by Fast strikes and huge plays were on tap for the Bulldogs that evening. They wasted no time on a 2 play 81-yard drive to start the night. The score was courtesy of a 79-yard strike from Brett Hutkay to Tyler Neely to hand the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. They were far from done.
The Titans got back in it quickly with a Tyrese Holland touchdown run as part of a 4-play drive that went 54 yards. Holland had a monster night as he ran for 235 yards on 22 carries and scored all 6 of Berea-Midpark’s touchdowns.
The Bulldogs responded with a 4-yard run by Michael Howard and a 61-yard interception return by Andrew Turski. The Titans answered that with a Holland 10-yard touchdown run as the fast paced and high scoring quarter ended 21-14 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The blitzkrieg of offense continued in the early moments of the second quarter with a 6 play- 76 yard drive capped off by Spencer Linville to give the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead. On the next Bulldog drive, Turski scored on a sharply thrown ball by Hutkay for a 48-yard touchdown pass, the extra point failed and Olmsted Falls were on their way to a blowout, up 34-14.
The Titans refused go away quietly in this game and scored on a 75-yard run and a 14 yard by Holland to cut into the lead. The Bulldogs and Hutkay connected one more time with Josh Goodwin on a 65-yard launch to put the Bulldogs well ahead 48-32 at the half.
The Bulldogs would put it away for good in the second half with scoring plays of 5,13,1 and 44 yards. They were championed by the rushing of Linville as he had 16 carries for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bulldog rocket armed quarterback Brett Hutkay compiled 225 yards on 5 for 6 passing and 3 td’s, and ran for 114 yards on 8 carries and one score in the rivalry win.
It was a big win for the Bulldogs and coach DeLuca had this to say about the teams performance and the play of Hutkay and Spencer Linville, “We felt like we needed to keep scoring because they started the game off scoring fast and often. We have had a number of games with them where we have scored every possession or close to it.
Brett had a heck of a game that night. He really stepped up his senior year and had a great season. He made so much improvement from his junior to senior year.
We had a lot guys contribute that night so I feel like Spencer didn’t have his normal high yardage type of game. I also think we pulled him in the 4th quarter.
That night, a young man by the name of Jack Spellacy, who was a sophomore at the time, saw action in the big game and played well. Quite honestly, Jack is one of my all-time favorite players I’ve ever covered. He not only worked his tail off, but did it with a smile on his face and was a great teammate to be around.
Coach DeLuca shares what made Jack so special, “Jack was a great football player for us. He ended up being a first team All Ohio pick as a senior. He is third all-time single season in rushing and third all time in rushing in school history. But the best thing about Jack is the type of person that he is. He treated his peers with the utmost respect. All around great person!”
Headed into 2017, little had changed about the emotion of the rivalry and the intensity of the games. The Olmsted Falls Bulldogs welcomed in the Berea-Midpark Titans on the cusp of riding a four-game winning streak. They used their furious run game to bite the Titan defense on their way to a 62-49 victory in a game that lasted longer than most celebrity marriages. In fact, during that same game, the Cleveland Indians hosted the New York Yankees in a divisional playoff game at Progressive Field that went extra innings and the talk in the crowd was, which game would end first?
The game saw 129 plays from scrimmage for 1,154 total yards combined. Sixteen total touchdowns were scored for a combined 111 points. It came close to matching the prior year’s incredible 75-38 slugfest point total.
If it wasn’t for the games two missed extra points, it would have matched that 113-point total. On a separate note, (and one that still has this sportswriter scratching his head) the game also saw a ridiculous 11 personal fouls. A shocking stat for two well-coached, normally disciplined teams.
Coach Tom DeLuca reflects back on that night, “The one thing I remember about that game is we jumped up on them quick in the first quarter 14 – 0. From that point on we just said we needed to stay up by 14. At no point in that game did we ever feel we had it in the bag. Maybe when the clock struck zero. Berea-Midpark can score points with the best of them.
I never really feel like we have any game secured when playing those guys. I am not really sure why there were so many personal fouls that night. I do know that this game had a lot to do with keeping the rivalry alive!
As for the performance of Lombardo, Nick Dailey and Spellacy, DeLuca chimed in with this, “Each one of these players were different in their own way. I think Jack was so well rounded in every aspect. Luke was one heck of an athlete, he was a big physical kid and had great instincts. Nick was a throw back tough hard-nosed kid. He probably weighed 160 pounds and started on both sides of the ball. Just tough as they come.
This game has been a high scoring game from both teams offenses. I dont think the word satisfying when it comes to our point total, more so the right word I would say is necessary. Both teams typically score a lot in this game for some reason. We have had some games that look more like a track meet.”
It was Jack Spellacy running for 87 yards on 15 carries, while scoring twice. Luke Lombardo was the Bulldogs star of the game as he carried the ball 12 times for an incredible 157 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Nick Dailey chipped in with 128 yards on just eight carries while scoring twice himself.
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