The Kenston Bombers claimed back-to-back Western Reserve conference amidst the senior-night festivities in a 42-7 victory over Eastlake North Friday night. Kenston has gone a perfect 10-0 in WRC play across the two seasons.
Game photos click here.
The Kenston Bombers claimed back-to-back Western Reserve conference amidst the senior-night festivities in a 42-7 victory over Eastlake North Friday night. Kenston has gone a perfect 10-0 in WRC play across the two seasons.
“It’s just huge for our seniors, man. They’re a tight-knit group, and they’ve worked for everything they’ve accomplished, and they accomplished a big thing tonight,” Head Coach Jeff Grubich said. “They’re the first team in school history to go back-to-back outright champs, and they earned it the old fashioned way, man. Just blue collar.”
North looked to steal a possession early by kicking the game off with a surprise onside, but Kenston recovered with excellent field position – a common trend throughout the game.
Kenston’s offense relied heavily on the physical running of senior running back Cohen Clark – another common trend – as he collected 46 yards on his way to the endzone to put the Bombers up seven.
“I can’t say enough about the O-line, man. The boys in the trenches, they work hard and they set the tone of the game,” Clark said on establishing the run early. “People who score touchdowns get their name called on the speakers, but it’s really just the big guys up front working their butts off.”
The Bombers’ defense took the ball right back on a strip from Senior defensive back Charlie Thompson, setting them up at the North 19. Again, Clark would carry the load, along with a few Rangers, for his second score with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
“As soon as the ball was snapped, our whole defense swarmed the ball and wrapped him up,” Thompson said on the turnover that set up the score. “They did all the dirty work. I ran in and saw the ball, and we’re always taught ‘don’t stop, rip the ball out, keep going,’ and that’s what I did.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Kenston would again take over deep in Ranger territory. Clark accumulated all of the Bombers’ 29 scrimmage yards on his way to his third touchdown of the half to make it 21-0.
“It’s awesome. Takeaways, blocked punts, all of that sets up scoring opportunities,” Clark said on the defense setting up the offense with good field position all night. “You can look at the stats, your chances of winning go up an absurd amount if you win the turnover battle.”
Following a Ranger punt, the Bombers got going with a 19-yard scamper by Lucas Kaltenbach. Kaltenbach then hit Will Hamm in the flat who took it 34 yards to extend Kenston’s lead to 28.
A second straight three-and-out would give Kenston a chance at a running clock before halftime. The Bombers went back to the tried-and-true, giving the ball to Clark who hit paydirt for the fourth time in the half.
I told my teammates if I had two carries for three yards and we’re up by 35, I would still be as happy,” Clark said on his four-score half. “The most important thing for me is winning the game and getting the championship for the seniors and these players.”
“It starts with those five up front blowing guys off the ball,” Coach Grubich said of the Bombers’ success on the ground. “And Cohen’s a bruising tailback, but at the same time he’s shifty. He can make some moves out in the open field and he finishes runs. I’m proud of him.”
After failing to pick up a first down on the opening drive of the second half, a bad snap on the Ranger’s punt resulted in a block and score to make it 42-0 as Kenston continued to pour it on.
“All gas, no breaks, man,” Coach Grubich said of the continued intensity coming out of halftime. “Consistency – as long as we’re consistently winning physically at the point of attack, man, we’re going to be in good shape.”
If there was a bright spot for the Rangers on Friday, it was Drake Martinez. A mostly quiet evening of hard-fought short gains had a few fireworks, such as a 58-yard kickoff return and a 37-yard touchdown run to ruin the shutout.
However, It proved to be far-too-little, far-to-late as the running clock hit zero. Kenston will enjoy the big win and the conference title, but they know there is still work to do in the postseason.
“We celebrate it tonight. We enjoy it. But, after that, the next day we’re coming in to get better,” Thompson said on the win. “We’re focusing on next week, taking it week by week. And, everyone knows that we’re all committed to this team. We have been.”
