by Independence, OH. What better way to kick off Halloweekend 2026 than with some thrilling high school playoff football? From the very first play of the night (literally), the Independence Blue Devils and the Lowellville Rockets faced off in one of the most unpredictable, back and forth games of football I’ve ever seen. The Blue Devils kicked off the ball to the Rockets to open the game, but the Rockets fumbled and It was recovered by the Blue Devils with prime field position, on the Rockets’ 25 yard line. After a series of plays, the Blue Devils opted to kick a field goal and drilled a 29 yard kick to get on the board 3-0 right away.
Kicking off the ball to the Rockets again, the Blue Devils caught them napping, executing a surprise onside kick that was muffed by the Rockets. The Blue Devils took possession right back.
Only four minutes into the game, the Blue Devils looked to extend an early lead, but Cole Wildes picked off Matthew Avila’s pass. Wildes jumped up and blocked the pass with both hands, bobbled, and secured the ball, and started off the drive on the Blue Devils’ 25 yard line.
The Rockets flipped the script after Ricky Willrich launched an 18 yard missile to Michael Lucido who snagged the pass and was brought down just two yards from the endzone. The Rockets scored their first touchdown of the night after star running back Daniel Huff waltzed right through the Blue Devil defense and into the endzone. After a failed two point conversion, the Rockets took the lead 6-3.
After the Rockets took possession, an unfortunate series of penalties set them back 15 yards. They attempted to punt the ball to the Blue Devils, but the highlight plays kept rolling as Jeremy Jacobs blocked the punt and Independence gained possession on Lowellville’s 3 yard line.
The Blue Devils were sure to take advantage of their prime field position to open up the second quarter, and Matthew Avila threaded the needle through the defense and found Ryan Suhy in the endzone for their first touchdown of the game, and they took the lead 10-6. The game would remain scoreless until halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Blue Devils were able to catch the Rockets off guard with their passing game, firing (and catching) passes left and right and scoring their second touchdown of the game less than three minutes into the third quarter. Avila hit Ryan Suhy with an insane pitch pass, who blasted off and barely made it into the endzone, good for a 25 yard touchdown. It looked like the Blue Devils were really heating up and went up 17-6.
The crazy drives didn’t stop there, though, and it was the ‘Lowellville Show’ now. On the longest drive of the game, they got a first down by Daniel Huff and a second first down after Willrich faked a handoff and spun around and launched a 34 yard bomb to Carter Hvisdak. But two unsportsmanlike calls on the Rockets set them back 10 yards. The Rockets fumbled the ball but it was recovered by their own Daniel Huff and they were able to negate their penalty and get back up the field, and they were right back in the game after Huff went right up the middle and into the endzone for a 3 yard touchdown, his second of the evening! The Rockets cut into the Blue Devils’ lead and trailed them 17-12.
The tables turned for the Blue Devils and they got a taste of their own medicine, after they muffed the kickoff on the Rockets’ punt, giving possession right back to the Rockets. The crowd started to get quiet and the atmosphere was starting to change. You could tell a big play by the Rockets was imminent.
And a big play is exactly what happened. The Rockets scored on the opening play of the drive, after Willrich launched a 33 yard pass to Hvisdak, and the Rockets took the lead 18-17. This was their second touchdown in just 11 seconds!
After a handful of empty possessions, the third quarter came to a close. The Blue Devils kicked off the fourth quarter with a solid drive that ended on a successful 18 yard field goal, and they stole the lead back from the Blue Devils and went up 20-18.
However, the Rockets absolutely refused to let up. After a turnover on downs by the Rockets, it looked to be Independence’s game to lose, with 5:31 to go. But the Blue Devils fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Hvisdak, and the script was flipped yet again. The Rockets took possession with 3:56 left to go in the game, and after some solid plays (and a lot of carries) by Daniel Huff, the Rockets worked their way down the field, but a false start call would set them back quite a bit. On second down with 22 yards to go, a 7 yard carry by Huff helped them claw back. With 15 yards to go, another huge 10 yard carry by, guess who – Huff! – put them within reach of a first down!
Changing the playbook from the run game, Willrich found an open Hvisdak for a 5 yard catch and first down. Huff tacked on another impressive carry, refusing to go down and good for 8 yards. The Rockets achieved another first down on the very next play, and put them in striking distance of the endzone.
And boy, did they strike! Huff blasted off with a 20 yard carry, narrowly getting in the endzone and scoring with just 27 seconds to go. After their fourth failed 2-point conversion of the night, the Blue Devils retained possession with one final chance to win the game and advance to the next round of the playoffs.
However, Anthony Tuscano picked off Avila’s deep ball and sealed the game for the Rockets, as they ultimately won 24-20.
The player of the game for the victorious Rockets was none other than star running back Daniel Huff, who tacked on two touchdowns, plus the game-sealing touchdown, and carried the ball for an impressive 140 yards.
Carter Hvisdak had a good night as well, adding 6 receptions, a 33 yard touchdown, and a script-flipping fumble recovery.
The Rockets’ quarterback Ricky Willrich was pivotal in tonight’s win as well, completing 8 passes, good for 131 yards.
The player of the game for the Blue Devils was running back Maverick Durden, who came away with 75 rushing yards in the game.
Additionally, Ryan Suhy also had both touchdowns for the Blue Devils, good for 5 and 25 yards respectively
Despite a strong game, the season came to an end for Independence, and Lowellville will face McDonald next week.
