The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Week 13 is upon us on the local gridiron
John Kampf gets you ready for tonight’s elite-eight action in high school football, including Noah Potter (pictured) and Mentor taking on St. Edward, along with Kenston-Canfield and Kirtland-Mogadore.
(1) MENTOR VS. (7) ST. EDWARD
What: Division I, Region 1 championship game Where: Euclid Community Stadium When: 7 p.m., Nov. 16 Records: Mentor 11-1, St. Edward 8-3 Mentor’s path: Def. Strongsville, 38-7; def. Canton McKinley, 36-6 St. Edward path: Def. St. Ignatius, 21-19; def. Euclid, 56-35 On deck: Winner advances to the state final four against a yet-to-be-determined regional champion
Mentor update: This is a rematch of a regular-season opener won by the Cardinals, 42-39. Mentor ran wild in that game, with Brian Trobel running for 191 yards and four touchdowns, and quarterback Ian Kipp going for 174 yards and two scores. It was an offensive slugfest, with Mentor piling up 478 yards and St. Edward chalking up 441. Mentor had a 42-33 lead when St. Edward scored on the final play of the game . ... Mentor has run the ball effectively all year behind its big, powerful offensive line anchored by Ohio State commit Ryan Jacoby and Michigan State commit Nick Samac. Kipp is healthy again after a sprained shoulder sidelined him late in the regular season. Junior Luke Floriea is the leading receiver, but guys such as sure-handed Mason Trubisky and Charlie Gallo are also go-to players. Make no mistake, Mentor wants to run the ball to set up the pass. Trobel and junior Varney Spansel both ran for 75 yards last week with a pair of scores each. Defensively, Ohio State commit Noah Potter has been an unblockable terror at defensive end. James Pedley had a strong game last week, as did linebacker Brady Benz. Defending St. Edward receiver Quintel Kent, a Michigan recruit, is a tall task. He had seven catches for 135 yards and two scores in the first meeting. St. Edward is the only team this year to really gouge the Mentor defense. St. Edward update: Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno and St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo forecasted this rematch back when they played in August. After losing to Mentor in the first game of the season, Lombardo lamented his team’s inability to get a big stop defensively against Mentor’s running game, so St. Edward will likely focus on slowing down the Cardinals’ ground game in the rematch . ... Eagles RB Jordan Castleberry ran for 196 yards and caught three passes for 110 yards last week against Euclid. His running ability and the field-stretching ability of Kent will test the Mentor defense. Mentor has negated passing threats in recent weeks with its ferocious pass rush, but getting upfield too fast might open running lanes for Castleberry. When the teams met the first time, QB Garrett Dzuro went down late with an injury. But he is back and healthy now. There is no doubt St. Edward — which has big linemen such as 6-2, 295-pound Crishoun Roberts — can pile up the yards. The key for the Eagles will be defense. DB Caden Kolesar, LB Jeff Pietrowski and DB Lawson Nash will all have the spotlight on them trying to slow down a Mentor offense that hit them for big yards and big points in the first meeting.
(2) KENSTON VS. (1) CANFIELD
What: Division III, Region 9 championship game Where: Warren Mollenkopf Stadium, 860 Elm Road NE, Warren When: 7 p.m., Nov. 16 Records: Kenston 11-1, Canfield 11-1 Kenston’s path: Def. West Holmes, 48-34; def. Medina Buckeye, 40-21 Canfield’s path: Def. Marlington, 35-10; def. Akron East, 30-7 On deck: Winner advances to the state final four against a yet-to-be-determined regional champion
Kenston update: It’s been a while — 23 years to be exact — that the Bombers have been in a regional final. Coach Jeff Grubich was still in high school (at nearby Chagrin Falls) when it happened. Now the Bombers are one win away from the state final four . ... Kenston is coming off a lopsided win over Medina Buckeye in which the Bombers showed exceptional balance, running for 195 yards and passing for 197. Jack Porter ran for 130 yards and a score. The junior back has run for 1,961 yards and 25 touchdowns so far. QB Jon Tomcufcik threw for 197 yards and three scores, giving him 2,442 yards passing with 23 TDs and 395 rushing yards with 11 scores. Burly George Sell and Alex Robarge anchor the line. Sure-handed Bransen Stanley is the leading receiver, but Tyler Mintz and others are very reliable, too. Defensively, the Bombers gave up 221 rushing yards last week, which might be a concern against the run-heavy Canfield Cardinals. Linebacker Matt Iklodi is the leading defender, but that front wall, including DT Mitchell Sotera, is going to want/need to lock down the run game this week. Kicker Anna Sanders is as solid as they come.
Canfield update: Coach Mike Pavalansky’s team is just like every other Canfield team — tough, physical, great defense, pound-the-rock type of team. The Cardinals held a very talented Akron East team to 47 yards in the second half last week — 36 of them coming on one pass play. This will be the best defense Kenston has faced all year. Kenston has scored 37 or more points 10 times this year, but Canfield has held 11 of its 12 opponents to 14 points or fewer (with three shutouts). Offensively, Canfield runs a physical running offense. Mehlyn Clinkscale ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Akron East. The team ran for 260 yards and four touchdowns against a huge East defensive front. Mark Dawson has thrown for just shy of 1,000 yards. Could experience be a factor? While Kenston hasn’t been to this level in 23 years, the Cardinals were in the regional final last year, losing to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 13-10.
(2) KIRTLAND VS. (1) MOGADORE
What: Division VI, Region 21 championship game Where: Veterans Stadium, 109 W. Pioneer Trail, Aurora When: 7 p.m., Nov. 16 Record: Kirtland 12-0, Mogadore 11-1 Kirtland’s path: Def. Steubenville Catholic Central, 59-0; def. Creston Norwayne, 35-0
Mogadore’s path: Def. Columbia, 35-0; def. McDonald, 28-7
On deck: Winner advances to the state final four against a yet-to-be-determined regional champion
Kirtland update: Two of the most-storied small-school football programs will meet in this one. Kirtland has 35 career playoff wins, six final four appearances and three state titles. Mogadore has 60 playoff wins, 17 final fours and three titles. This is a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal won by Kirtland, 34-28 . ... Kirtland has outscored the opposition, 503-32, this year and outgained them, 4,802 yards to 1,512. The Hornets have yet to give up a rushing touchdown this year. DL Jack Bailey, LB Ethan Jernejcic and DB-LB Mason Sullivan are among the defensive leaders, but Kirtland will rotate in up to 20 players on that side of the ball to stay fresh . ... Offensively, RBs Joey Torok (1,473 yards, 25 TDs) and Jake Neibecker (904 yards, 12 TDs) do most of the heavy lifting, but Luke Gardner (571 yards, five TDs) is also a big contributor. The Hornets don’t throw the ball a lot, but QB Tommy Powers has completed 44 of 64 passes (69 percent) for 891 yards and 12 TDs, against only one interception. ... The offensive line is big, led by Bailey (6-4, 300) and Austin Fulco (6-2, 240), but a little nicked up injury-wise. It didn’t hurt the team last week in a shutout win over Norwayne.
Mogadore update: The Wildcats have won have won nine in a row after a 35-14 loss to Linsly (W.Va.) in Week 3. Mogadore and Kirtland have two common opponents. The Wildcats beat Norwayne, 35-34, while Kirtland beat the Bobcats, 35-0. Mogadore beat Geneva, 49-20, while Kirtland beat the Eagles, 35-0 . ... The Wildcats scored in a number of ways last week against McDonald. Gavin Christy scored on the ground, QB Luke Rosato had touchdown passes to TE Connor Kerr and receiver Eli Robertson, and Robertson added a 61-yard interception for a touchdown. Rosati (5-10, 165) is a first-team all-district player, as is RB Christy (5-10, 190). The Wildcats’ line will be giving up some size to Kirtland. Mogadore’s top linemen are seniors Rhett Brodie (6-3, 195) and Nick Reeves (5-11, 195) . ... Defensively, lineman Logan Penix (5-10, 230) is a physical run-stopper . ... Both teams have good speed at the skill position. Kirtland has a physical size advantage in the trenches. This one will come down to defense — which team can slow down the opposition, because both have scored a lot of points this year.