Three of four Chagrin Valley Conference teams won their regional quarterfinal games and advanced to next week’s regional semifinal round.
Kirtland and Cuyahoga Heights both won in Division VI, Region 21, and will play each other in the regional semifinals on Friday at a site to be determined. Perry cruised past Sandy Valley and will play Garrettsville Garfield in a Division V, Region 17 semifinal. Geneva saw its season come to an end with a 28-14 loss to Chardon in a Division III, Region 9 contest.
The Pirates improved to 12-0 with its 34-7 win over Sandy Valley.
“I thought we played really well,” said Perry coach Beb Gecewich. “Our defense played really well and offensively, we were able to run the ball pretty well. A lot of stuff to clean up, still, but all in all, we came out with a win and relatively healthy. We’ll take that any day of the week.”
After neither team had much success on its first offensive possession of the game, the Pirates took an early lead on a Brayden Richards 12-yard touchdown run set up by Owen McKoon’s one-handed grab for a 31-yard completion.
“Guys played hard and did their jobs,” Gecewich said. “I think the first couple of runs, we kind of danced a little bit and the conversation was easy–you better bury your head and just go, and that’s what we did.”
After another forced punt, the Pirates began to impose their will.
Jayden Studio got involved as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, and after a 34-yard run from McKoon, Studio took it the remaining 15 yards for the score.
A Brody Petruccelli sack on third-and-six got the Pirates’ defense off the field. Studio got the drive started by breaking a few tackles and taking the ball out across the 43. From there, quarterback Walter Moses used his arm and legs to get the Pirates down to the two where Studio scored his second touchdown of the night.
Perry led 21-0 at the break.
With the ball to start the second, Sandy Valley’s offensive woes continued as Vince Tomasic picked off a pass to set Perry up at the Cardinals’ 40. An 11-yard scamper from Moses increased Perry’s lead to 27-0.
“Our defense played really well and, again, I think it’s everybody doing their job,” Gecewich said. “Five (Nick Petro) is a dynamic football player. He is really good and created some issues. But when he did break free, our guys continued to hustle to the football.”
After another Sandy Valley drive ended in a punt, Moses found Richards and Jimmy Ashburn on back-to-back plays for a total of 32 yards. McKoon then carried twice for 15 yards and a touchdown that pushed Perry’s lead to 34-0.
As the game approached its final minutes, the Cardinals strung together some successful offensive plays. A Nick Petro touchdown run eliminated Perry’s shutout bid.
The top-seeded Pirates advanced to play No. 5 Garrettsville Garfield, who improved to 12-0 with a 56-35 win over Harrison Central.
“Garfield’s going to present a whole bunch of challenges,” Gecewich said. “They’re so unique in what they do offensively. It’s going to take everyone on our roster to even get close to prepared to play that game, so our guys understand that we’re in a battle against ourselves to get better from what we were the day before.”
Kirtland 48, Canton Central Catholic 26
Kirtland improved to 11-1 with a dominating first half followed by an interesting fourth quarter.
The Hornets built a 34-0 lead before the Crusaders found the end zone late in the second quarter. After a scoreless third, the Crusaders scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, most against the Kirtland backups.
Jake LaVerde opened the scoring with a one-yard plunge and Rocco Alfieri made it 13-0 with his two-yard touchdown run. LaVerde then threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Gino Blasini that left Kirtland up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Alfieri opened the second quarter with a two-yard TD run and Macguire Boyd added a one-yard score that pushed the lead to 34-0.
The Crusaders answered with a 72-yard touchdown pass but Kirtland responded with a LaVerde 14-yard touchdown run to close out the first half with a 41-7 lead.
Canton Central Catholic opened the fourth quarter with a 36-yard touchdown run and a 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown that cut Kirtland’s lead to 41-19.
Danny Alfieri added a two-yard touchdown run to slow the Central Catholic momentum, but the Crusaders made another big play with an 80-yard touchdown pass that closed out the scoring.
Will Beers led the Hornets with 169 rushing yards on 12 carries and Rocco Alfieri ran 18 times for 80 yards. LaVerde carried seven times for 28 yards with two touchdowns and he completed 6-of-8 passes for 95 yards and a score. Blasini caught five passes for 94 yards and a score.
The top-seeded Hornets will play league rival Cuyahoga Heights in the regional semifinals on Friday at a site to be determined.
Cuyahoga Heights 26, Hanoverton United 7
The fifth-seeded Red Wolves pulled off a bit of an upset by defeating host United, the No. 4 seed, 26-7.
Cuyahoga Heights took advantage of three United fumbles in the first 14 minutes of the game to build a 13-0 halftime lead.
Francis Connors did most of the damage for the Red Wolves as he carried 37 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns.
United nearly cut Cuyahoga Heights’ lead in half at the end of the second quarter but a fourth-down catch in the end zone was ruled out of pounds and the Red Wolves took a two-score lead into the locker room.
Anthony Coutozis ran for a seven-yard touchdown on Cuyahoga Heights’ first drive of the second half and Connor added a one-yard touchdown run that pushed the Heights lead to 26-0.
United closed out the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Fletcher Sturgill completed 5-of-8 passes for 56 yards and Coutouzis caught two passes for 23 yards and Eddie Barrett also hauled in a pair of receptions for 22 yards.
Chardon 28, Geneva 14
Geneva hung with visiting Chardon for most of the game, but the Hilltoppers pulled away in the fourth quarter to end the Eagles’ season.
Chardon struck first when Caleb Hewitt scored on a 34-yard screen pass, but the Eagles quickly responded with a four-yard TD pass from Kenny Young to Bryce Peet.
The Eagles limited the potent Chardon offense to just 80 yards of offense in the first half.
That changed in the second half as the Hilltoppers scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead.
Geneva answered with a Vinny Colombi five-yard touchdown run but Chardon responded with another touchdown to close out the scoring.
Peete led the Eagles with 48 rushing yards on 14 carries and Young completed 12-of-22 passes for 106 yards and a score.
The Eagles closed out the season with a 10-2 mark.
