Mogadore defeats Mineral Ridge in regional semifinal
SALEM — In a Division VI regional semifinal Friday against Mineral Ridge, Mogadore senior quarterback Zeke Cameron’s first two passes of the second quarter were stolen.
His third was golden.
Just before halftime, Cameron spotted senior wideout Devin Graham alone in the Rams secondary. Graham hauled in the pass and continued running to the end zone for a 52-yard go-ahead touchdown.
Late in the game, Cameron scored from the 1 to seal the Wildcats’ 21-7 victory at Sebo Stadium for their third consecutive regional championship appearance.
Mogadore (11-2) advanced to play Kirtland next Friday at a site to be announced Sunday.
Graham was happiest for Cameron. “Two possessions before that, our QB threw two picks on two big plays,” Graham said. “The third one, he threw me a great ball. I got wide open and my eyes got big.
“I was happy as hell. I knew I was going in.”
Cameron credited his coaches “for a great play design. The corner sat and the safety was taken with the post and [Graham] was able to be where nobody else was.”
Cameron shrugged off the interceptions.
“I really didn’t lose my confidence,” he said. “I was just able to put a good ball on him because I knew he would come and get it.
“It felt great.”
Trailing 13-7 at halftime, the Rams (8-5) were pests in the second half, stopping the Wildcats on a fourth-and-1 at the Mineral Ridge 4 to keep it a onescore game until 90 seconds remained.
“It was a physical football game,” Mogadore coach Matt Adorni said. “It wasn’t always the prettiest on our end.
“Super proud of our defense — they held tough all night long. Fortunately, the turnovers were deep. We did just enough on offense — we felt we left some points on the board.”
Adorni credited the Rams defense for big plays.
“Three turnovers in the red zone, one stop in the red zone,” Adorni said. “Their kids fought until the last whistle.”
Each team punted on the first possession. Lined up to punt again, the ball instead went to Wildcats senior Corey Lehner, who passed to Graham for a 34yard gain to the Mineral Ridge 21.
“We’re used to playing in these [playoff] games; we’ve been here the past three years,” Lehner said. “We’re used to tough moments and we’re used to making big plays in big opportunities.”
Five plays later, senior running back Austin Constantine scored from the 2 to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Rams wideout Brady Balestrino caught a tipped pass from quarterback Owen Shingledecker for a 29-yard gain to the Mogadore 23. Three plays later, Shingledecker found Ian Erb in the end zone for an 18-yard score.
Interceptions ended the Wildcats’ next two drives. Erb made the first one in the end zone while Balestrino was near the goal line when he grabbed the second.
The Wildcats ran 51 times for 262 yards. Junior Cole Reese led with 115 yards on 17 carries, Constantine had 87 yards on 21 rushes and junior Aaron Rumschlag had 69 yards on five carries.
“Our kids showed a lot of grit and guts, too,” Adorni said. “We‘re proud to survive and advance.
“I don’t think that many people expected this group to be a team that was heading to the Elite 8. They kind of overachieved all year and the believe in one another. It hasn’t always been pretty but we love coming to football every day.”
The Rams had 175 yards on the ground on 36 rushes. Jacob Russell had 82 yards on 14 carries.
“We were not expecting them to be that tough,” Graham said of the Rams. “On a Cinderella run, they came into this [game] hot … hotter than we expected. They brought it to us, but we overcame it.”