Chardon Cruises Past Royals

November 2, 2023 by Matt Jaworski

Game photos click here.

The Hilltoppers overwhelmed a young and inexperienced opponent in their 42-0 victory during round one of the Division III Region 9 playoffs against visiting Cuyahoga Valley Christen Academy.

Facing a team with a combined eight sophomores starting on offense and defense, the experience and toughness of Chardon was on display all night.

Overall, Chardon wracked up 342 yards of offense and 18 first downs, holding the Royals to four total yards of offense.

It was the second most dominating defensive performance of the year for the Chardon defense, who held South to negative yards earlier in the year.

“We all know our jobs, had a pretty simple game plan going, and knew we had to out-physical them tonight,” said senior defensive end and split end Leo Colombi. “Our front seven held them, and the secondary didn’t make many tackles tonight.

“It was good to get our starters out and get some rest going into next week, because we’ve got another great team in Geneva to play,” he added.

Playing their final home game of the year, the seniors wanted to go out winners – and they did, in dominating fashion.

“I really can’t believe this was our final home game, and it won’t sink in for another couple of days,” Colombi said. “You have to give credit to the coaching staff for putting us in the position to make all those good memories.”

“It was a complete game,”Chardon Head Coach Mitch Hewitt said. “I’m proud of these seniors. This senior class was 3-3 at one point this season, had really high expectations, lost the home win streak and plummeted from the Top 10 in the state. For them to respond like this speaks to their character and the type of kids they are.”

Hewitt explained that last week’s game was fun because it was a rivalry game, but this week was something else.

“This week it was different and fun because it’s a team that doesn’t know us,” he said. “They’ve heard about us, but it’s our opportunity to put our brand of football on CVCA, and hopefully those kids remember the brand of Chardon football for years to come. In 20 years, if they never venture (back) into Chardon, they’re going to remember what it was like.”

After forcing a three-and-out on CVCA’s first possession, the Toppers moved the ball down the field inside the Royals’ 10 yard line.

On fourth down and goal from the 5, Vinny Colombi bulled through the CVCA defenders on his way to a touchdown.

The run put Chardon up 7-0 and was the first of three scores on the night for the junior fullback.

“It was a team performance, as everyone was blocking for each other and no one was selfish on the offense,” Vinny Colombi said.

Late in the first quarter, senior quarterback Will Francis punched it in from three yards out to put the Hilltoppers up 14-0.

As time ran out in the first quarter, Beckett Dotson blocked a Royal punt, which was picked up by Ken Friihauf to the CVCA 20-yard line.

Junior running back Caleb Hewitt made the Royals pay with a 20-yard touchdown right on a jet sweep to right side to increase Chardon’s lead to 21-0.

Midway through the second quarter, Vinny Colombi scored his second touchdown of the game, this time on a four-yard run, to push the score to 28-0.

“The scheme they were running made it easier for us to run the ball up the middle instead of outside,” he explained.

Chardon got the running clock going late in the third quarter, when Vinny Colombi capped off his hat trick with a 15-yard score. He feels the offense is clicking at the right time.

“We’ve been working hard, especially the last couple of weeks, and bouncing back strong (from the early struggles),” he said.

The Hilltoppers’ final score came with about five minutes to play, when sophomore fullback Jayden Buth scored his first varsity touchdown to make it 42-0.

In this performance, the Toppers rushed for 308 yards and passed for 34 yards. They did not turn the ball over and committed only three penalties.

“We’ve got a lot of weapons, have stayed healthy, and the offensive line has really come together,” Coach Hewitt said. “Again, some of this is a credit to the teams we have played. I’d like to have those three losses back, but it’s what shapes you.”

CVCA learned the hard way what Chardon’s opponents have found out this season: you cannot run on the Toppers defense.

The Royals, who run a simpler variation of the Wing-T, were held to negative rushing yards. Overall, they

had 22 passing yards and -18 yards rushing. CVCA picked up only two first downs – both in the second half.

“We know going in that they were going to have to hold the ball and create some possession for themselves,” Coach Hewitt said, “and we were able to prevent that from happening.”

The Toppers’ ground game was led by Francis, who ran for 91 yards and one score. Caleb Hewitt rushed for 87 yards and one touchdown, and caught three passes for 21 yards. Vinny Colombi had 77 rushing yards and had a hat trick of touchdowns.

Up next for Chardon is a round-two matchup against the Geneva Eagles at Spire.

The Eagles finished the year 9-1 and were the eighth-ranked team in Division III ,according the final AP state poll. They earned the second seed in Region 9 and beat Hawken, 56-19, in Week 11.

Chardon last played Gevena in 2020, when the Toppers defeated the Eagles 57-13 in the second round of the playoffs.

The last time the Hilltoppers played at Spire was 2015, when Chardon won 41-16.

“We’re going to have to play really well,” Coach Hewitt said. “That’s a Top 10 state-ranked team. They’re number two in our region for a reason and have a significantly better record than us, so we’re going to have to bring our A game if we have any hope of competing against them.

“We’ve faced top-10 teams this season and have not fared too well, so we have to break that streak. We have momentum, but so does Geneva. They are on a tear and crushing people. They are probably setting records over there as to what they have accomplished.”

The players agree, and vow they must get better each week.

“We have to keep working and getting better,” Vinny Colombi said.

Added Leo Colombi, “It’ll be another hard-hitting game.”