Playing roughly 1,085 miles from home on a Thursday night did not deter Chardon, who simply overwhelmed Timber Creek on opening night in Orlando.
The Hilltoppers started their season with a 29-7 victory over Timber Creek, Fla.
Playing roughly 1,085 miles from home on a Thursday night did not deter Chardon, who simply overwhelmed Timber Creek on opening night in Orlando.
Despite temperatures in the mid-80s, high humidity and a high dew point, the Toppers looked like the team familiar with the Florida weather. From the opening drive, Chardon was in control of the game.
Chardon may not have played a clean first half, but they were undoubtedly the dominant team.
The Hilltoppers got on the board first after the Wolves recovered a fumble on their own 1 yard line. Timber Creek’s first play was a receiver screen that the Chardon defense was all over, and the Toppers, led by Alexander Ash, recorded a safety.
In past years, one major goal of the Chardon defense was to get a safety. This year, it took care of that on its first play.
Entering the game, questions surrounded the Topper defense, which only returned Ash and Beckett Dotson from last season’s unit. However, the Hilltoppers stymied the Wolves run game the entire night and, outside of a few big pass plays, limited the Timber Creek passing attack.
Chardon’s inexperienced defense earned its stripes and is unlikely to surprise future opponents by playing the tough Hilltopper defense that has become a hallmark under Head Coach Mitch Hewitt.
Up 2-0 with 5:15 to play in the second quarter, Chardon’s offense scored the first points of the season when Vinny Colombi punched it in from two yards out. The ensuing PAT made in 9-0.
The score was set up by a fourth-and-goal stand on the 1 yard line by Chardon’s defense.
Timber Creek responded right back and quickly marched down the field. A touchdown cut the Chardon lead to 9-7 with 4:07 to play before halftime.
Not to be outdone, the Hilltoppers answered back and, once again, Colombi scored on a short touchdown run to make it 15-7 just before halftime.
Midway through the third, Caleb Hewitt ripped off a 54-yard run and Colombi added a one-yard run to make it 22-7.
Colombi scored his fourth and final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, also closing out the evening’s scoring.
While Chardon was dominate, there were issues.
Making his first start at quarterback, junior Drayton Allgood had two turnovers in the first quarter. He fumbled the ball on the opening drive at the opponent’s 1 and threw an interception.
However, after the pick, Allgood settled down and showed the flashes he displayed last year in limited action with the first team.
Both teams struggled covering kickoff returns as well, giving up huge returns on most kickoffs.
All that said, it was a good first game for Chardon, who will certainly look to clean up their issues heading into the first game they play this year in the Buckeye state.
Chardon played at Timber Creek as part of a team trip to Florida, which was designed to help the team bond. Players raised money for the trip, and Chardon had such a large contingent that the school was able to get a chartered flight from the Akron-Canton airport down to Orlando.
The Toppers flew down on Wednesday, held a practice, and then enjoyed the evening. On Thursday, the team held a walk-through and took in a movie before heading to Timber Creek’s stadium for the game.
As part of the package, the players also received passes to Universal Studios and the waterpark to use Friday and Saturday. Chardon’s JV team played a game Saturday, as well.
The team flew home Sunday to begin preparations to host Tiffin Columbia for the home opener at Chardon Memorial Field.
Chardon will seek a little revenge, as the Toppers lost to Tiffin last year in the waning seconds of the game when the Tornadoes scored a last-second touchdown and made a two-point conversion.
