The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon pulls away
New faces in key places. Some struggles with the kicking game. An early third-quarter deficit against a physical and talented opponent.
None of that mattered in the long run for defending Division III state champion Chardon, which prevailed over visiting Glenville, 28-14, in a “home” game at Riverside in the 2021 season lidlifter Aug. 20.
That’s because some of the elements that have played such a big part of the Hilltoppers’ success in the past — a strong running game, time-consuming drives and a stifling defense — were all in effect as Chardon scored the game’s final 21 points after falling behind, 13-7, early in the third quarter.
Junior Alex Henry, making his first start at quarterback, pounded out 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground and passed for two more scores.
Junior Trey Liebhardt, better known for his defensive exploits in 2020, rushed for 114 yards and a TD and caught two passes for 27 yards and another.
“Coach was saying, we’ve got to be conditioned,” Henry said. “From the first quarter, we knew they were going to bring it. We had three more quarters. We were conditioning all week, had a great week of practice, and it paid off.”
That kind of preparation was necessary against a big and athletic Glenville team, eager to get back onto the field after having missed last season.
Sophomore D’Shawntae Jones ripped off runs of 21 and 25 yards on Glenville’s opening drive to move the ball into Chardon territory. The Hilltoppers’ defense held, but their ensuing drive ended in a missed 36-yard field goal attempt.
An interception by sophomore Andrew Bruce had Chardon in business inside the Glenville 20, but a 28-yard field goal try early in the second quarter was blocked by the Tarblooders.
Glenville took over at its 22, and seven plays later broke the stalemate with a 43-yard screen pass for a touchdown from Ashton Pugh to Malique Herron, making it 6-0.
Undaunted, Chardon responded with a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive capped by a seven-yard scoring run by Henry. A 40-yard burst by Sean Carr on third down kept the drive alive as the Hilltoppers took a 7-6 lead into halftime.
Talented Glenville sophomore Bryce West dazzled the crowd with a 70-yard punt return for a TD early in the third quarter, and Pugh passed to Damarrion Witten for the conversion to put the Tarblooders up, 14-7.
Chardon had an answer for that score, too, as Henry engineered an 11-play, 69-yard drive and finished it off with an eight-yard scoring toss in the flat to Liebhardt, making it 14-14.
The Hilltoppers’ defense, which surrendered 169 yards in the first half, dominated throughout the second. After a three-andout and short punt, Henry found senior Nathanael Sulka in the end zone for a 28-yard scoring play and 20-14 lead after the extra point was blocked.
“I dropped the one before the half, and I went up to Alex and apologized for that,” Sulka said, referencing what looked to be a sure TD in the second quarter. “He kept saying, ‘You’ll get one in the second half’ and he gave me a perfect ball.”
Sulka also made a great play at safety to knock away a Glenville pass which, if it had connected, would have gone for a touchdown.
A 15-play Chardon drive in the fourth quarter burned a lot of clock but resulted in no points after another missed field goal attempt, but after another three-and-out, Liebhardt made one cut and was off to the races on a 45-yard scoring scamper. Zoran Vujaklija ran for the two point conversion.
A kickoff return past midfield by Sidney Little helped give Glenville one last shot, but a fourthdown pass from the Chardon 4 fell incomplete.