The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon tops Madison, North edges Riverside
In a low-scoring affair, Chardon staves off a 14-6 WRC win at Madison, and North holds on for a 26-20 victory over visiting Riverside. Get a full recap from both all-area contests.
The lowdown
Chardon’s Connor Morris intercepted a pass with 1:48 left in the game to secure a hard-fought 14-6 victory for the Hilltoppers (51, 4-0) at Madison (2-4, 1-2) in a Western Reserve Conference matchup Sept. 29.
Following a nine-minute drive by the Hilltoppers that ended with a fourthdown stop by the Blue Streaks’ defense, Madison took over at its 37-yard line with just over two minutes remaining. As was the case all night, it was defense that had the final say as three plays later, Morris put the game on ice for Chardon.
The Hilltoppers got on the board first when junior quarterback Andrew Kobuszewski broke through the tough Blue Streaks’ run defense for a 56-yard touchdown that gave Chardon a 7-0 lead three minutes in. The two teams traded punts and big defensive stops until Madison’s Ken Cline capped off an impressive drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that made it 7-6 with 9:09 left in the half. It remained 7-6 until midway through the third when Kobuszewski struck again, this time on a quarterback sneak up the gut for a 1-yard score that capped off a 12-play, 65-yard march that put the Hilltoppers ahead, 14-6, with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
Chardon had a chance to extend the lead early in the fourth but were stonewalled by the stout Blue Streaks defense that stopped the Hilltoppers’ drive at the Madison 29 to start the quarter. It was the fifth stop for the Blue Streaks’ defense on fourth-and-short against the vaunted Chardon rushing attack. The Hilltoppers’ defense forced a three-andout, but Madison’s Alex Dragas hit a booming 63-yard punt that set Chardon up inside its own 5 with over 11 minutes remaining.
Nine minutes and 13 plays later, the Hilltoppers drive ended short of the goal again when the Blue Streaks defense came up with their final huge fourth down stop, returning the ball to its offense.
Three plays later, Morris ended the Blue Streaks comeback with his gamesaving interception to preserve the Hilltoppers’ win.
Top players
CHARDON » Kobuszewski rushed 27 times for 169 yards and two scores. He also added 36 yards passing. Senior RB Mason Ziegenfuss added 30 yards rushing and 36 yards receiving for the Hilltoppers. MADISON » Cline, a senior, ran 18 times for 65 yards and a score. Fellow senior RB Matt Gianfagna added 41 all-purpose yards for the Blue Streaks.
Stat attack
Chardon ran 54 times for over 250 yards and dominated time of possession, as it had the ball for more than 30 minutes.
They said it
CHARDON COACH MITCH HEWITT » “The first half was about as bad as we could get, yet we still went in with a one-point lead. The second half wasn’t much better, but our kids showed some grit and we got the score we needed. We chewed up a ton of clock and got a win with a defensive stand with a bunch of kids who had never really played a road game before.” MADISON COACH TIM WILLIS » “I don’t think that team was better than us. We’ve got to make plays out there. We had a lot of stops, but didn’t get anything out of them. We missed tackles. We did what we could, competed, but didn’t get a win out of it and that’s what matters.”
Up next
Chardon returns home to face South, while Madison will welcome Mayfield for homecoming Oct. 6.