Opening night of the high school football season sees intensity levels soaring — always something special in Ohio.
Opening night of the high school football season sees intensity levels soaring — always something special in Ohio.
This past weekend there were some local marquee matchups, but one of the best season openers may have been played at C. S. Harris Stadium with the contest of next-door neighbors West Geauga Wolverines versus their host Chagrin Falls Tigers.
Both teams look to return to local prominence built on high expectations, and the eagerness of the young men in uniform had everybody amped up. For kids this age, that also often means a strong chance of mistakes leading to the total outcome, but in a game loaded with miscues and big plays galore, the Tigers held off a late rally from the Wolverines for a 17-15 victory.
With players having less than a month under their belts officially working together, this game was loaded with mistakes, which could be expected. There were 30 accepted penalties between the teams, with early calls against the Tigers setting them on their heels, and the roles were reversed in the second half. Four fumbles also came into play, but two big defensive plays for the Tigers proved to be the difference.
The first defensive stop came with 9:21 to play in the fourth period. To that point, the Wolverines had gotten the better pushes from the offensive line in running the ball, and at that point, junior Daegan Katz plowed his way into the end zone from 2 yards out to bring his team to 17-15 on the scoreboard. A huge push on the run to tie the game saw quarterback Finn Keenan swallowed up by several Tigers to keep the lights on the board the same.
With both teams having some success in their spread offenses throwing the ball, it looked like a shootout was coming, and it did. An exchange of long punts with very long rolls on them saw West Geauga get the ball back with 2:39 to play on their own 17 yard line. Four Keenan completions led West Geauga moving into the 37 yard line of Chagrin Falls, but the last completion also led to the last big mistake of the night, one of two fumbles for the Wolverines.
Fighting to reach open space heading to the left corner of the field, the receiver was forced to give up the ball, senior Brady Stevens gobbled it up with 51.3 seconds left to play, and that was the game-clincher.
The penalties made for a slow night all night long. In between them and the fumbles, two for each side, the action was hot but ragged.
“Neighborhood rivalries are always special,” Chagrin Head Coach John Scott said after it was all over. “The kids know each other (and) the intensity will always be sky-high when we play, so with changing divisions in play now for many teams, you don’t know if it will work out to keep those rivalries going.
“It’s huge for both schools and communities, so getting the opener done like we did is a great way to start. We want this game to be played. West Geauga does, too. Coach Rosati and I have great respect for each other and for our schools, so you expect to get a good game anyway.
“The kids are taught to leave it out on the field on every play, and that’s what happened tonight, but we got a couple big plays late to win the game.”
Wolverines Head Coach Matt Rosati, although disappointed with the final outcome, knew what still needed work.
“Basically, the penalties and turnovers killed us tonight,” Rosati said. “We did do some things well. I think we were a bit more physical on the offensive line tonight. That helped us to run the ball better, but those fumbles really hurt. We need to stop hurting ourselves like we did tonight.”
Junior Matt Osters paced a solid Wolverine ground game with 119 yards on 17 carries. He also caught seven passes from Keenan for 51 yards as the junior quarterback had a solid night throwing with 235 yards and a 16-yard score to Dominic Paros while hitting on 19 of 31 passes.
Chagrin quarterback Jacob Kay also playing solidly all night, hitting on 11 of 16 passes for 257 yards. Two of those completions came in spectacular fashion, too. Kay hit Drew Zelch down the left sideline with four minutes left to play in the first period, dominated by penalties that kept the pace very slow, with an 86-yard pass play in which Zelch outwrestled the defensive back for the ball and reached pay dirt.
The duo combined again in the third period from 38 yards out on a similar play on the opposite side of the field for the eventual winning score. Zelch caught six passes for 184 yards and those two touchdowns in a show of speed and willingness to get to the ball.
Cutting back mistakes will be huge for both teams down the road. The Tigers may have the easier time of it this week, visiting Youngstown East. The Wolverines travel down Route 306 to tangle with another neighbor, the powerful Kenston Bombers, who dropped a thriller in Boardman during their opener. Kenston will be ready, but so will West G.
