Wickliffe’s historic season comes to an end

NORTH RIDGEVILLE » One of the best seasons in Wickliffe football history ended in the Division 5 Region semifinal at North Ridgeville on a chilly Nov. 10, as the Blue Devils fell to powerful Sullivan Black River, 44-6.

The Pirates (11-1) who will advance to a regional final against South Range on Nov. 17, were every bit as advertised on both sides of the ball.

Black River accumulated 479 yards of offense — all of it on the ground — as its heralded trio of running backs each exceeded 100 yards.

Riley Gibbs (200 yards), Travis Sexton (140), and Jake Campbell (111) led the way for the Pirates, who piled up 19 first downs and had runs of 71 and 55 yards for scores, as well as two other runs of 50-plus yards.

“The kids came out and took it to them right from the beginning,” Black River coach Al Young said. “We had a great game plan and executed it perfectly.”

Wickliffe (8-4) received the opening kickoff and drove down to the Black River 16 before fumbling the ball away. The Blue Devils struggled for much of the night to get anything going offensively against the pressure of the frequently blitzing Black River defense, and finished with 215 total yards, 167 on the ground.

“They are very wellcoached and very disciplined,” Wickliffe coach Marce Porcello said of Black River. “I thought we hung with them in the first half, but a couple turnovers hurt us. They kind of wore us down. I’m proud of these guys, proud of my seniors. Great young men.”

Wickliffe fell behind, 160, in the first half, but prevented further damage by stopping the Pirates on a fourth down play at the Blue Devil 12, keeping the game in reach at halftime.

Gibbs took the first play of the second half 55 yards for a score, and Black River blew the doors open with a 22-point third quarter.

Isaac Pettway was a bright spot on a tough night for Wickliffe, as the junior fullback picked up 141 yards on 15 carries and scored the Blue Devils’ lone touchdown on a highlightreel 67-yard run in the third quarter.

Wickliffe will say goodbye to nine seniors who provided the community with a lot of excitement and memories in two playoff seasons.

The Blue Devils rallied from a 3-3 record midway through the season, needing to essentially win out to make the postseason. Wickliffe advanced past the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in school history.

“Coming out with that 3-3 start, I don’t know if many people believed in us,” said two-way lineman Jared Szinte, a fouryear starter for Wickliffe. “I remember after a Monday practice us nine seniors got together and said we wanted to drag this thing out as long as we could. We gave it our all. We got to Week 12, and that’s where it ended.”

Nick Fenton switched between quarterback and halfback throughout the night.

He and Pettway both rushed for over 1,000 yards and together drove the Wickliffe offense all season.

“It was great not only for the football team but for the entire community,” Fenton said. “Recently Wickliffe hasn’t been a powerhouse team, but the past two years we’ve given the community something to look forward to every Friday night.”