by Dear Olmsted Falls, I wrote a book honoring your culture, your high school football team and everything that makes your rivalry with Berea-Midpark so special. Come meet me in person on November 21 and pick up a copy. Use the code #KOSplus when you see me that day and I will give you a deal.
Olmsted Falls — The Olmsted Falls Bulldogs came back to defeat the Findlay Trojans by a score of 21-14 in a rainy second-round playoff game.
Early on, the rain proved to make it difficult for both teams to sustain any offense, combined with tremendous defensive efforts by both teams.
On their third possession of the game, Findlay started to get into a rhythm. The Trojans moved the ball mostly with runs from quarterback Riley Korkos and running back Ramier Williams. The duo’s success on the ground set up Korkos to find Trace’son Hyde through the air from 42 yards out to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.
Both defenses then got back to controlling the game. The next six drives combined between the two teams resulted in punts, with Olmsted Falls even forcing back-to-back three-and-outs.
Following the second of the three-and-outs, Olmsted Falls got the ball at the Findlay 44-yard line and got to work. Olmsted Falls star quarterback Cameron Pesch, who Findlay had held in check early on in the contest, completed three of four passes on the drive for 25 yards and ran for 15 more yards, including the game-tying 6-yard run to make the score 7-7, which went on to be the halftime score.
Following a three-and-out by Olmsted Falls to begin the second half, Korkos put his team on his back for Findlay. He either threw the ball or ran it on nine of the 11 plays in a drive that he capped off when he ran in from a yard out to give the Trojans the lead back at 14-7.
Despite the weather and strong defense, neither team had turned the ball over midway through the third quarter. That all changed when the Bulldogs were able to force a fumble on a Findlay bubble screen. The fumble found the arms of Olmsted Falls Bulldog Grant Hrabnicky. This was a big play for the Bulldogs!
Mason Cerovac shined on offense, as he led the Bulldogs in receiving from his tight end spot, with six catches for 57 yards.
Nearly half of those yards came on the play after he recovered the fumble, when Pesch found him on a 24-yard pitch and catch. Two plays later, Pesch found another pass catcher in Grant Hrabnicky from 10 yards out to tie the game at 14.
All tied up, neither team could find the game-winning score for nearly the entire fourth quarter. With only a few minutes left, Olmsted Falls got the ball at the Findlay 45-yard line. Following a 7-yard run by running back Owen Radigan, the Bulldogs put the ball in his hands to throw. While the pass fell incomplete, a defensive holding call against the Trojans helped accelerate the Bulldogs down the field. A few plays later, Pesch ran the ball in from 9 yards out to give Olmsted Falls its first lead of the contest, 21-14, with 55 seconds left in the game.
Korkos and Findlay were down but showed they were not out of it. He quickly found wide receiver Jacob Gebhardt twice and Carter Imke once for a combined 25 yards to move the Trojans around midfield. Following an incomplete pass, Korkos, who finished 19-of-31 for 163 yards, made his only mistake throwing the football. His last pass of the night found the hands of Olmsted Falls linebacker Khye Gilbert, sending the Bulldogs faithful into a frenzy and him and his team into the regional semifinals, winning by the final score of 21-14.
With the win, the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs move on to the regional semifinals in Division II, Region 5. They will get a rematch against Southwestern Conference foe the Avon Eagles at home.
Player of the Game — Olmsted Falls Quarterback Cameron Pesch
While the performance may have been on the lower end of what he typically puts up, Pesch finished the night completing 15 of 26 passes for 126 yards with a touchdown pass, while rushing the ball 18 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns. If the Bulldogs want to defeat the Avon Eagles, they will need their star quarterback to be a star once again as he was tonight.
