Play time is over for the Mentor Cardinals.
Coach Steve Trivisonno said it is time for his undefeated, state-ranked squad to buckle up and get to work as the final four weeks of the season approach with
challenges awaiting the scarlet and gray each of the next four games.
Mentor overwhelmed visiting Shaker Heights, 49-12, Thursday night at Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium.
The game ended prematurely with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter after Cardinals senior Toni Josipovic went down with an elbow injury and the stretcher was called
out.
It was the fourth straight home win for the Cardinals (6-0) and fourth consecutive week Mentor played a game with a running clock in the second half. Since a dramatic
37-33 win at Byers Field over St. Ignatius in Week 2, the Cardinals have defeated Euclid, Twinsburg, Brush and Shaker Heights (1-5) by a combined score of 200-19.
“Now it’s time to get ready,” Trivisonno said. “I don’t think we played very well tonight. We were sloppy. We have a big week ahead with a good Brunswick team and we
have a lot of work to do with the teams on our schedule still left.
“We are tired of these kind of games and we are ready to gear up and try to win a league championship.”
The NOC Valley is deep and talented and Mentor will see the four other top teams in the league over the remaining six weeks of the regular season – at Brunswick, Solon, at Hudson, Strongsville.
Cardinals senior quarterback Jake Floriea continued his stellar season with a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and a pair of long TD runs in the second half.
“I would say we are where we want to be, but we need to be better every day in practice and every game no matter who the opponent is,” Floriea said. “I have seen
the four teams we are about to play and every one of them is good and can beat us if we don’t focus and come prepared to play.”
Eddie Daugherty started early and often with a 48-yard TD run and a 52-yard touchdown catch to give Mentor a 14-0 lead. The Cardinals put the game away in the
second quarter with a TD pass from Floriea to Malik Porter, a touchdown run by Alex Mathews and a 50-yard interception return for a score by standout defensive back
Marc Walton.
The Cardinals extended the 35-0 halftime lead on a pair of touchdown runs by Floriea – one from 28 yards and another from 41.
Mentor travels to Brunswick on Oct. 10.
