The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
FALCONS TAKE OFF
Defense stifles comeback effort by rival Vermilion and QB Hurd
There’s always tension in the air when Firelands and Vermilion square off, no matter what the records are. On Sept. 8 at Firelands, it was no different, with the Falcons gutting out a 21-14 win over their archrival.
Running back/safety Logan Strader and nose tackle Sean Lipscomb didn’t mince any words afterward about how they feel about their 3-0 start and the potential of this Falcons team.
“Most clutch Firelands defense in history,” Strader said, who also finished with 107 rushing yards and a TD.
“This is one of the best teams to work with in all of Firelands history,” Lipscomb added.
On a fourth-and-10 and up, 21-14, with over a minute left, Lipscomb showed why the defense is clutch, sacking Vermilion quarterback Seth Hurd at the Sailors’ 32-yard line to seal the win.
The Falcons pounded Vermilion, rushing for 212 yards to the Sailors’ 94, including 58 yards from senior Nick Denney. But the win wasn’t easy. Early in the third quarter, the Falcons went up 21-0 after Strader galloped for a 37-yard touchdown, but that’s when the Sailors clawed back. After a 17yard catch from junior wide receiver Jonah Pfeil, Luke Pena
caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Hurd with 5:45 in the third.
Midway through the fourth, Hurd burst for a 45yard rushing TD, dragging one Firelands defender into the end zone, that cut the Falcons lead to 21-14 with 5:55 remaining.
But Lipscomb & Co. made sure that was all they would give up on their watch, keeping the tradition of beating Vermilion alive.
“For four years in a row now keeping them down below 20 points, it’s amazing,” Lipscomb said. “It’s been a dream ever since we’ve been in the seventh grade. This is our lives and this is how we’ve always done it.”
Vermilion had a golden opportunity to score early in the first quarter after Pfeil returned the opening kickoff to the Falcons’ 30yard line, That set up a 30yard field goal attempt that missed. The Falcons struck early in the second quarter after a 13-yard burst from Strader, setting up a two-yard rushing TD from guard Landon Peterson.
On the ensuing possession, Falcons safety Matthew Kovach picked off Vermilion’s Hurd. Two minutes later, quarterback Michael Bansek completed a 30-yad TD pass down the seam to Blake Ruffner for a 14-0 lead.
Vermilion’s Hurd picked off the Falcons’ Bansek with over two minutes in the half at their own 34yard line, but couldn’t capitalize. The Sailors had only one first down in the first half to the Falcons’ nine. The Sailors dropped to 2-1.
“I think we were overhyped,” Vermilion coach Matt Kobal said. “With our offense, we have to know the finer details. We were just too hyped up and made stupid mistakes. We didn’t get rolling until the second half.
“We have to be calm and make sure we’re doing what we do and then we’ll be fine.”
“We have to credit the offensive line and the defense has been really great this year,” Strader said. “We lock down everybody and nobody tends to score that much on us.”
For Falcons coach Ryan O’Rourke in his first season, he understood all too well what Firelands-Vermilion means to the community.
“Obviously, it’s one of the things I’ve heard going through the interview process was you got to beat Vermilion,” O’Rourke said. “Going into this week, I had a good idea that it would be a pretty intense week of practice and banter. And it was even a lot more than I expected, so it raised my expectations for what it’s going to be like for years to come.”
The vibe around the Falcons is the best it has been in a long time after surviving their second tight ball game.
“We have to credit the offensive line and the defense has been really great this year,” Strader said. “We lock down everybody and nobody tends to score that much on us.”