by The Normandy Invaders fell to the Westlake Demons 28-21 in a thrilling matchup.
The Invaders were off to a fast start, with a holding penalty by the Demons in their own end zone, resulting in a safety. Normandy then got the ball back and drove down the field with ease. Invaders quarterback Elijah Gray took advantage of the Demons’ mistake, keeping the ball himself up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown. After a missed extra point, the score was quickly 8-0 in favor of Normandy. Following a few three-and-outs by both teams, the Westlake offense put themselves on the board when Sam Brucchieri found his tight end, Chris Campbell, for a 1-yard score.
The Demons wasted no time picking up where they left off as the second quarter began. Runningback Matthew Porcelli punched it in from one yard out, giving the Demons their first lead of the game. Normandy quickly responded with a quarterback sneak by Elijah Gray from the 2-yard line to put the Invaders back on top, 15-14. Late in the second quarter, the Demons attempted a trick play with what looked to be a wide receiver jet sweep run by Braelon Burnett. Burnett looked to pass under pressure but was picked off by Normandy. This gave the Invaders one last shot at the endzone before halftime with time running down in the first half. They failed to capitalize though, as Elijah Gray’s Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Loutfi Hassan. The first half ended with the score 15-14 in favor of the Normandy Invaders.
The second half got off to a great start for the Invaders as they forced a Chace Kelly fumble on the second-half opening kickoff, setting them up with a first and ten at Westlake’s 21 yard line. Normandy took no time to capitalize on the Kelly miscue when Elijah Gray kept it himself again for a short touchdown run. After another missed PAT, Normandy was up by 7. Just as things started going the Invaders’ way, Cooper Rummel intercepted an Elijah Gray pass, setting up the Demons at the Normandy 22-yard line. Westlake quickly took advantage of the turnover as Cooper Rummel made some noise on the offensive end, catching a 10-yard Sam Brucchieri pass in the back of the endzone for six.
With a close game at hand, both defenses stepped up, keeping the opposing offense out of the endzone. That is until Jake Ostrowski rumbled his way over the goal line for a Demon touchdown, putting Westlake up by 7 late in the fourth quarter. Normandy failed to respond as the clock wound down, giving Westlake their fourth win of the season, keeping their undefeated record alive.
With the loss tonight, Normandy falls to 0-3 on the season. They hope to capture their first win next week as they welcome in the Bay Village Rockets at Byers Field. Westlake improves to 4-0 with tonight’s win and will travel to Buckeye to face the Bucks next week, hoping to continue their winning ways.
The player of the game is Westlake Demons WR/S Cooper Rummel, who racked up 51 receiving yards and a touchdown. He also had 25 rushing yards and an interception.
