FROM STAFF REPORTS

To assure that any persons attending Saturday’s Lakeside-at Edgewood game were still able to get a fresh outlook on the Southern Cal-Ohio State game also being played, no announcement of scores from the game in Columbus were made.

Edgewood football public address announcer Greg Mendrala said he was “forbidden” to give announcements on the USC-OSU game, mainly because fans didn’t want their experience of that game spoiled.

“I was told there were a lot of people who were Tivoing or DVRing the game and they didn’t want to know what the score was,” Mendrala said.

— Karl Pearson



Remembering 9/11

With Friday being the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the thoughts and prayers of a nation were with the victims’ families.

In a special pregame ceremony prior to the matchup between Champion and Conneaut, the folks at Municipal Stadium paid tribute to the men and women that lost their lives on that fateful day.

At midfield, following the playing of the National Anthem by the Spartans’ band, a color guard fired a 21-gun salute and Taps was played in memory of those lives lost.

— Bob Ettinger



More remembering

At PV, a moment of silence was held, followed by Pymatuning Valley junior and boys basketball player Lucas Riley who performed Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.

— Jon Hall



Really not necessary

Anthony Kukwa caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Kukwa, who also handles Perry’s punting chores, also intercepted a pass.

With the Pirates trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Kukwa hauled in a bomb from Mitchel Hokavar and went into the end zone for what appeared to be a 64-yard score. The touchdown was nullified because of an illegal use of hands penalty, but Kukwa was given credit for a 20-yard reception, as the play resulted in a 10-yard gain after the 10-yard penalty.

There are two interesting things to note about this. One is that the ruling seemed to indicate that the foul came after the catch. However, Kukwa caught the pass well beyond the Madison 44-yard-line, from which the infraction was marked off. The other is that, assuming again that the penalty came after the catch, it was totally unnecessary. Kukwa, who was covered by a single defender who had apparently lost track of the flight of the ball, had a clear path to the end zone when he made the reception.

Kukwa did score a TD later in the period on a 42-yard reception from Hokavar (9-of-23, 158 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs).

— Steve Goldman



Ball control

If one football team has the ball, it’s a good bet its opponent can’t score.

The Golden Flashes took that to heart against the Spartans. They ran 68 plays in a 12-0 victory and allowed Conneaut to run just 33.

More than that, 62 of those 68 snaps were running plays, which meant the game clock was in constant motion.

“Anytime you control the ball for probably two-thirds of the game, that’s a fantastic job all the way around,” Champion coach Terry Howell said. “The coaches (in the coaching box) made some great calls, the line did a great job blocking. I couldn’t ask for anything more than they gave tonight.”

The Golden Flashes had just nine possessions in the game, but they held the ball for 35:02 of the possible 48 minutes.

That allowed Conneaut just under 13 minutes to try and outscore Champion.

“When that happens, you’ve got to get the ball back and score now,” Conneaut coach Ken Parise said. “You don’t have the clock with you. We’ve averaged about 31 plays per game so far this year. That isn’t the type of offense I’m used to. I’m used to running 60 plays or more. We’ve got to get better pass protection and get better at some things to help the running game.

“The good thing is there’s always next week. We’re right back at it Thursday (at Beachwood) and there won’t be anybody feeling sorry for us.”

— Bob Ettinger



Honors

Edgewood senior Mallory Kreider was recognized before Saturday’s game at Corlew Stadium for the championship she won last June at the Division II state track meet in the 3200-meter run. Kreider and her parents, Alan and Kim Kreider, were honored along with Warrior girls track coach Steve Hill.

Also as a part of the pregame festivities, the students, staff and administration of Edgewood High School was honored by the Buckeye Local School Board of Education for having received the school’s first excellent rating in state evaluations.

— Karl Pearson





Hold that line

Despite giving up 250 yards on the ground and 285 total yards, the Conneaut defense had some good moments.

On Champion’s opening possession, the Golden Flashes pushed the Spartans back to inside their own five with the running game.

On the first nine plays of the drive, Champion rushed for an average of 6.9 yards per play.

On first and goal from the five, Conneaut allowed just a single yard. On second down from the four, they allowed two and on third down from the two, allowed just one on a quarterback sneak.

Facing fourth down and goal with the ball about six inches from the goal line, it was clear what play would come next. The Spartans stacked the line right in front of the center and waited for Champion quarterback Bill Yartz to take the snap and push forward.

Six inches is not hard to pick up with a quarterback sneak for any offense, but the Spartans’ front held strong and allowed Yartz nothing, forcing Champion to turn the ball over on downs.

— Bob Ettinger



Big payoff

Evidence that Saturday’s game was well-attended despite the fact fans may have had other ways to spend their evening was shown in the payout for the 50-50 raffle. Carolyn Huyck of Kingsville was the recipient of $364 for her winnings from the drawing.

— Karl Pearson



Grind it out

The Golden Flashes may have gained 250 yards on the ground, but they weren’t easy. It took 62 carries to amass that total.

That’s an average of just 4.0 yards per carry.

The scary part of that is, over the course of four downs, that’s a total of 12 yards — more than enough for a first down. And enough to keep the clock running while holding onto the ball.

“Controlling the clock forced their offense into situations I don’t think they wanted to be in,” Howell said. “We were on the other end of that last week. Anytime the defense is off the field, the kids are fresh. You do a lot of work playing defense for three quarters. (Controlling the ball) always helps (the defense).”

Champion had just three runs of 10 yards or more all night. Travis Damron rambled for 29 yards and Nathan Vesey added a 17-yard scamper and an 11-yard run.

— Bob Ettinger



Blanket coverage

PV Music Boosters are selling raffle tickets on a homemade stadium afghan. The tickets are $1 and the drawing is being held this week as the Wildcats of Southing ton come to town after a thorough beating by Berlin Western Reserve.

— Jon Hall



Pulling the wagon

Vesey and Damron combined to carry the ball 52 times for a total of 244 yards. They also combined for three receptions and 23 yards.

The pair carried the ball on 83.9 percent of the Golden Flashes’ running plays, caught 75 percent of the passes completed by Yartz and were responsible for moving the ball on 83.9 percent of Champion’s 68 plays.

All told, the pair gained 267 of the Golden Flashes’ 285 yards. They were responsible for 93.7 percent of their team’s yardage gained in the game.

“I think we have a great 1-2 punch,” Howell said. “Travis Damron and Nathan Vesey both do a great job. They’re both a threat (to score). Having that combination back there makes it easy on the coaches.”

Vesey ran 28 times for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 11 yards. Damron rushed 24 times for 113 yards.

— Bob Ettinger



Efficient

Both quarterbacks in Saturday’s games were quite effective, particularly in the first half. Lakeside quarterback Kyle George completed 6-of-10 passes over that period for 85 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Derrell McCaleb.

After an 0-for-4 start, Edgewood’s Peter Mackey connected on his next four passes for 124 yards and a 70-yard touchdown just before halftime to Matt Anderson.

George maintained his accurate ways to finish 8 of 14 for 123 yards. Mackey had greater difficulty in the second half, finishing 7 of 20 for 171 yards and two interceptions by Rashaad Bell, one of which was returned for a 57-yard touchdown.

— Karl Pearson



New home

When the home stands and press box were torn down and it was announced a trailer would serve as the press box at Municipal Stadium, there a lot of concerns.

The trailer was placed on the hillside behind the visitors’ bleachers.

Of those concerns, the biggest were whether or not the entire field could be seen and whether or not there was enough room to accomodate two radio stations, score keepers, clock operators, sports writers, PA announcers, spotters and assistant coaches.

Those concerns and questions were completely unfounded.

The new press box has plenty of room to house everybody comfortably and every part of the field can be seen clearly.

— Bob Ettinger



Take it away

Each team forced three turnovers. Madison had interceptions by Jason O’Bryan, Hunter Legeza and Matt Bruening. Perry had the pickoff by Kukwa and one by Jeff DiPofi. The other turnover came on a fumbled exchange between Iverson and Steve Isabella after the Blue Streaks, leading 7-0, had driven to a first down on the Pirate 22 in the second period. Ben Perko, who also led Perry in rushing (73 yards on 14 attempts) recovered the ball.

— Steve Goldman



A new season

Jason Root knows although his team is winless, conference play is on the horizon this week with a matchup against Southington (0-3) at laker Stadium.

“We can’t listen to negative people attitudes about our football family,” Root said. “(This) week begins the conference schedule. Our goal is to win the league. There are going to be two teams each having a losing record and the team that wants it more is going to win.”

— Jon Hall



A little backward

The new press box at Municipal Stadium might have plenty of room and good sight lines, but there is one change that’s a little disconcerting.

The old press box was on the south side of the field. The new one sits on the north side.

More than one person commented on how everything felt backward from the other side of the field.

— Bob Ettinger



Staggering

In a game during much of which a light rain fell, Madison’s Miles Iverson had a monster performance with 245 rushing yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns.

As impressive as those numbers were, one that is even more staggering is the 48 times he carried the football.

As for the yardage, it would have been 269 if he hadn’t fallen on a bad snap that resulted in a 24-yard loss. As it was, Iverson made a fine play, as by recovering the pigskin, he avoided the Pirates getting possession on the Blue Streak 20, with Madison holding a 21-14 lead.

Iverson, who did most of his running from the tailback position while Andy Karlson played quarterback, also completed four-of-seven passes for 58 yards, and threw Kukwa’s interception.

— Steve Goldman



Fumble fingers

The good folks at the Dairy Queen in Conneaut brought free sundaes to the press box. Henry Landon, while broadcasting the game for WWOW, somehow managed to drop one out the window.

“You didn’t drop it on anyone’s head did you,” spotter Danny Sullivan asked Landon.

— Bob Ettinger