ADAM RAEDER
For the Perry Pirates, the playoff math is simple – win and they’re in.
It’s a fact that makes Friday night the biggest of games in a year that’s had it’s fair share of big matchups.
West Geauga. Kenston. Aurora.
All were big matchups. All were a chance for the Pirates to notch a season-defining win, and secure a place in the playoffs in the process.
All were Pirate losses.
“From that aspect, we’ve played some pretty good football programs, some pretty good teams, usually all bigger than we are” Perry coach Matt Rosati said. “It’s nothing new for us to play in a big game. Hopefully we can perform well and compete.”
If the Pirates are going to be competitive with an undefeated Chagrin Falls squad – one Rosati feels is the best team the Pirates will face all year – then they have to avoid the mistakes that cost them in their three losses.
Miscues tipped the scale in the Pirates’ first big showdown of the year, 28-21. Turnovers submarined Perry’s chances early against Kenston in a 19-8 loss. Only in Week 8’s 44-14 loss to Aurora was Perry not competitive on a big stage.
“If you’re not fundamentally sound, you’re going to lose. And the better players you have, the better chance you have,” Rosati said. “That’s the bottom line. If you have good players, you’re usually going to win. We have to get better.”
In fact the need to get better has been a bit of a mantra for the Pirates in the season’s home stretch. This could be the Pirates’ last chance to prove they’ve done just that.
“For this group, there’s no doubt about that,” Rosati said. “They’re down to their last shot.”
Not that it would be an easy shot for any team. The senior-laden Tigers are led by quarterback Chris Trinetti and running back Chris Gorman.
“They are very balanced. They can run up in the stack I and run the football at you or they can spread you out and try to throw it,” Rosati said. “They’re a very complete team.
“We’re going to have to tackle well. The Gorman kid is a big, strong running back and runs hard. We have to be fundamentally sound and try to tackle. If we can tackle and limit his YAC yardage, we’re going to be OK. If we can do that, if we can contain him, we hope to be in the football game.”
Offensively, the Pirates will be challenged by an aggressive, athletic Tigers defense.
“We’re going to have to block well,” Rosati said. “We’re going to have to protect our quarterback and run the ball with some efficiency.”
Pass protection has been one of the areas the Pirates have struggled in of late.
“We’re just not very good,” Rosati said. “That’s an issue. The better the players get, the better chance we’re going to have of protecting our quarterback.”
It’s an issue the Pirates are running out of time to correct.
n Madison at Riverside (7:30)
In a way, it’s fitting that Madison and Riverside end the season on opposite sides of the same field. Because, both teams have been playing out different versions of the same season.
Both squads had seasons marked by disappointing starts and an arduous quest for the first win. Both teams feel that they’re putting a much better product on the field now than they were earlier in the year.
And both teams want to use their late-season success as a springboard into next year.
Of course, only one can end the season on a win, though.
I tell the kids, it’s always better to have your last game a winning game than a losing game. You have the whole offseason and it won’t sit right,” Madison coach Tim Willis said. “I told the kids, hey, here’s your playoff game this week.
“Riverside’s another team that, athletically, and football-player wise, they look a lot better than their record. It’s a game that you get real nervous going in to. You can’t look at their record, that doesn’t equal what they are.”
Riverside coach Ryan Wolf was sending a similar message to his team.
“We’re taking it as not just the last game, but, for the seniors as a way to go out on a high note when the season hasn’t gone the way they hope, and then, kind of a springboard for next year,” Wolf said.
But what do the squads have to do to make sure they’re the ones who come out on top?
The Beavers know they have to contain Madison’s standout running back/quarter back/well, just about everything, Miles Iverson.
“Miles Iverson, he’s a really good running back. He sort of carries that offense,” Wolf said. “We’ve got to know where he’s at. We’re looking at tendencies. The one thing about Week 10, you have a lot of film. We’re trying to look at what they might light to do with them, where they’re going to move him around. He can throw. He was the quarterback at the beginning of the year. That’s a challenge. They’ll power you for 15 plays, then they’ll spread you out for 15 plays.”
The Beavers hope that Nathan Perkle can play a large role in helping contain Iverson after the large tight end showed some promise last week on the defensive side of the ball at outside linebacker and defensive end.
The Blue Streaks, meanwhile, want to focus on stopping a Riverside receiving corps highlighted by Perkle and L.T. Smith.
“They’re extremely fast. I think the two guys from North were pretty good, and these guys are similar to the guys at North – they’re bigger kids and they’re extremely fast” Willis said. “We’ve got to keep them underneath us and play good fundamental football.”
The Blue Streaks also want to avoid the big plays that cost them earlier in the season.
“We’ve got our work cut out on defense,” Willis said.
If the late season is a springboard for next year, the Blue Streaks are springing ahead in the passing game, where sophomore Andy Karlson, filling in behind center when Iverson is at running back or wideout, has excelled completing over 50 percent of his passes in six games.
“It’s big, because every week we’ve opened his package up a little more,” Willis said. “He’s done a little bit more every week and gotten better and better. As far as experience for the future – experience is something you can’t coach. When you’re actually out there at varsity-speed football, that’s something we can build on for next year.”
The Beavers offense, meanwhile, will receive a boost from the full-time return of running back/quarterback John Studio, who has been slowed all year by injuries.
n Grand Valley at Newton Falls (7)
Grand Valley’s ride through the season hasn’t been a smooth one. The Mustangs have seen plenty of ups and downs, and bumps along the way.
But as they enter the final week, the Mustangs still have a 6-3 record and plenty of optimism (even if their running game remains maddeningly inconsistent).
“It’s just the idea of looking to see how much we’ve improved from the beginning of the year to now and how well the kids want to step up from the last ballgame of the season,” Mustangs coach Tom Henson said of the final week. “We really feel that we came a long way. From the beginning we made adjustments on both defensive and offensive sides of the ball on some of the personnel and some of the things we do. I’m pretty happy about where we’re at.”
In fact, it would be hard for any coach not to be happy coming off the type of dominating defensive performance the Mustangs put up last week against Lutheran East, when they allowed just 59 total yards, despite missing standout defensive end Logan Nye for a portion of the game (Nye was one of two players taking the ACT test). Now, the Mustangs will look to bring the same swarming attack against Newton Falls.
“We’re looking to see where we come out in Week 10 against Newton Fall,” Henson said..” It’s going to be a tough ball game, but we like what we’re doing and we like where the program is headed.
“They’re a real good football team. They run out of a run-and-shoot formation. They run the option pretty well. They throw the ball pretty good. They’re very good up front.”
A large part of the Mustangs’ success last week was their ability to lock down Lutheran East’s wideouts in man coverage, allowing their linebackers more flexibility to attack the line of scrimmage. This week, Henson thinks the pressure is going to be on his guys in the trenches as they look to disrupt Newton Falls’ option game.
Offensively, the question remains the same as it has all season – will the offensive line and running game click, as it has at times this season, or sputter, as it did last week?
“It’s an up-and-down offensive line. Sometimes we’re up. Sometimes we’re down,” Henson said. “Last week, we were down. There were a lot of variables that went into our offensive line performance. Sickness. Injury. We had a couple kids late to the game because they took the ACT test. Everything that could create a problem was there to create a problem. This week, we’ll be healthier and we don’t have to worry about the kids taking the ACT test. We’re looking for more positives.”
And, in the last week of the season, the Mustangs are looking to do something else, too.
“We’re just going to go out and have fun and give it our best shot,” Henson said.
n Lakeside at North (7:30)
If nine weeks of film on the Rangers has taught the Dragons one thing, it’s this: North likes to throw the ball. A lot.
OK, it’s hardly a revelation. But, it is the key to the game.
“They throw it all over the field. I don’t know how many times a game they throw it, but it seems like just about every down. They have a couple receivers that can go get it. They try to get vertical in a hurry and to try to get mismatches,” Lakeside coach Bill Lipps said. “Our game plan is to try to stay on top of everything, keep everything in front of us, tackle very well and try not to get into those mismatches.”
The film did show another thing, though – for as much as the Rangers throw, quarterback George Gresko hasn’t be put on his back very often.
“This kid, their quarterback, is in the gun, he takes another quick two or three steps and gets rid of the ball in a hurry,” Lipps said.
Still, getting pressure on the quarterback has been one of the things the Dragons have done quite well this season, especially defensive end Sean Dell, who leads the team with 14 sacks.
“We’ve done a really good job from our front four, getting pressure on the quarterback without having to rob from the linebacker crew. I’m really, really counting on our front four ... to get that pressure up there,” Lipps said. “If they can’t, I guess we may have to look elsewhere. But I’m hoping the front four can do it. Then we’ve just got to mix our coverages up, play two or three coverages back there. The kids at Lakeside are athletic. That’s what we’re counting on.”
They’re also counting on their athletes in the secondary to contain North’s big receivers, especially lanky defensive backs Rashaad Bell, Joe Kelly and Bruce Cox.
The Dragons defense should receive a boost from the Dragons offense, which sees standout running back Derrell McCaleb return to full strength after fighting a hip flexor for the past three weeks. The Dragons coaches hope more carries for McCaleb can help keep North’s offense off the field.
Offensively, the idea is to keep their offense on the sideline. We want to move the sticks, maintain some drives,” Lipps said. “It’s a team that scores a lot of points, so we want to finish with touchdowns instead of field goals.”
And, of course, the Dragons hope to cap of Lipps’ first season at the helm with a win.
“It was a lot of fun. That first team ... I’ll always remember this group,” Lipps said. “A great senior class, not only athletically but they’re going to be good community members down the road. They were a big part of my life for these last three years, and hopefully, I was a big part of their life for those last three years.”
n Conneaut at Edgewood (7, WWOW)
Ever since Joe Kearney took over the Edgewood program, he’s tried to instill a simple message: Hard work pays off.
As he looks back on the first nine weeks of this season, a season that saw the Warriors flip an 0-10 record from last season into a 6-3 mark entering Week 10, Kearney feels his message has been heard loud and clear.
“The kids have worked real hard,” the coach said. “They dedicated themselves, way back in December of last year to get ready for the season. Hard work pays off and it has. It’s simple, when you think about it – if you work hard, it should pay off. Fortunately it has for us.
“The kids made themselves better football players. They did it individually from a lot of effort. They had a good year.”
A year they’d like nothing more than to top off with a win over rival Conneaut, one week after besting Jefferson.
“It’s like Jefferson,” Kearney said of the rivalry. “That (Jefferson) game was real hard fought and close. To be honest, I know they had a rough year, but I expect them to show up and play real hard Friday night. Their kids are going to do everything they can to make themselves successful.
“There’s no easy picking, believe me.”
The biggest challenge the Spartans pose is their big-play ability. Even in a year that’s had it’s fair share of frustrations for Conneaut, the Spartans have been able to score from anywhere on the field.
“We’ve seen that on film,” Kearney said. “We know that they’re a threat at any time. You’ve got to stay home, ready your keys, and, particularly in the secondary, don’t leave your zone until the ball is in the air. Then you go to the ball – that’s what we preach and we need to make sure we reinforce that all week.”
And what do the Spartans have to do to slow down the Warriors, especially the dynamic Anderson brothers? Well, Conneaut coach Ken Parise wants to keep that close to the vest.
“I’m not going to mention those tonight,” the coach said. “I want to keep that quiet. We’re just working hard to play in our rival game this week.
“We’re just going to get on our bus, head on over there and get ready to play.”
A win in the rivalry showdown would go a long way toward erasing some tough losses this season, and a long way towards a better 2010.
“It means a lot to both schools. I wouldn’t say bragging rights, but it’s always a hard-hitting game and a well played game,” Parise said. “We can expect the same thing Friday night. It’s going to be a great matchup for us. We’ll be ready.”
n Youngstown Christian at PV (7)
In football, experience doesn’t come easily or quickly.
It comes with a sharp learning curve, painful mistakes and plenty of frustration.
The experience-building process for Pymatuning Valley would be no different this year.
“Our season has obviously not turned out the way we expected it to,” Lakers coach Jason Root said. “Having a tiny senior class (four kids) hurt us in the leadership department. Expecting four junior captains – who of course were mere sophomores last season – to lead this team was probably wishful thinking on my part. They have done the best they could. On the positive, they will be much more prepared to lead our team next year as seniors. Not being able to tackle or block consistently hurt us early on. Losing Josh Kirby for the second half of the season, as well as A.J. Kovach, hurt us on both sides of the ball.”
But there is good news for the Lakers – it always pays off in the long run.
And the Lakers, as they enter their final game of their season, are starting to see the dividends of that experience.
The poor tackling that plagued Pymatuning Valley early in the season improved with time. The Lakers found their running backs of the future in Kurtis Marsh, Josh Kirby, and Nick Marshall. And everyone involved is more attuned to the speed of varsity football.
“We will return many varsity lettermen next year,” Kovach said. “We will also have a large senior class (14-17 players). I expect us to improve greatly and have a successful season. Seeing how Joe Kearney led Edgewood from an 0-10 record last year to a winning record in 2009 shows our team that we can do the same thing in 2010.”
And a win over Youngstown Christian would set an excellent tone for that 2010 campaign, while sending the Lakers’ four seniors out on a high note, though that’s hardly a simple task.
“Youngstown Christian has some fine football players as always,” root said. “We have to be able to control the line of scrimmage on offense, and tackle properly on defense. They give several offensive looks.”
n University at Jefferson (7)
Before he faced the Falcons last week, Edgewood’s Joe Kearney said he feels Jefferson is better than it’s record – it simply hasn’t had much go it’s way.
After a game that was a statistical dead heat, one that turned on a punt return touchdown, one can imagine nothing changed Kearney’s mind.
Jefferson’s not a team that anyone should be taking lightly, University included.
Jefferson’s defense turned in a stout performance last week, holding Edgewood to 189 yards of total offense and scored the Falcons’ lone points on a Connor Cleveland 81-yard fumble return. The solid defense has been a trend all year. The Falcons are holding opponents to 267 yards per game,
Jefferson, though is fighting an injury bug, with up to eight starters out for the game.
But if the Falcons want to compete with a very good University squad, they have to eliminate some of the miscues that cost them against Edgewood, including two fumbles and an eye-popping 15 penalties.
n Geneva at Gilmour Academy, Saturday (1)
While the Pirates have to win to be in, the Eagles need a little luck to go their way.
The Eagles entered the week with a precarious perch on the final playoff spot, but with very few points to be gained against a two-win Gilmour Academy squad, the Eagles are going to need a lot to go their way if they hope to play past Week 10.
“They want to go out on top. We know it’s a real tight race for the playoffs,” Eagles coach Tony Hassett said. “The only thing we can control is winning on Saturday.”
No matter what happens with their playoff hopes, though, the Eagles will have plenty to be proud of this season as they search for their eighth win.
“After last season, winning the (NEC) championship, the kids set their goals higher and worked hard to achieve those goals. We’ve come together very nicely as a team,” Hassett said. “They don’t get down on each other when things aren’t going well. We’re playing pretty good football this year. We were able to do a lot of firsts this year.”
Firsts that include notching the programs first win over Madison and over Riverside in more than a decade.
“I’m extremely proud of our group of seniors for our leadership and our underclassmen for coming through,” Hassett said.
While Gimour doesn’t have a lot to offer Geneva in the way of playoff points, the Eagles are still expecting a dangerous opponent. Gilmour Academy has won two of their last three games, including a victory last week against John Adams.
“Gilmour is a pretty good team. I know their record doesn’t show it, but they’ve got some talent,” Hassett said. “They’re finding out how to win. They’ve won two of the last three. That’s going to make a dangerous opponent.
“They have a big fullback, he’s 240 pounds. Their center goes about 290 and they have another tackle about 285. They have a couple of their backs who are pretty quick.”
Raeder is a freelance writer from Painesville.
