by Midview made a comeback and held on to a 28-26 win over the North Olmsted Eagles.
From the start, the Middies were in a bind. First, there was a flag on the opening kickoff that set their offense back. Then on their first play of the night, Quarterback Brennen Newton fumbled the shotgun snap, and it led to a recovery by North Olmsted. Then on the Eagles first play on offense sophomore Koen Beasley took a handoff for 32 yards and was able to score to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead after a failed extra point.
On the next possession, Midview had a strong drive going for them with Seniors Brennen Newton and Jace Wright running the ball for many good gains. Then again, Newton took a snap and after a few yards of carry, the eagles recovered another fumble. From there, North Olmsted junior Ameer Salmi took a few handoffs and found the end zone on a 14-yard rush to lead 13-0.
Midview would fumble yet again, three total lost fumbles in the first half, but were able to prevent North Olmsted from scoring. A couple of good receptions from wide receivers Kellen Desemone and Robert Flachbart would help set up a 4-yard rush for Wright for a touchdown. North Olmsted would have a good couple of plays until Midview senior Peyton Ansel would intercept a pass to give the Middies the ball. Then for the Eagles, Senior Brady Lane would have an interception of its own to give North Olmsted a 13-7 lead into the half.
To begin the second half, The Eagles pounded the rock on the ground with Beasley scoring a 33-yard touchdown to give North Olmsted a 20 to 7 lead. Jace Wright of the Middies would have a steady set of runs that would set up a Newton to Desemone connection for 8 yards and the touchdown. Then, Newton would mess up the snap on the extra point which would lead him to find sophomore tight end Noah Rivera for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 20-15
A bad North Olmsted penalty would lead the eagles to get three and out, but senior Luis Bautista would take an interception to give the ball right back. Midview would make the mistake up with a big 64-yard touchdown run by Wright to give the Middies a 21-20 lead after a failed two-point conversion.
Another 3 and out for the Eagles would help Newton and Desemone find each other again for a 25-yard touchdown for a 28-20 lead. North Olmsted stalled out many times in the second half in part of some bad penalties and good stops from the Middies Defense
Then the last drive for the Eagles would be one to make the game interesting. After a short Beasley run, Senior Will McPherson would connect with Junior Blake Drezen for four consecutive passes for many steady yards. Then after a sack from Midview senior Sawyer McMillen, The McPherson to Drezen connection would strike again until Sophomore Michael Flick would convert a crucial fourth yard pass. Then, Eagles Junior Desean Knight would catch a 15-yard pass and an 11-yard touchdown catch off a deflection to cut the deficit down to 2.
Finally, a bad Eagle shotgun snap would lead to a huge McMillen sack on McPherson to keep the score 28-26. To top the madness off, Middies Junior Kyler Reid would recover the Eagles onside kick to make the victory official.
The Final score Midview 28; North Olmsted 26.
Beasley wound up having 165 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Eagles, While Wright gave 100 yards rushing for the Middies. The Middies also overcame five turnovers from Newton for the win, with three lost fumbles and two interceptions. Also, Eagles junior Ameer Salwi had some nice runs as well.
It was a great game from both teams and hope to see them on their competitive ways. They will both be on the road next week, as North Olmsted will travel to Green in Summit County, As the Middies head up the road to face Elyria Catholic.
Players of the Game:
North Olmsted- Koen Beasley; The sophomore had a night of hard runs and excellent defense that gave the Eagles a reason for hope throughout the game.
Midview- Brennen Newton; the senior quarterback used his leadership to fuel the comeback.
