by The 2 seeded Glenville Tarblooders took on the 3 seeded Lake Catholic Cougars and the Tarblooders came out on top 14-3. The game was played at beautiful Euclid Community Stadium. Before the game I had the chance to talk to Coach Ted Ginn Sr. of the Glenville Tarblooders. I asked coach Ginn how they can keep up the defensive dominance from last week, he responded “We’ve been doing it all year so hopefully we can do it again tonight” he continued ” They’re (Lake Catholic) a very fundamental team, so were gonna have to stick to it.”
And stick to it they did as their defense was dominant once again in this one. Defenders Cincere Johnson, Kaylon Bailey, and Jaquon Gibson are just a few of the Tarblooders that were absolutely flying around the field in this one. They helped their squad stay in the game after some early offensive struggles. Their offense eventually caught fire late, thanks to a 3 headed monster at half back, and it propelled them to a 14-3 victory.
Glenville elected to send their dominant defense out first as they won the toss. They started the game off right with a 3 and out forced. The opening drive was shut down thanks to 2 tackles for loss from the Tarblooders Buckeye commit duo, Cincere Johnson and Jamir Perez.
Glenville started their first drive from their own 33 yard line. They looked to get things started on the run but the Cougars defense was able to hold strong as well. They forced a 3 and out of their own but were pinned deep after a great Glenville Punt.
The Cougars again were unable to pick up a first down, having to punt it back to the Tarblooders. Glenville looked to air it out on this drive, but after a decent pick up, Tarblooders quarterback Arvell Nelson sailed a pass a little too high. Lake Catholic senior cornerback Tyler Hribar came up with a massive early interception for the Cougars.
The Cougars offense wasn’t able to do much with it however, being forced to another punt, not being able to establish their run game. Glenville got the back around their own 30 yard line and finally got something going. They were able to establish a run game for the drive and pick up the game’s first first down with just 1 minute left in the opening quarter. The drive stalled out after that, however, forcing them to punt again.
The Cougars started their drive from their own 25 yard line and they finally started to get the run game going. Junior running back Danny Zmorowski used his strength all drive to keep the Cougars on schedule. After some solid runs and a few penalties, the Cougars found themselves in the red zone for the first time of the night. The Tarblooders defense held a bend don’t break mindset however. Right after they entered the red zone Glenville came up with back to back sacks to push them outside of field goal range. The Cougars were forced into a 4th and long but were able to draw the Tarblooders offside twice in a row to put them back into field goal range. Lake Catholics kicker Gavyn Fredricks came in and drilled a 38 yarder to put his squad up 3-0 with just 2 minutes left in the first half. The game’s first scoring drive took 16 plays and eclipsed almost 10 minutes.
Glenville continued its offensive struggles on their following drive and the score remained 3-0 going into the half. Lake Catholic sprinted into the tunnel after the clock hit zeros, very happy with their first half play and control of the game. Glenville was set to receive the 2nd half kick.
The Tarblooders began the 2nd half at their own 34 yard line and it seemed that coach Ginn got to them in the locker room. They came out with electric energy and drove right down the field, a complete 180 from the first half. Glenville ran down the field with backs Chris Newell Jr and Romell Philps. Both picked up big chucks and it was Philips who punched in the score from 2 yards out. After the PAT the Tarblooders took their first lead 7-3 with 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
Lake Catholic, needing to respond, went on another long impressive drive. It was again on the back of Zmorowski and with some help of poorly timed penalties by the Tarblooders. They drove all the way down the field but found themselves attempting a 42 yard field goal. Fredricks nailed another one, but this time he was run into, giving the Cougars head coach a crucial decision. He decided to take the penalty and put his offense back out there. After 2 unsuccessful plays quarterback Max Pisano looked to throw on the 18th play of the drive. He rolled to his right and looked for a short pass but after a tip the ball found the hands of Tarblooder defensive end Kaylon Bailey.
The turnover, while massive to deny points, didn’t amount to anything for the Tarblooders. They were forced into another 3 and out by the impressive Lake Catholic defense and punted the ball back to the cougars around mid field.
The Cougars looked to be on another long strenuous drive after a big 4th down pick up. But on back to back plays, Tarblooders Jaquan Gibson and Kaylon Bailey came up with 2 massive sacks to force a Cougar punt.
On their first play back with the ball, the Tarblooders set up under center, which they don’t often do. Nelson took the snap and gave an outside handoff to Senior Da’von McDougle. McDougle received phenomenal blocking from his linemen and he busted to the outside. He found the sideline and everyone knew that nobody was catching him. He took the carry 55 yards to the house, breaking the game open and giving the Tarblooders a 14-3 lead with just under 6 minutes left in the game.
The Cougars, desperate for a score, got the ball back around their own 30 yard line. Unfortunately for them, the Glenville defenders were flying all over the field. They ended up with a 4th and long and took their chances punting the ball back to the Tarblooders, largely due to the lack of a passing game on their side. The problem was, they only had 1 timeout left and there was only about 4 minutes left on the clock.
Glenville was able to bleed almost 3 minutes off the clock, giving the ball back to the Cougars with 1:05 left on the clock, up 11 points.
Lake Catholic was unable to do much with their final possession, as the Tarblooder defense continued to close the game out. The game ended soon after with the final score of 14-3, propelling the Tarblooders into the division 4 state championship game.
Glenville will play the 1 seeded Perry Pirates next week at a neutral site for the Regional Championship.
