It is often said that sports are a microcosm for life. Sometimes things go smoothly and we embrace a flow state where we are on autopilot. Other times, we get knocked down and have to find the resilience and mental toughness to battle through adversity.
It is often said that sports are a microcosm for life. Sometimes things go smoothly and we embrace a flow state where we are on autopilot. Other times, we get knocked down and have to find the resilience and mental toughness to battle through adversity.
Competing against the Cuyahoga Heights Red Wolves twice in three weeks, the Cardinal Huskies football team recently embraced these athletic challenges.
The first matchup, Oct. 14, the Huskies got ahead early 16-0. But fast forward two weeks, to Oct. 28, and a different scenario emerged when the Red Wolves took a 14-0 lead.
Demonstrating amazing resiliency and mental toughness, the Huskies battled back and came within inches of tying the playoff game at 28 late in the fourth quarter. However, the Red Wolves prevailed and scored a final touchdown with 2:20 left to make the final score 35-26.
“This was a really great Cuyahoga Heights team,” said Cardinal Head Coach Chris Perrotti. “We were able to get the win against them a couple weeks ago. It’s always tough playing the same team twice. They came out swinging, but we kind of gave them the ball.
“They were up 14-0 on us. It showed what kind of team our guys are. They didn’t give up; they continued to bring that (score) back to within a touchdown, and eventually to (within) two points.”
The Red Wolves came out of the gate quick and scored two first-quarter touchdowns to take an early 14-0 lead over the Huskies. Devin Dzik scored the first of his four touchdowns for the Red Wolves with 8:38 to go in the first quarter. They scored again soon after when Andy Jakueczak scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
The Huskies came roaring back in the second quarter as they scored on a 64-yard touchdown run by Josh Soltis with 10:49 left in the second quarter. Landon Gallagher added the extra point to make the score 14-7 going into halftime.
For the game, Soltis had 20 carries for 160 yards and also had two rushing touchdowns.
“He is such a great kid, his family is awesome. I am so proud of him,” Perrotti said. “He did beat the school rushing record this week. … He just had a great game, great season.”
With 8:30 to go in the third quarter, the Red Wolves took a 21-7 lead. But Cardinal answered when quarterback Logan Strever scored on a one-yard touchdown. The next possession, the Red Wolves extended their lead by 14 points with 2:35 left in the third quarter to take a 28-14 lead. They then answered with an 18-yard touchdown run by Soltis with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter, but the extra point was missed and they trailed 28-20.
With less then four minutes to go, the Huskies blocked a punt and and Reese Soltis recovered the blocked punt, returning the ball for a touchdown and bringing the Huskies to within two points with 3:16 left. A two-point conversion was attempted after the touchdown, but was just barely missed.
The Red Wolves completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to make the final score 35-26.
“Five-five, not what we were expecting,” Perrotti said. “We suffered injuries, sicknesses, illnesses — we kept battling, we kept battling through it. These guys did a really great job.”
