by The Holy Name Green Wave defeat the Normandy Invaders 52-6 at the home opener on Friday at Byers Field Parma in this week one high-school football blowout.
The Normandy Invaders fell at home to the Holy Name Green Wave, starting the young season off strong, while sending a statement to the rest of the OHSAA.
The last time these teams faced one another was exactly a year ago today, a contest in which the Green Wave defeated the Invaders by a score of 55-14, and tonight’s game saw a similar result.
The Green Wave entered tonight’s contest as the heavy favorites over the Invaders out of Parma, and the score sheet certainly reflects it. The Green Wave asserted their will over the Invaders at every level of the game from their dominant rushing attack, stout defense and surgical passing scheme.
Normandy quickly lost control of the game, as they found themselves trailing 45-6 before halftime and faced a running clock for the remainder of the night by the OHSAA point differential rules.
The Green Wave was led by junior running back, and the Holy Name player of the game, #22 Colt Troy, who finished his night with 3 touch downs and over 100 all purpose yards. Troy operated with precision, power and speed as he ran up and down the field, leaving a trail of invaders in his wake every time.
However, Troy didn’t do it alone. He was joined by his running-mate; junior running back #8 Kaden Parker, who carved out multiple chunk plays on the ground, and from his quarterback junior #2 Luke Hudak, who made multiple plays both with his arm as well as his legs.
This dominant running game was made possible by the absolutely ruthless offensive line fielded by Holy Name, as they exploited even the smallest fracture in the Invaders defensive line through every snap of the game.
Despite the brutal nature of the loss, the Normandy Invaders have a few notable highlights for both the team and the fans to get excited about going forward. Normandy’s Player of the Game was senior quarterback #10, Jacob Muniak, made some truly impressive throws down the field while exhibiting strong pocket awareness, great footwork, and an arm that should keep the Invaders in any game for the rest of the season.
Week 1 of football showcases every team at the worst they’ll be for the remainder of the season, and we saw that plain as day throughout this contest.
Despite the monumental victory, Holy Name committed numerous ill-advised penalties to remove themselves from scoring situations. These were largely unforced errors that, while they did not cost the Green Wave in this contest, could prove detrimental to their post season ambitions come Winter. Holy Name had over 10 penalties in the first half alone, amounting in 100+ yards of penalty.
It’s possible that this relatively-sloppy play was the result of Holy Name looking past their week 1 opponent, or it could simply be a case of first game jitters. The season is young, and it will be interesting for viewers to see these mistakes be ironed out because once they are, North East Ohio has a powerhouse football program on their hands.
The Normandy Invaders will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Ravenna to take on the Ravenna Ravens, with kickoff at 7:00p.m.
The Holy Name Green Wave will look to turn their win into a win streak as they head to Gates Mills to take on the Gilmour Academy Lancers, with kickoff also set for 7:00p.m.
