The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
More Week 1 gridiron action awaits inside
Euclid has grand opening with new stadium in win over Glenville, Perry defeats Riverside, NDCL knocks off South and West Geauga rallies past Chardon.
Perhaps aura can change addresses after all.
On Aug. 24, Euclid officially christened its new stadium by welcoming rival Glenville for a nonconference headliner.
Some of the greats of the past were honored during the festivities, and the Panthers of the present proved on the field they can play some pretty good defense at the cradle of tailbacks, too.
Job Rand and Omari Howard had vital interceptions, which respectively helped turned the tide for Euclid toward a 42-17 rout.
At times it was far from a work of art, with a combined 20 penalties.
But some of the mystique from good old Sparky DiBiasio Stadium next door carried over on this night — and the Panthers hope for many more years to come.
“I’m happy because we got a win,” Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky said. “I’m frustrated because we gave them extra snaps with stuff that’s — it’s all controlling emotion. Playing with fire, it can be a rage, but controlled rage. And we let them back in the game. It shouldn’t have been that way.
“And as much experience as we have, we’ve got to make some better decisions, just as young men. And then in the second half, playmakers make plays.”
One in particular may
have been the shift the Panthers needed to get into overdrive. Early in the third quarter, nursing a 21-17 lead, Howard pounced on a batted ball back toward the line of scrimmage for an interception, giving Euclid a short field at the Tarblooders’ 27.
On fourth-and-12, Dion Valentine connected on a crossing pattern to Claishon Ivory for a vital 25-yard completion for a first down.
On the next play, Howard lined up at fullback and plowed in from 4 yards out. Mamadou Mbaye’s extra point made it 28-17.
“Man ... once I saw my boy Chris (Parker) knock it down, I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got to get this,’ ” Howard said with a smile. “I jumped up, caught it and made the play.
“Our defense just really got in their heads. We said,
‘We’ve just to stop them. We’ve got to make these plays now.’ It’s on us — we’ve got to make our plays. That’s really what I think it was.”
The Panthers forced a punt after a third-down sack by Tywann Johnson and Chris Parker. From the Glenville 46, Patrick Hawthorne beat his cornerback down the left sideline and Valentine hit him in stride for a 46-yard TD.
It was 35-17, and the home faithful could breathe a little easier.
“The blessing of this unit now — it’s a unit,” Rotsky said.
“(Howard’s interception) was a huge play in the game, because then we went right in and scored. I’ll tell you the biggest play of the game, to me. That was big — and then having Patrick Hawthorne run by the kid. He’s a fast kid. He came off some injuries and stuff. He’s got speed to burn, and that’s the beautiful thing.”
The first half, in stark contrast, was not a beautiful thing, taking nearly 90 minutes. The Panthers emerged with a 21-17 lead from that, keyed by an electric play from Rand.
The senior hauled in an interception at his own 23, was seemingly boxed in but cut against the grain diagonally at midfield, picked up blockers and rumbled 77 yards for a pick-six.
“Basically, I think the key was everybody doing their job,” Howard said.
A job that could use some refinement after the amount of penalties, but was rendered a secondary point amid a rout.
Brandon Wright rushed for 74 yards on 14 carries, including a 14-yard TD in the opening quarter, and Valentine went 9-for-13 passing for 179 yards and three scores.
As Euclid welcomed back some of its gridiron heroes to be inducted into its Ring of Honor, the current edition of the Panthers rang in the fall similar to their predecessors, with a hint of aura present.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I like the beginning parts,” Rotsky said. “I like the clay. Now we’ve got to mold the clay.”