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Earlier this week, Amherst football coach Tom Thome said that his offense was only scratching the surface as far as the passing game. After Friday night’s 60-41 bludgeoning of host Berea-Midpark, it’s more like a deep cut … right through the heart of the Titans.
With senior quarterback Cole Norris completing passes to five different receivers while hitting 15 of 20 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns, the Comets only trailed once at 6-0 despite being undersized across the offensive and defensive lines. Norris also rushed for 84 yards and scored four times, helping Amherst up its record to 5-0, 2-0 in the Southwestern Conference. Berea-Midpark falls to 1-4 and 0-2.
“Our guys showed up, didn’t they?” Thome said. “Our guys have been counted out week in and week out. We have five new starters on the offensive line and everyone on the defensive line is about 190 to 210. But they just grind. They just go. They execute the game plan and they’re just technicians. They also have a little swagger to them. We executed what we wanted all week. We knew they had openings in their defense, and we knew we were going to exploit them.”
Prior to this game, Norris had been more of a running quarterback this season, averaging better than 10 yards per carry and 185 yards per game while scoring 10 TDs. So, the Titans “held” the senior more than 100 yards below his game average, but all that did was allow the passing game to explode.
“I think a lot of people forgot that Cole Norris can throw the ball,” Thome said. “Tonight he showed that he can still throw the ball, breaking two school records (for career completions and career yards).”
Norris had a decent first half, completing 5 of 8 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns as the Comets took a 27-20 lead into the locker room. But in the second half he was nearly perfect, hitting 10 of 12 attempts for 204 yards.
“I was able to spread the ball,” he said. “The line gave me a lot of time back in the pocket and the wide receivers were really working their defenders to get open. We always knew it was there. Last year we threw a lot, and we can do it this year, too.”
David Dudziak (81 yards), Luke Schreiber (29 yards) and Cael Charles (12 yards) each caught scoring passes from Norris. Dudziak led the way with 141 yards on just three catches, while Schreiber had 61 yards on three catches and Charles had 63 on four catches. In addition, Tristyn Young had 66 yards on four catches.
“Cole was spreading it to everybody,” Thome said. “Tonight was also Cael Charles’ coming out party. He’s a sophomore and I’d put that kid up against anyone. He’s got Division I talent.”
Berea-Midpark quarterback Danny Bowser also had a big game, hitting on 26 of 41 attempts for 310 yards and three touchdowns. However, he also had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by defensive back Ashton Draga for Amherst’s final TD of the night.
After the teams traded punts on their opening possessions, the Titans opened the scoring on a 5-yard run by Jayvion Showers. Amherst then scored 20 consecutive points as a 2-yard run by Norris was sandwiched between his touchdown passes to Dudziak and Schreiber. Berea-Midpark battled back to tie the score at 20, but the Comets closed the half on Charles’ scoring reception, giving them a 27-20 halftime lead.
Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the second half, but it soon became apparent that the hosts couldn’t keep up with Amherst’s explosive offense. The Comets never punted in the second half, as each of their four possessions were converted into scoring drives, with Norris scoring on three quarterback sneaks and J.R. Bires adding a 3-yard TD run.
Next up for Amherst is a home date with Avon Lake next Friday, while Berea-Midpark plays at Midview.
Player of the game (Amherst): Cole Norris. This was a really easy choice, as Norris passed for 337 yards, rushed for 84 yards and had a hand in seven touchdowns, four rushing and three passing.
Player of the game (Berea-Midpark): Danny Bowser. This choice was every bit as obvious as Norris, with Bowser passing for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
