INDEPENDENCE–Wickliffe kept alive its playoff hopes with a 33-14 win at Independence on Friday night.
The Blue Devils scored 26 straight points before Independence mounted a comeback attempt in the third quarter.
“We made the playoff in 2020, but it’s been a long stretch since then,” said Wickliffe head coach Marce Porcello. “Some of these guys were freshmen starters, and they’ve had rough times the last few years. We flipped this program around, and I’m proud of the way we played tonight.”
Logan Ruscin started his four-touchdown evening with an 82-yard sprint to paydirt for a 6-0 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first.
Ruscin ripped off another big run, a 42-yarder, to set up his seven-yard rushing touchdown for a two-score halftime lead.
Ralph Jackson helped open the second half scoring with a nine-yard run and a 28-yard burst to set up Ruscins’ third rushing touchdown for a 19-0 lead.
Jim Wheeler picked off a Dominic Narduzzi pass, but Wickliffe’s offense stalled, forcing a punt.
Ruscin, who punts for the Blue Devils, muffed the snap but recovered and turned a broken play into a 58-yard rushing touchdown.
“I was planning on getting the punt off,” Ruscin said. “But then I saw an (Independence defender) trailing me, I knew I had an open field. I saw blockers ahead of me, and I followed them. They led my way to the end zone.”
After being shut out in the first half, the Independence offense awoke with Narduzzi rushing for 17 yards and finding Stephen Mlynarczyk for a 14-yard gain, setting up a Rocco Ressler high-point touchdown reception of 27 yards.
“They kept fighting, battling,” said Independence head coach Rick Adams. “I’m proud of that. It’s frustrating that we put ourselves in those positions where we have to crawl back where we just can’t finish drives. That was our talk at halftime. We just have to finish, and we started doing that.”
The Independence defense got a stop, leading to a Levi Sears 18-yard catch and another Ressler first-down grab.
Narduzzi connected with Mylnarczyk for a 13-yard touchdown, pulling Independence to within 26-14.
With fewer than two minutes to go, Wickliffe defensive tackle Andrew Darch snuffed out a screen pass, picking off Narduzzi for a 58-yard big man pick-six for the knockout blow.
“As an instinctual wide receiver, I picked it off and took it to the house,” Darch said while laughing. “I was happy and about to cry when I got it. (Getting a defensive touchdown) was my dream, and it happened.”
Ruscin and Jackson were the workhorses for Wickliffe as Ruscin carried eight times for 215 yards and four scores and Jackson ran 16 times for 107 yards.
“We have a lot of weapons in the backfield,” Porcello said. “Every night, it’s someone different. Logan is a four-year starter and makes plays on both sides of the ball for us. Ralph is our downhill runner. He’s a workhorse and plays hard on every single snap. I’m proud of those guys.”
The Blue Devils never wavered when Independence pushed to get back into the game.
“At the end, we were ‘bend but don’t break,’” Porcello said. “I told the guys to have a next-play mentality, lineup and play. It’s not easy to continuously get into coverage, line back up, and keep playing. Our guys did that and kept trying to get after the quarterback.”
With a playoff push and conference championship in mind, Wickliffe has two more opportunities to secure each goal.
“We’ll be in the playoffs soon, but our next goal is to win the conference,” Porcello said. “It’s been a while since that happened. We have to win these next two games and keep getting better going into the postseason.”
Wickliffe is one game behind Trinity, who beat Wickliffe 16-0 on Sept. 28. The Blue Devils need to win out and have Trinity lose its final two games to win the CVC Metro Division titiel.
Independence dropped to 3-5 following the loss.
“We have to do the little things right,” Adams said of what can get his team back in the win column. “We didn’t do that, and we missed a lot of tackles. We didn’t match the intensity. We’re better than that, and it’s our job as coaches to get these guys ready for the next two weeks.”
Maverick Durden finished with 16 rushes for 82 yards, Ressler pulled in seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown, and Mylnarczyk caught seven passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Independence visits Beachwood while Wickliffe hosts Brooklyn next Friday.
