by Macedonia, OH – Nordonia defended its home field and defeated North Royalton 34-25 at Boliantz Stadium on the coldest Friday night since the start of the season.
Nordonia kicked off Friday night’s game to North Royalton, who quickly made movement on the field to start the game. Starting off the night with a 30-yard rush from junior Bryce Defendorf, North Royalton made it clear they were taking their loss last weekend against Wadsworth in stride.
With very little wiggle room, North Royalton lost the ball, and Nordonia’s first offensive series brought the heat to Boliantz Stadium. With a touchdown from senior Brock Barwidi and an extra point from senior Jackson Neil, Nordonia quickly found themselves up 7-0.
North Royalton quickly found themselves back on offense, trying to capitalize on the lessons learned last week. With 20-yard rushes from senior Rory Hannah and junior Robbie Edmiston, North Royalton continued making its way up the field and maintaining possession of the ball.
This was quickly snuffed out by a turnover and a Hail Mary from senior Steven Fakult, who made a 40-yard completion across the field. Fakult was not finished yet, as on the very next play, he found himself in the end zone for another Nordonia touchdown. Neil kicked the extra point, making the score 14-0.
The North Royalton Bears did not plan on taking this quietly, however, as on the next kickoff, Hannah made a 50-yard rush across the field, putting North Royalton within striking distance of the end zone on the first play of the series.
They managed to capitalize with a touchdown from senior Lincoln Lee on a 15-yard pass from junior Daniel Piper. This was capped off by an extra point from Srdjan Novakovic, making the score 14-7.
Nordonia struggled to make some headway on the field after the touchdown, quickly losing the ball to North Royalton’s defense. Both teams were clearly trying to find an offensive game plan heading into the latter half of the first quarter.
Hail Marys were the name of the game tonight. Shortly after receiving the ball, junior Daniel Piper made a 35-yard pass to Lee, putting North Royalton right back within striking distance of the end zone. Quickly advancing the ball, the play closed out the first quarter.
Moving into the second quarter, North Royalton quickly found themselves with a 20-yard field goal by Novakovic as Nordonia made the stop on the away team’s offensive line.
Once Nordonia obtained possession of the ball, North Royalton’s defense wouldn’t let up. Nordonia’s offense fought for every yard toward the end zone through a series of screens. This assault was capped off by a 15-yard touchdown from senior John Koran and another extra point by Neil, making the score 21-10.
As North Royalton started back up on offense, Nordonia began to run down the clock on defense, putting North Royalton in a gridlock. Just like Nordonia, they had to battle for every yard as they got closer to the end zone.
They weren’t able to capitalize completely, however, as on fourth down, 31 yards away, Novakovic scored his second field goal for another three points on the board for North Royalton, making the score 21-13.
Nordonia quickly lost momentum on offense following this play, allowing North Royalton a last-second opportunity to score again before the end of the first half. Piper’s efforts were capitalized on with a 35-yard completion, putting North Royalton within breathing distance of the end zone.
This was quickly followed by a 5-yard completion from Piper to Lee, resulting in another touchdown. The 2-point conversion was missed, making the score 21-19 at the end of the first half.
North Royalton kicked off the second half to Nordonia, and the Nordonia offense began that slow drive up the field once again. With screens and rushes from Fakult, Nordonia was slowly inching its way toward the end zone.
This all culminated in a rushing touchdown by junior Braden Myers, grabbing another six points for Nordonia and making the score 27-19. North Royalton brought the same energy Nordonia did, with a slow charge to start off the first series of the second half.
This was quickly brought to a stop as senior Karsen Fisher made an interception when North Royalton was only 20 yards away from the end zone. Nordonia quickly turned up the heat as they began to charge straight toward the end zone.
Minute after minute, the countdown clock for the quarter began to tick away for Nordonia as its persistent push was snuffed out by an interception from senior Lucas Thozeski, turning the ball back over to North Royalton and bringing an end to the third quarter.
Moving into the fourth quarter, North Royalton was on the final countdown to make this game theirs. Nordonia quickly made it known that this would be their night at home, however, as Dominick Jackson scored a 15-yard touchdown. The point was good from Neil, meaning another seven points went on the board for Nordonia.
The score was now 34-19 with 11:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Shortly after the conversion, North Royalton’s offense made a fierce charge toward the end zone. This push was a series of rushes from a variety of players in the offensive backfield, with key breakthroughs from freshman Ryan Kenny.
Ten yards from the end zone, North Royalton made a final push on the last down of their series. The end result was a touchdown from Piper, putting another six points on the board for North Royalton and making the score 34-25.
Nordonia, shifting onto offense, tried to make a final push to cap off this Friday night game in the last five minutes of the quarter. With screens from Fakult and Jackson, this series would be like every other drive before it: hard-fought and decided by the yard.
It wasn’t enough, however, as North Royalton’s defense closed out this Friday night game strong. The final score was 34-25.
Players of the Game:
Lincoln Lee-(2 TDs, 2 Completions)
Steven Fakult-(40-Yard completion, 1 TD)
