The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Wildcats dominate Arcs
“Finally, man.” Moments after the conclusion of a 44-7 victory against rival Brush Mayfield coach Ross Bandiera best summarized how his team felt Sept. 17. The Wildcats played their first, and only, home game of the 2020 season — a day longawaited following an arduous summer, a delayed start to practice then another hiatus at the beginning of the regular season due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
THE SCORE MAYFIELD 44, BRUSH 7
Finally, Mayfield played in front of its home crowd. The Wildcats celebrated senior night prior to the game and postgame, sang the alma mater in time with the marching band with helmets held aloft.
“I think it was really fun just being out here,” senior quarterback Michael Huss said, “just experiencing it all again for what could be our last time on this field. It was really nice to go out like this.”
Mayfield needed little time to assert in control during the 100th meeting between neighborhood rivals.
The Wildcats scored on the Arcs’ first play when Matt Snider recovered a fumble in the end zone eight seconds into regulation. Brush turned the ball over on its first seven possessions and Mayfield capitalized to open a 30-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The clock began running in the second quarter when Jack Klika scored his second touchdown. The Wildcats’ second-stringers were on the field before halftime, when Mayfield held a 44-0 lead.
After halftime, all Huss, senior defensive back Tim Steffens — who recorded two of the Wildcats’ three interceptions, including a pick-six in the first quarter — and the rest of Mayfield’s starters had to do was cheer from the sidelines.
“We have more fun on the field, definitely,” Steffens said. “It’s still nice to know we dropped a 40-ball in the first half and we can have our JV’s get some experience on the field.”
The Arcs didn’t record a first down until the fourth quarter, when Isaiah Fox connected with Alfred Murray for a 52-yard gain on third down with 11:25 to play. Fox finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Khalil LittleJohn for the Arcs’ lone score.
Brush is a young team, as coach Eddie Hall has two freshmen and six sophomores in his starting lineup. The Arcs lost their most experienced player, quarterback AJ Shorts, for the season due to a knee injury sustained in practice prior to their Week 3 loss to Warrensville Heights.
“They’re young,” Hall said. “They’re super young, they don’t have long memories. They’re going to bounce back, they’re going to practice next week. It wasn’t the end-all, be-all
Mayfield for them. It was actually their first, most of them, rivalry game.”
Mayfield’s victory evened the series ledger, with each team now 49-49-2 against one another all-time. The Wildcats played without receiver/defensive back Billy Guzzo, who dressed but was held out as a precaution, and expect him to return against Chardon next week.
The 2-0 Wildcats will gauge themselves in Week 5 against the No. 1-ranked team in Division III.
“Up to this point, we haven’t really been battletested much on defense,” Bandiera said. “Offensively,
I thought we struggled last week and shored some things up this week. We’ll be battle-tested next week, we’ll be in the fire. Chardon’s got a great defense, their offense is always hard to stop and they’re ranked No. 1 in the state. We’ve got nothing to lose, it’ll be fun.”