There can be no question that the Riverside Beavers and Kenston Bombers are two of the premier football teams in our Northeast Ohio area in most seasons of recent vintage.
Game photos click here.
There can be no question that the Riverside Beavers and Kenston Bombers are two of the premier football teams in our Northeast Ohio area in most seasons of recent vintage.
This current season, though, is something special, with many other teams also falling into the superior category.
When the teams squared off Oct. 6 with first place in the Western Reserve Conference on the line, along with state rankings for both teams, much was at stake. The teams have superior players keying the action every play when they take the field, but it was Sean Patrick, Kenston’s all-everything tailback, who stepped up last as the Bombers won a thrilling 36-35 WRC victory.
Patrick put forth massive efforts to reach the end zone with just 11 seconds left on the clock, and the entire game. But after the Bombers weathered the great efforts and skills of Riverside quarterback Mikey Maloney in the first half — the Beavers putting on a show of their own to overcome an early Kenston lead — the home defense stepped up to make several big plays in the second half.
This set up the last-second touchdown from Patrick, on a five-yard screen pass from quarterback Lucas Kaltenbach, then a subsequent two-point conversion push into the end zone from Patrick that sealed the deal.
Riverside Head Coach Dave Bors knows what his team is up against each week. That’s why his team is so highly ranked in Division II listings. One thing you don’t do is give an opponent’s top guy a chance to beat you.
“To have a shot at a conference title in a league like ours, you have to be ready to take a shot from the other team’s top players,” Bors said after the game. “Patrick is some kind of special player. We knew what he is capable of doing, so limiting his touches is important. That’s why we tried to limit him in the kicking game. He’s such a great player, though, that he can do damage in many ways, and he got the job done late in the game.
“Credit him and credit the entire Kenston staff for making things work out so well. They’re a great team because of how they work as a team.”
Riverside rarely makes mistakes, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the opening kickoff set up Kenston at its own 46 yard line. Fourteen plays later, Patrick scored the first of his four touchdowns from the one to open the scoring.
Riverside’s superstar quarterback, Mikey Maloney, answered in a hurry. He capped a 78-yard, seven-play drive with a 32-yard pass to Brady McKnight.
A Kenston punt that got a super roll died at the Riverside 10 yard line with 12 seconds left in the first period. A botched pitchout to the right set the Beavers back to their own two as the period ended. Five Maloney-fueled plays later, he dropped back to pass from midfield; took off while eluding several tackles, as Kenston had issues catching his feet; and took the ball home to break the tie.
On the team’s next drive, Maloney hit McKnight again downfield, and the 81-yard play gave Riverside a 21-7 lead.
Kenston responded in a hurry, but with just 20 seconds left before intermission, Maloney took his team 74 yards in a minute and a half, scoring from the five and building a 28-14 lead.
The Kenston defense stepped up big in the second half with three big plays keying the big comeback.
Maloney was an escape artist in the first half, but not so much in the second half, separated from the ball on Kenston’s second possession. Poked away while evading a furious pass rush, the ball died in the hands of Charlie Thompson at the Beaver 37.
Patrick broke through a hole over left tackle to score from the 10 on the sixth play.
Jason Mackey briefly stopped the momentum by taking the next play from scrimmage for the Beavers for a 77-yard touchdown.
Kenston downed a punt at the Riverside one on the next possession, and a punt followed. A bad snap altered the punt, though, and Thompson made another huge play by falling on the ball at the 34 of Riverside with 1:55 left in the third period.
Patrick bullied his way to paydirt from the three with 10:38 left in the game to cut the edge, and when Maloney was stopped a yard short at the Riverside 32 early in the fourth period, 14 plays later, Patrick rolled left, Kaltenbach hit him perfectly in stride, and he beat several defenders to the corner of the end zone with 11 ticks left, setting up a possible tie.
Not a chance, folks.
“It sounds odd to say it,” Kenston Head Coach Jeff Grubich said late in the post-game celebration on homecoming. “The simple fact is that we may have been too aggressive in the first half tonight going after Maloney. He is just such a super player, we would get too far upfield to contain him, and he broke loose quickly enough to get to open territory, and he killed us.
“I’m just so proud of Sean Patrick, though. He can spring the big plays in a hurry, but tonight he became a power runner moving the ball for us. He just does it all whenever we need him to do just that.”
The two-point conversion play took about 10 minutes, as Riverside used its last two timeouts to see what Grubich and company had in mind, and the Kenston hierarchy did the same.
“Sean and I talked briefly about it after he scored the touchdown, and we had no doubt about going for two,” Grubich said. “This was a big-time game between two big-time teams, and you play to win. He just bulled his way in for us.”
Mackey gained 141 yards on 13 tries for Riverside. Maloney had 112 on 13. Only nine of those net yards for Maloney came in the second half, though, as Patrick took over to help his defense.
Patrick gained 139 yards on 28 carries while scoring three times running the ball.
Both quarterbacks came up huge, as well. Maloney was 12 of 18 for 253 yards and a pair of scores, but also threw a late interception. Kaltenbach hit on 14 of 24 for 112 efficient yards, with seven of those completions resting in the arms of Tymir Cardona for 73 yards.
It came down to the final drive, and Kenston would not be denied. The Bombers now sit atop the WRC with two games left.
Playoff football it was, and will be some more.
