The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
UNDER THE PILE
Olmsted Falls scores six rushing touchdowns in SWC win over Amherst
Olmsted Falls running back Michael Howard is buried under six Amherst defenders during a first-quarter run on Sept. 29. Amherst fell to Olmsted Falls, 39-14.
The Olmsted Falls Bulldogs are a reigning regional final qualifier. The Amherst Comets are a team on the rise in the Southwestern Conference and want what the Bulldogs have.
On Sept. 29 at Amherst, Olmsted Falls sent a message with a resounding 39-14 win, improving to 5-1 overall, while Amherst dropped to 4-2.
Perhaps the biggest key? The Bulldogs averaged six yards per carry on first down, running a
well-oiled machine offensively throughout the night.
“We needed to tell them that we’ve been winning for years and (Amherst is) just starting to come up, so it wasn’t going to happen for them,” Olmsted Falls running back Michael Howard, who had 70 yards and a touchdown, said.
Junior Jack Spellacy added two rushing touchdowns and running back Luke Lombardo led Olmsted Falls with 88 yards and a touchdown.
“Our preparation this week was tough,” Olmsted Falls coach Tom Deluca said. “We knew this was going to be a tough game. It’s the SWC, man. Every game is tough and we take it one game at a time. “We’re dialed in right now.” After entering halftime with a 20-7 lead, the Bulldogs tried corralling Comets star running back Khennedy Scagliozzo, but he broke free for a 5-yard touchdown early in the third to close within six points, completing a 74-yard drive for Amherst.
But the Comets’ offense stalled the rest of the way, and towards the end of the quarter, Howard gutted Amherst’s defense with a 32-yard gain, followed by Spellacy rushing in for a 19-yard score to extend the Bulldogs’ lead, 26-14.
Early in the fourth, junior Braden Galaska made the biggest defensive play of the night. With Amherst in Bulldogs territory, he picked off Scagliozzo and returned it 71 yards to Amherst’s 5-yard line.
That set up a 6-yard
rushing touchdown from Lombardo with 9:47 left, effectively putting the game away.
Scagliozzo ran for 145 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns, but Olmsted Falls still came away feeling it did a solid job on him.
“As dangerous as he is, I thought we did a good job,” DeLuca said. “He’s still going to get his. He’s that good of a football player.”
The Bulldogs struck early in the first with a 27yard touchdown catch by Galaska from quarterback Teddy Grendzynski down the seam for a 6-0 lead. With 11:10 in the second, after Spellacy rushed up the
gut for a 3-yard score to give Olmsted Falls a 13-0 lead, the Comets got on the board with a 4-yard touchdown from Scagliozzo with 8:14 to go in the second. Scagliozzo had gains of 16 and 31 yards on the drive leading up to the score.
But the Bulldogs extended their lead with 33 seconds remaining in the half when Howard bullied his way to an 11-yard rushing touchdown and they took a 20-7 lead into halftime.
Olmsted Falls had 17 first downs to the Comets’ 10. Amherst had little success through the air, only totaling 35 yards.
Amherst coach Mike Passerrello said a lesson could be learned from a night like this, hoping his team can rebound moving forward.
“In the first half, we shot ourselves in the foot a few times on both sides of the ball,” Passerrello said. “We’ve got to learn how to finish or keep competing in these big games.”
The Bulldogs’ only blemish on the season is a loss to Avon in Week 2, so they’re feeling strong about their chances with four regular season games to go.
“We’re staying positive and we know we don’t have a week off the rest of the season,” Howard said. “We have to be ready.”