by Rootstown, Ohio – The Mogadore Wildcats scored early and often on both sides of the ball, knocking off host Rootstown, 42-6, Friday night to open up conference play for both teams.
Mogadore struck first with a seven yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Tyler Knight. After a Rootstown punt, the Wildcats struck again when senior quarterback Will Popa went to the air looking to find senior wide receiver Nathan Stephenson. His pass was tipped in the air and caught by Stephenson, who took it to the end zone, increasing the Wildcat lead to 14-0.
After a Mogadore turnover late in the first quarter, they would force a fumble, and senior linebacker Dylan Jones would take it back to the house to increase the lead to 21-0. Later in the quarter, a Rootstown punt pinned the Wildcats on their own one-yard line. But the offense was undaunted, going the length of the field, capping the drive off with a one-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Michael Lowe. Tyler Knight added another touchdown. This time, he recovered a fumble on defense and took it to the house to increase the Mogadore lead to 35-0 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, senior running back Gavin Schlabaugh put the Rovers on the scoreboard with a four-yard rushing touchdown. He had 19 carries for 89 yards to go along with the score. Mogadore answered with a rushing touchdown from Tyler Knight for the final margin.
“It was a complete win. We played well on both sides of the ball. Real proud of our defense. They put the hat on the football tonight. The way they flew around early in the game proved that we were gonna be tough on the edges. We made a bit of a personnel change on defense and the kids accepted it. I’m just happy with the total effort our kids gave tonight. We took advantage of their mistakes and it was a complete win.” said Mogadore head coach Matt Adorni.
Mogadore improves to 5-1 and 1-0 in the PTC County Division. They will host Youngstown Valley Christian next Friday night.
“They were physically better tonight and they beat us on both sides of the ball. Their playmakers made plays and ours didn’t. You can’t make the kinds of mistakes we made in the first half against a team like that. They capitalized on every mistake we made. That’s what good football teams do.” said Rootstown head coach Keith Boedicker.
Rootstown drops to 5-1 in 0-1 in the PTC County Division. They travel to Garrettsville Garfield next Friday night.
