STEVE GOLDMAN
PARMA — It was almost as if the Madison Blue Streaks were relying so heavily on Mitch Krotz that they didn’t know what to do when he wasn’t in the ballgame.
OK, that’s an overstatement. A gross overstatement. But the fact is that the key play in Thursday’s 14-10 loss to Normandy happened as a result of a miscommunication when Krotz was taken out of the game.
With only 10 Blue Streak players on the field, junior fullback Jake Squirek, the son of former Oakland Raider Jack Squirek, broke through the right side of the line for an 80-yard touchdown run with 6:38 to play to provide the winning points, as the Invaders overcame a deficit that stood at 10-0 late in the third quarter.
The contest was played at Byers Field, which is Normandy’s home turf.
“I thought we controlled the game,” Madison coach Tim Willis said. “When they scored the long one, we had 10 guys on the field. Miscommunication — my fault.
“We were trying to give (Krotz) a blow on defense; that was the screwup that happened. He never comes off the field. We didn’t have another guy in. No excuses.”
Krotz, a senior linebacker and quarterback, is a two-way standout. In Thursday’s non-conference opener for both sides, he made numerous big plays on defense, including both of Madison’s forced turnovers on an interception and a fumble recovery.
On offense, Krotz statistically carried almost the entire load. He not only had all 158 passing yards, including a three-yard scoring strike to tight end Hunter Legeza on fourth down in the second period, but he also ran for 73 yards on 29 carries, as he accounted for all the Blue Streaks’ total yards except two.
Krotz gamely tried to pull out the win in the waning moments, as he led the team to two first downs. But on a fourth-and-10 on the Normandy 22, Casey Pierce stopped Steve Isabella five yards short of a first down after he caught a pass.
“(Krotz) is a kid who will fight, fight and fight,” Willis said.
A 26-yard scoring pass from Pierce to Squirek on fourth-and-13 gave the Invaders their first points with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
Squirek finished with 165 yards on 19 carries.
“They’ve got a good running back,” Willis said. “They took charge a little bit and we had a little trouble stopping him with tackling. We were in the right spots but had trouble tackling.”
But for most of the game, Madison came up with a defensive play whenever it needed one. It stopped an Invaders march in the first period, resulting in a missed 26-yard field goal attempt by Kevin Coon.
The Blue Streaks then drove 80 yards in 14 plays in 6:16, mostly via the air. Krotz hooked up with Isabella (4 catches, 60 yards) for a 37-yard gain, and with Jordan Dickman (4 catches, 48 yards) twice for first downs on the possession.
In the third quarter, Krotz’s pickoff helped set up a 33-yard Eric Gavorski field goal. The next Normandy possession ended at the Madison 23 with the fumble. However, following a Blue Streak punt, the Invaders moved 49 yards to obtain their first score.
Madison then saw a possession of more than six minutes stall at the Normandy 36, and punted. Squirek ran it in on the next play.
Matt Minor intercepted a pass to thwart the Blue Streaks’ next possession, moments before Madison’s ill-fated final drive.
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
