Chardon played two of its worst quarters of this young season, but the Hilltoppers were still too much for the Shoremen and defeated Avon Lake 28-7 in non-conference play.
Chardon played two of its worst quarters of this young season, but the Hilltoppers were still too much for the Shoremen and defeated Avon Lake 28-7 in non-conference play.
Playing in rain for most of the night, the Topper offense featured a huge dose of senior halfback Caleb Hewitt, who tallied 102 receiving yards and 101 rushing yards.
Hewitt’s big game helped Chardon’s offense amass 400 yards on a night better fit for marine life than football.
Early on, the Shoremen defense had the Wing-T figured out, but then the Toppers did something a bit uncharacteristic — they went deep through the air.
Seemingly stuck on their own 24 yard line, junior quarterback Drayton Allgood connected with Hewitt with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter for a 40-yard reception.
Several plays later, Allgood ripped off a 27-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring.
On the first play of the second quarter, junior defensive end Matt McIllroy recovered a fumble on the Avon Lake 34 yard line.
The mistake proved costly, as the Hilltoppers cashed it in on the next play; Hewitt took a handoff left side, made a couple of nice moves, and found paydirt to make it 14-0.
“I’m proud of him,” said Coach Hewitt of his son. “He’s more talented than me and has come a long way. I’m not an easy guy to live with, and we’ve had some long nights and bus rides. I’ve been hard on him and glad to see him have some success.
“He’s got to become a better leader,” added the coach, “and when things go bad in the second half, I need his voice to circle the wagons better.”
The Shoremen immediately responded to the score when Aiden Stewart burned the Chardon special teams unit by taking the kickoff to house and cutting the lead in half, to 14-7.
Chardon responded back and, once again, the Hilltoppers went to the air. Allgood connected with Hewitt for a big gain. Hewitt then finished the drive off with a five-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.
In the second half, mistakes and penalties reared their head, costing Chardon first downs and pushing the offense into situations in which they needed 15 or 20 yards to pick up a first down.
“Our kicking game and our offense in the second half was about as bad as you can find,” Coach Hewitt said. “I’m really disappointed in our execution. I know this was less than ideal conditions, but we have to find ways to overcome, and I don’t know we did that in the second half tonight.”
The lone score of the second half came with 8:02 to play in the fourth quarter, after the Toppers recovered a fumble on the Avon Lake 23 yard line.
Two plays later, Allgood showcased his speed, outracing several Shoremen to the endzone to make in 28-7.
“He’s had three starts at quarterback , but he’s going to continue to become dynamic as he continues to mature and progress,” said Hewitt of Allgood. “His composure is what I’m most proud about. He put air into those throws tonight, which is what we were stressing all week, really all preseason long. He threw some dimes tonight.”
While the offense, at times, played well, the Hilltoppers defense made another statement.
Chardon limited Avon Lake to 57 total yards of offense and three first downs.
With offenses trying to figure out how to stop senior linebacker Alexander Ash, junior Jayden Buth has blossomed.
Against Avon Lake, Buth made big play after big play.
“He was our ax winner last week,” Hewitt said. “This is a guy who three weeks ago was playing halfback, and we moved him over to the defensive side. He’s been nothing but a sledgehammer.”
While not overshadowing Ash, Buth has been a great compliment to the senior.
“When you have those two linebackers and you have Beckett Dotson, our linebackers are as good as anyone in the state,” Hewitt added.
It was a tough night for the Shoremen.
“They’re playing without their starting quarterback, so we prepared for the run, and our run defense is lights-out,” Coach Hewitt said. “Our run defense is good enough to win a state title.”
Additionally, the coach said Chardon’s secondary and pass coverage has not been tested, but he believes their players can defend against the pass.
After two good games, the Toppers offense, at times, played reminiscent of last year’s offense, which was inconsistent for most of the regular season amid penalties and poor execution.
For Hewitt, this is a concern that will have to be addressed in the bye week before a home game against Bishop Watterson in week five.
“We probably lost eight snaps to fumble snaps. That’s almost two possessions,” Hewitt lamented. “Our offense, at times, showed moments of brilliance. There’s just too many self-destructive plays that, against Bishop Watterson in two weeks, will get our faces kicked in.”
The Hilltoppers also suffered a potentially costly injury when senior fullback Vinny Colombi injured his ankle and missed significant time in the game.
