The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES » MORE HIGHLIGHTS IN SPORTS,
Hilltoppers win in OT on Bowman’s 3-yard TD run to cap wild shootout
• Euclid 42, Lorain 21
• Chardon 49, Perry 43 (OT)
• Wickliffe 28, Fairview 24
• Clearview 45, Harvey 6
• Kenston 41, Chagrin Falls 14
• Maple Heights 41, South 0
• Revere 46, North 0
• Kirtland 49, Columbia 7
• Lutheran West 69, Hawken 8
Fifty-one years had passed since Chardon and Perry met on the football field.
The overriding feeling after the Hilltoppers defeated the visiting Pirates, 49-43, in overtime in front of a near-capacity crowd at Chardon’s Memorial Stadium? Instant classic. D.J. Bowman bulled in from the 3 in overtime, giving the Hilltoppers a 49-43 victory that snapped Perry’s 22game regular-season winning streak.
When Bowman crossed the goal line, his teammates swarmed the field and a few young fans scampered in to celebrate as the Hilltoppers partied like it was 1967 — the last time the teams met in a game that resulted in a 2616 Chardon win.
“We grew up tonight!” Chardon coach Mitch Hewitt barked at his team in the postgame huddle. “We grew up tonight. You guys played a big game in a big stage. This is what I envisioned.
“Hug your parents tonight. Thank them for being a Hilltopper. Thank them for being a Hilltopper.”
The game not only featured 92 points, but also 955 yards of offense between the two teams.
After Perry’s last-ditch effort to win the game in regulation ended on an incomplete pass in the end zone, the teams headed to overtime.
On Perry’s first play of overtime, Chardon senior Max Liechty cut in front of Perry receiver Jake Reid and picked off a pass in the end zone.
Liechty had been burnt a number of times in the game, he later admitted, but was ready when overtime arrived.
“He probably got me three times, the outs and the posts,” he said. “I had a rough game. But I knew I had to step up in the big moment. He had been getting me on that route the whole game. I jumped (the route) and it worked.”
Chardon needed only a handful of plays to end the game. Bowman was hit hard a few times on his run, but kept his feet into the end zone.
“It was ‘Heavy 84 iso’ Bowman said of the play call. “I put my head down til I got to the end zone. There was no way they were keeping me out.”
Perry (1-1) looked to be in decent shape in the third quarter when Drew Schiano’s pass to Jake Reid gave the Pirates a 35-26 lead. But Chardon answered with a 44-yard touchdown run by Wade Novak and a 20-yard field goal by Keaton Ziegenfuss to give Chardon a 36-35 led.
Perry got the momentum back when Schiano (300 yards passing, four TDs) found Spencer Kane on an inside slant, with the pair hooking up on a twopoint conversion for a 4336 Perry lead. But the momentum didn’t last, as Jon McKnight (8 carries, 111 yards) went 85 yards on a jet sweep on the next play for a touchdown to tie the game at 43.
That led to the thrilling overtime ending.
“We went up nine late in the third and they kept coming at us,” Perry coach Matt Rosati said. “We couldn’t hold them back. McKnight is a stud and so is (quarterback Andrew) Kobuszewski. We couldn’t get stops when we needed them.”
Jacob Allen ran for 100 yards and two scores for Perry. Reid and Anthony Rosati each had touchdown receptions for the Pirates, who were without injured Jaylen Anderson (knee surgery) and lineman Jon Cales. All-Ohio safety Cameron Rogers missed much of the game with a leg injury.
“Give them credit. They got it done. Coach Hewitt and his staff did a great job,” Rosati said. “We just wore down — that’s the bottom line.”
Kobuszewski ran for 125 yards and threw for 105. McKnight had 175 yards of total offene and two scores.
“This was a must-win game,” Bowman said. “Must-win.”