Chagrin tops Harvey in soaker

Mother nature made her presence felt Aug. 28 with a steady rain the full 48 minutes, but with all the uncertainty about playing this year, no one seemed to mind as Chagrin Falls defeated Harvey, 16-6, at C.S. Harris Stadium. Thank goodness for turf. Both teams exchanged fumbles and field position resulting in a scoreless first quarter.

However, Chagrin played to their strength and used a steady diet of runs by seniors Cam O’Connor and Owen McClintock sandwiched around a 10-yard completion by quarterback Dawnson Pierce to Josh Norton to march the ball 63 yards on nine plays.

The drive culminated

CHAGRIN FALLS 16, HARVEY 6 with a 1-yard run by McClintock. The extra point by Andrew Kirkpatrick was good and it was 7-0.

In the second quarter, Harvey got into the scoring column. After catching a screen pass and shaking a Chagrin defender, Rick Coleman Jr. sprinted 64 yards down the right sideline for the score. The Red Raiders missed the extra point.

The ensuing Chagrin Falls drive was the “Donny Hardy Show.” The sophomore running back accounted for the entire offense on the Tigers’ next possession, needing only four carries to go the entire 67 yards. The final being a 4-yard run around right end. The kick was no good but it gave the Tigers the breathing room they needed at 13-6.

For the night, Hardy gained 103 yards on 11 carries.

A 27-yard field goal by Kirkpatrick at the start of the fourth quarter rounded out the scoring.

Chagrin assistant John Scott — who filled in for longtime coach Mark Iammarino — felt his senior leadership was key to the victory.

“Having a large number of seniors was paramount,” he said. “The kids fought hard. This is one of the better wins we have had with all of the adversity they faced.”

Chagrin Falls hosts the Lakeside Dragons next week on Sept. 4, and Harvey welcomes the Perry Pirates.

Harvey coach Mickey

Mohner was making a return to his alma mater, and his first as head coach. While the scoreboard did not reflect the result he wanted for his squad, he was proud of his team’s effort.

“We proved we changed the culture here and I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” he said. “We have a tough and talented group of kids who will keep fighting no matter what the score is”.

With close to 200 yards of rushing offense Scott was fine with being one- dimensionald. “We have four returning offensive linemen and big backs,” he said.

Regarding the fact that a game was going to be played, Scott summed it up best: “When we saw the bus pull in, we were like ‘All right, this is going to happen!’