by The Invaders entered tonight’s contest with a record of 5-1, and were coming off a dominant 38-3 victory at Solon, while the Bees came into Hudson with a record of 1-5 off back to back 40+ point blowout losses against Highland and Wadsworth.
Medina would fight hard throughout the duration of this contest, holding the Invaders to 13 points in the first half before Hudson’s floodgates opened in the second half, and the defense wasn’t enough to overcome a lackluster offensive performance.
With their starter unavailable, Hudson was led by junior backup quarterback #1, Benny Hegedish, who had the unenviable task of keeping the offense in motion against a stout Medina defense. However, Hegedish rose to the occasion, finishing his night with over 100 all purpose yards, and guiding the Explorers to a victory.
Despite being QB2, Hegedesh exhibited excellent mobility, field vision, and pocket awareness, as he was able to prolong multiple plays were the Bees pressure won out, while possessing the mental fortitude to hold on to the ball, not forcing it into harms way or attempting throws he was not confident in. Hegedesh did a fantastic job diagnosing the complex defensive scheme Medina executed, taking what the defense gave him, and protecting the football.
Hudson set the tone early on their home turf, forcing a 3 and out on defense before driving down the field behind senior running back, and Hudson player of the game, #44 Reno Ferri, who quickly asserted himself as the dominant back of the game. Ferri would finish with over 100 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, as he led his fellow Invaders on multiple scoring drives, while leaving a trail of Bees in his wake.
The Explorers also received immense support from their senior kicker, #7 Xavier Pallo, as he went 2/2 in field attempts, bailing out Hudson in the first half when they needed him. Hudson’s ability to lean on a reliable kicker should prove critical to their post season aspersions when it comes time for a potential playoff run.
Despite the loss, the Bees did an excellent job staying in this game throughout, flying around the field on defense and executing on methodical clock chewing drives, their problem simply came down to the nearly non existent margin for error provided by the Invaders.
The defense executed a scheme that looked to be quite exotic in hopes of confusing the young Hudson signal caller, and while this approach yielded some success, it ultimately wasn’t enough to hold the Explorers out of the end zone entirely. There were multiple instances where the Medina secondary collapsed once Hegedish looked off his first read, indicating that they had been banking on him making erratic decisions with the ball.
Hegedishs ability to take care of the ball left Medina in numerous bend don’t break situations, and in many of them the Bees were able to force a punt or field goal attempt, but it would be frankly unfair to expect any defense to hold each time.
The Invaders defense found themselves on their back foot numerous times throughout the contest, but the Bees stinging themselves in the foot prevented the score on the board from moving in their favor.
Unforced error’s were the name of the game for Medina, and that was no more obvious than in their first drive, where they marched all the way to the Hudson 30 yard line behind a strong run game and surgical quarterback play, even converting on fourth down to keep the drive alive. This all would be for nought however, as a costly holding penalty pushed the Bees back to the 40 yard line, eventually forcing a punt.
The Bees were led by quarterback #15, Kaden Patrick, who thread the needle fairly effectively all night, but was simply unable to overcome the sloppy penalties around him. Despite the loss, Patrick would finish the game with over 100 yards and nearly 80% completion percentage, making him tonight’s player of the game for Medina.
Kaden Patrick had a solid performance fitting the ball in tight windows and working hard to keep his squad close, but there was little to no offensive explosiveness, resulting in too much time being run off the clock in drives that ended in.
It’s important to highlight how impressive both the Bees and the Invaders performances were in Hudson tonight. The Bees came into this contest 1-5, facing off against a far more talented 5-1 squad likely headed to the post season, but the Bees didn’t blink, and gave the Explorers a fight throughout. The Explorers came into this contest without their starting QB, trusting a young backup to deliver a victory against a desperate and feisty Medina secondary.
Hudson’s utter dominance and the sheer talent they possess on the offensive side of the ball resulted in the Invaders victory.
The Hudson Invaders are back in action next weekend, looking to extend their win streak as they travel to Wadsworth to take on the powerhouse Bears in what’s sure to be an instant Friday night light classic.
The Medina Bees will be back within their friendly home confines next Friday as they host the North Royalton Bears, looking to get back in the win column.
