by Tonight’s contest between the visiting Valley Forge Patriots and the North Olmsted Eagles got off to a slow start. The first quarter was filled with runs and three-and-outs by both teams. Valley Forge rushed for 31 total yards in the first quarter. North Olmsted rushed for only 11.
Things started to pick up in the second quarter. The Patriots marched down the field in a drive filled with run plays. This drive was eventually capped off by Forge quarterback Sean Frank, keeping it himself up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown and the early second quarter lead. Later in the quarter, North Olmsted had a promising drive going until quarterback Tommy Horsfall fumbled the ball on a scramble at Valley Forge’s 18 yard line with 1:30 left to go in the half. The Eagles picked up their quarterback a few plays later. North Olmsted’s Cody Jak shot through the middle of the line and blocked the Patriots’ punt. The ball was scooped up and taken into the end zone by Eagles linebacker Michael Passafiume. This tied up the game at 7 apiece going into the half.
North Olmsted stayed hot coming out of the locker room. Tommy Horsfall opened up the second half scoring, keeping the ball himself to the left for a 6-yard score. The Eagles later added on to their lead with Michael Passafiume taking a handoff 16 yards for a touchdown. This put North Olmsted up 20-7 after a blocked extra point.
Valley Forge couldn’t get anything going in the second half, constantly turning the ball over on downs or punting the ball back to the Eagles. North Olmsted again capitalized on the Patriots’ struggles. Michael Passafiume found the endzone again, this time running it in from 12 yards out. After another blocked extra point, this put the Eagles up 26-7. North Olmsted’s sophomore defensive back Luis Bautista put the game away, picking off Valley Forge quarterback Sean Frank.
With the loss, the Valley Forge Patriots fall to 3-6 and will host Normandy next week. With the win, the North Olmsted Eagles improve to 4-5 and will travel to Westlake for their Week 10 matchup.
Player of the game: North Olmsted RB/LB Michael Passafiume. 59 RUSH YDS | 27 REC YDS | 2 RUSH TD | 1 FMBL REC TD
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