Chardon travels to CVCA for Week 12
Game photos click here.
Chardon’s offense scored in spurts, while the defense continued to play at a high level as the Hilltoppers downed Tallmadge 49-14 in the first round of the Division III Region 9 playoffs.
The Toppers scored early and often in the first quarter, jumping out to a 21-7 lead, which they would not relinquish. They also added another 21 points to the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.
On the night, Chardon’s offense piled up 368 yards, with 271 coming on the ground.
The game started off well for the Hilltoppers, who for the final time this year were defending The Hill.
“I’m proud of our seniors tonight,” said Chardon head coach Mitch Hewitt. “They’ve been through a lot. We’re about beat up as any team I’ve ever coached in my 14 years here and all we do is keep reloading people. That’s a testament to my staff and these kids.”
After forcing the Blue Devils to go 3-and-out on their first possession, junior quarterback Dreyton Allgood ripped off a 64-yard run on Chardon’s first offensive play to give Chardon a first and goal from the three. Senior fullback Vinny Colombi finished off the play with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Facing a fourth down and two near midfield, Tallmadge head coach Mike Hay elected to go for it, and was rewarded as senior running back Joseph took a handoff, went around the right end and outraced the Toppers for a 58-yard score.
Tied at seven, Chardon quickly responded.
Allgood and senior halfback Caleb Hewitt connected on a 64-yard reception to put the ball inside the Tallmadge five. Colombi then finished it off with a 4-yard run to make it 14-7 with 7:19 to play in the first quarter.
From point, Chardon would go on to outscore the Blue Devils 35-7 for the remainder of the game.
With 3:34 remaining in the first quarter, Allgood ran right up the gut and kept going, cashing in on a 61-yard touchdown run to give Chardon a 21-7 lead.
Overall, Allgood ran for 131 yards and two scores. He also threw for 97 yards.
Chardon added another touchdown early in the second quarter, as senior halfback Beckett Dotson punched it in from 3-yards out to extend the lead to 28-7.
“Having Beckett in the backfield has been incredible,” Hewitt said. “It means Caleb can be a decoy now because everyone is yelling jet, jet, jet, which opens everything up. So we’re back to being a three-headed monster, which is really a four-headed monster at this point.”
The offense was doing great in the first half, and in the second half, I feel like the defense stepped it up,” said senior defensive lineman Tyler Noerr.
He added that the offense’s performance allowed the defense to stay fresh in the first half.
While the cushion was nice, Hewitt stressed it allowed him to evaluate the health of his players.
“It’s like every day is evaluating who’s healthy and who is available to go,” said Hewitt. “So when you see Dre, who was limited all week, rip off that big first run, that’s a relief. Caleb (Hewitt) didn’t practice since Monday afternoon, he seemingly played well despite a groin injury. We’re going to get McDevitt back next week, so it was good tonight and I don’t think we lost anyone.”
The Blue Devils went on a three-minute drive, getting down to the Chardon 10, but senior quarterback Ryan Loveless fumbled the football, which was recovered by senior linebacker Alexander Ash.
The Toppers were not content to run out the clock, and fumbled the ball on their own 31 with 30 seconds to play.
Loveless kept his cool and his team down the Chardon 3, and with two seconds left before halftime, hit senior wide receiver Brady Headrick for a 3-yard touchdown reception to make it 28-14.
Hay decided to roll the dice to start the third. Instead of kicking off to Chardon, he team went for the onside kick at the start of the second half and recovered.
For the better part of the third quarter, the Blue Devils controlled the ball on the Chardon side of the field, but the Toppers defense was too much, stopping Tallmadge on multiple fourth downs.
“Our defense is outstanding,” said Ash of the stand the defense made in the third quarter. “I count on every single one of my defensive players to do their assignment and get their job done.”
“For the second and third quarters, I felt like we were down there for 20 minutes, but we were able to open the lid in the fourth,” said Hewitt.
He felt the reason for the struggles were self-inflicted.
“Dismissing plays formationally, we were lining up wrong, so a lot of that,” said Hewitt. “Don’t get me wrong, there a good team over there, but it was more of us not doing things the right way.
Despite the 14 point lead, it felt like Tallmadge was poised to dominate the second half.
Ash thought Charon’s last defensive stop in the third is what changed the momentum.
“Stuff happens, but the defense responded well,” he said. “That last defensive stop was huge and then after that, momentum shifted.”
Then, with 1:34 to play in the third, Chardon’s offense picked up its first first down of the quarter as Hewit ran the jet sweep nearside. The Hilltoppers took that momentum and ran with it – literally.
The Toppers began to play better after that first down, moved the ball down the field and were rewarded by Dotson’s second touchdown of the game — a 3-yard run.
Trailing 35-14, the Blue Devils sensed the game was slipping away and played with more urgency and abandonment.
Loveless was looking for one of his receivers over the middle, but did not see Ash, who intercepted the pass and turned it into a pick six.
“I saw the quarterback’s alignment,” said Ash. “They were dropping back and I was running.”
He added that he was thankful his fellow defenders made some great blocks on the return.
“He’s peaking at the right time,” said Hewitt of Ash. “He’s a creature. I mean that’s dude’s body has been in more car collisions than a demolition derby driver who’s 80.”
Five minutes later, sophomore running back Drew Platz scored the game’s final touchdown to make it 49-14.
As the game progressed, Chardon was able to get more pressure on Loveless.
“Making him scramble out of the pocket puts a lot of pressure on him and effects his throws,” said Ash.
“We’re dialing up great blitzes thanks to Coach Landies and with Coach Francis working with us all week on pass rush just paid off,” said Noerr.
The Toppers running backs combined for five scores on the night and Hewitt finished with 64 rushing yards and 97 receiving yards.
Overall, the Hilltopper defense held Tallmadge to 182 total yards of offense, including 123 rushing yards. The Blue Devils picked up nine first downs.
With Cuyahoga Valley Christen Academy defeating University School, the Hilltoppers have played their last home game of the year.
For Ash, the memories at Chardon Memorial are ones he will treasure, including the felling the of walking off a winner against the Blue Devils.
“It’s a great feeling, an everlasting feeling,” he said. “Knowing this was our last time on this field and that we ended it with a bang; I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.”
“It’s nice we get to go out with a win,” said Noerr. “I wish we had another game here, but we don’t, so we’ll be playing CVCA on the road.”
Not only was it the seniors last game at home, but it was also the final home football game for Chardon Athletic Director Doug Snyder.
“Doug Snyder has been an awesome AD for me for 14 years,” Hewitt said. “It’s his last year here. Who knows what the future holds for a lot of people, so it’s good that we walked down the hill and we’re walking up with a victory.”
On Friday, the Hilltoppers will travel down to Cuyahoga Falls to take on Cuyahoga Valley Christen Academy in round two action.
