos click here.
It’s the Labor Day weekend. That means Geauga County Fair time, and also a big weekend with a home game against a quality foe for the Berkshire Badgers.
On a beautiful Friday night for a fair or good high school football game, the Cuyahoga Heights Red Wolves, a pretty tough team under normal conditions, visited Great Lakes Cheese Stadium. They created havoc on several occasions for the Badgers, setting up a few turnovers in the first half that led to touchdowns, and a valiant rally for the Badgers came up short late in the game as Heights took a convincing 27-14 victory back to the city.
Things went south for the Badgers in a hurry. On their third play after taking the opening kickoff, a Miles Miller pass in the right flat was tipped, and Nick Armbrust returned the interception 12 yards to set up his team in superb field position at the 29 yard line. Three runs from quarterback Fletcher Sturgill covered that space, and Heights had a quick lead.
A 23-yard kickoff return from Cameron Beam on a pooched kick set up the Badgers in good field position, but the huge edge in the interior line for Heights was already beginning to take over. A Mason Mendolera punt set up the Red Wolves at their 24, and eight plays of steady movement saw Sturgill find Zach Unger from Berkshire’s 23 for another score.
The Badgers were able to tighten things up considerably after that, until a Badgers drive stalled early in the second period. Taking over on downs on the Berkshire 36, nine plays later saw Devon Dzik go in from nine yards out.
By this time, the Badgers had shot themselves in the foot enough to cast doubt on how big a blowout it would become, but that was still not the case.
Heights’ big edge in the lines gained control, and with tailback Justin Phillips being limited due to a minor injury, the focus of the Red Wolves’ defense intensified on Miles Miller, especially if he tried to run. Chances were very limited, leading to him gaining just 61 yards on 13 carries on the night.
Under heavy pressure much of the time, Miller took to the air with some success, but four dropped passes in the game, three in the first half, effectively halted moving the ball well for the Badgers (1-2).
Those drops by wide-open receivers, combined with the Red Wolves’ four interceptions, prevented ultimate success for Berkshire.
In a relentless effort, though, early in the fourth period, Berkshire went on an 80-yard drive in eight plays to put their first points on the board, with Miller taking it in from the four.
Heights responded in a hurry, going 61 yards in 13 plays to score. A 27-6 lead looked very good in the moment, as the clock showed only 2:22 to play.
Cameron Beam changed that outlook in a hurry. He took the ensuing kickoff at his 15, cut into the middle of the field, and broke free down the left sideline near the Red Wolves’ 40 to go untouched into the end zone.
Berkshire forced a three-and-out on the next possession, but Miller had a long pass down the left sideline picked off for the fourth pick of the night for Heights, and the issue was settled.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot way too much tonight, especially in the first half,” a disappointed Berkshire Head Coach Josh DeWeese said. “They (Heights) are always a quality team, very similar to Kirtland in that they try to run you over as much as they can. We battled hard tonight, but they had some really big guys in the middle, and we were limited offensively due to Justin Phillips only being able to go on defense due to a minor injury.
“You can’t give up four picks and have four passes dropped against a team like that and expect to win. They executed well all night, but we played hard in the second half to make a game of it. And I think we did well in spots, but the mistakes hurt too often.”
It was a tough loss, but the Badgers showed enough grit to prove that this week, as they head to Milan Edison, the home team had better be ready.
