CHESTERLAND–Lutheran West made key plays to defeat host West Geauga in a Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division clash on Thursday, 23-20.
The Longhorns led 23-13 before the Wolverines scored and tried an onside kick, but Lutheran West recovered for a tough, gritty win.
“First off, this wouldn’t be possible without our Savior,” said Lutheran West head coach John Parella. “We praise him win or lose. I’m grateful we won today, and we keep improving every week. We just have to continue that.”
Lutheran West struck first after a defensive stop that gave the Longhorns the ball in West Geauga territory.
Cortlon Campbell took a pitch for six yards before scoring on a 34-yard dash to the endzone. J’Leon Isom converted on the two-point try for an 8-0 advantage.
The Longhorns held onto that advantage until Isom scored on a 14-yard rush, and Campbell scored another two-point conversion for a 16-0 lead in the third quarter.
On back-to-back throws, Finn Keenan found Vincent Vecchio for gains of 39 yards, the latter being a touchdown connection to get the Wolverines on the board.
Miles Baker sacked Jace Palmer, setting up the West Geauga offense with a Cooper Vosicky 11-yard reception and a Keenan 32-yard read-option keeper.
Charlie Culek pulled in a 24-yard catch, and Quentin Artino took the plunge to paydirt, bringing the Wolverines down 16-13 after the offense finally found its mojo.
“The first half was a field position battle, and we had our backs against the ropes for most of it,” said West Geauga interim head coach Eric Stendalen. “We were just trying to put ourselves in a position to do something, and we made some mistakes that put us in bad spots. We came out in the second half and did the same things but executed. That’s what it came down to.”
Isom put an exclamation point on his 100-yard day with a nine-yard rushing touchdown to give Lutheran West another 10-point lead.
The Wolverines worked quickly, with Keenan finding Mickey Keenan for 18 yards and Dominic Paros for 32 yards before going right back to Paros for the one-yard touchdown to bring it to within three again.
An unsuccessful onside kick cemented victory for the Longhorns, who have gone 2-2 in their last four games with the hopes of making a push to the postseason.
“We just have to continue to work every day in practice,” Parella said about what it’ll take to achieve the playoff goal. “We work to improve our craft in every position that we’re playing.”
Campbell and Isom have been significant players in Lutheran West’s second-half success.
Isom totaled 110 rushing yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns, and Campbell had 15 touches for 98 scrimmage yards and one rushing touchdown.
“Cortlon Campbell had another great night; he does it all for us in all three phases,” Parella said. “Isom is the same way. (Cortlon) is a selfless player and plays his heart out every week. He also has a 4.0 GPA student. I couldn’t be more proud of him. (J’Leon) plays his heart out, too. Those are two young men we’re going to miss after this year.”
Palmer completed 5-of-8 passes for 55 yards for Lutheran West.
West Geauga falls to 2-6 with its third consecutive one-score loss.
“I’m proud of how they came out in the second half and battled,” Stendalen said. “Even being down two scores with less than two minutes to go, we still scored and gave ourselves a chance. The kids had a great attitude and effort in practice to put us in the best spot to win tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top. I love these kids and couldn’t be more proud of their effort tonight.”
Vecchio led the offense with two catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Paros pulled in two passes for 33 yards with a touchdown and an interception defensively.
Finn Keenan completed 8-of-22 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns with seven rushes for 54 yards.
Lutheran West moves on to host Orange, and West Geauga visits Perry next Friday.
