by WESTLAKE,OH – The North Olmsted Eagles used a powerful run game to gain a key CWC conference 35-25 victory at Westlake this evening. They received an incredible performance from sophomore sensation Koen Beasley who did it in all three phases of the game. Beasley had a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown, 110 yards on the ground with two touchdowns on 9 carries and double-digit tackles while controlling all 3 phases.
Fellow North Olmsted tailback and two-way star Ameer Silmi had 137 yards on 14 carries with several key runs late. Eagle quarterback Cam Massimiani went 7 of 12 passing for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cody Jak finished with 3 catches for 27 yards while also running the ball 5 times for 24 yards.
The Westlake Demons were led by their speedy receiver Gavin McMillen who snagged 8 balls for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had well over 100 kick return yards as well. ( I do not have the exact stat on that). Tailback Hadi Mustafa also had a good game for the Demons with 12 carries for 95 yards.
Demon quarterback Moe Abdelhady finished with 242 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 of 34 passing. He also ran the ball 7 times for 49 yards.
Wes Urich had 4 carries for 26 yards and 1 catch for 5 yards. Nate Meyer had 4 catches for 50 yards with a touchdown.
Cam Massimiani hooked up with Cody Jak twice for first downs before running for one himself on the opening drive to motor the ball down the field quickly. Within minutes the Eagles had moved the ball to the Demon 21-yard line. The drive stalled however when the Eagles couldn’t convert on a fourth down and turned the ball back over to Westlake on downs at the Demon 13-yard line.
After forcing a Demon three and out on the ensuing possession Koen Beasley returned the Demon punt 45 yards to the house to score, handing the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 6:22 to play in the opening quarter. The quarter ended by that same score with the Demons driving to tie it.
The second began with a Demon scoring threat from inside the Eagles 10 but a sack by Koen Beasley ended that threat by forcing a fourth and goal from deep that the Demons couldn’t pull off, keeping it 7-0 North Olmsted.
A little bit later in the second quarter, the Demons got the ball back on a short field and converted it into points. The scoring play came on a 28-yard field goal from Jake McIntosh to cut the Eagle lead to 7-3 with 4:03 left in the second quarter. The Eagles ran a two minute drive at the end of the half that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass to Billy Suleiman, giving them a 14-3 lead at the break.
The Demons opened up the second half with the ball and went on a nice drive. With the help of a pass interference penalty and a few chunk runs by Mustafa, they reached the redzone quickly. The drive fizzled however, handing the ball back to the Eagles with a 14-3 lead and 8:35 left in the third quarter.
A 33-yard strike to Desean Knight followed by a 15-yard run by Beasley got the Eagles cooking quickly on their next drive. Beasley wasn’t done yet however as he then rattled off a 36-yard touchdown run to open the Eagles lead to 21-3.
The Demons were aided by even more penalties on the Eagle defense to extend their next drive. This time they took advantage as Abdelhady landed an absolute missile of a pass to the wide-open Gavin McMillen who hauled in a 47-yard touchdown. This cut the lead to 21-10 with 3:54 to play in the third quarter.
A drive dominated by running the ball resulted in an Eagle score to open the fourth quarter. This strike came via a four-yard touchdown toss to Luca Larue. This made it 28-10 with a little over 10 minutes to play.
On the ensuing Demon drive it was back to the Gavin McMillen show as he was wide open deep over the middle for a 50 yad strike to set the Demons up in prime real estate. Moments later it was McMillen again, this time catching a 26-yard touchdown pass and inching Westlake closer at 28-17 with 9:48 to play in the game.
Gavin Beasley put it away for good on the next Eagle drive as he pumped his legs to a 28-yard touchdown run, bursting through several Demon tacklers on his way to scoring. The latest Beasley rumble opened it up to 35-17 with 7:32 to play in the game.
A nearly 70-yard Gavin McMillen kickoff return gave the Demons something to get excited about however as McMillen continued to have a huge night. This set up a touchdown pass later on the drive to Nate Meyer to cut the lead back down to 35-25 with 5:27 to play.
The Eagles hung on for the 35-35 for the win.
Players of the game
North Olmsted RB/LB Koen Beasley: He had a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown, 110 yards on the ground with two touchdowns on 9 carries and double-digit tackles while controlling all 3 phases.
Westlake WR Gavin McMillen: snagged 8 balls for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had well over 100 kick return yards as well.
