An Extremely Close Game Sees Bay Village Win Over Lakewood, 22-20

Avery Holt deserved a better ending. Instead of celebrating a superb effort that saw the Lakewood quarterback run and pass for more than 300 yards Friday, all he’s going to remember is the last play of the game. Playing in a Cleveland West Conference clash at Bay Friday night, Holt threw an interception on an attempted conversion pass in overtime and the Rockets held on for a thrilling 22-20 decision. The victory gives Bay a 5-4 mark overall and 3-3 in conference play and probably secures a playoff berth in Division IV, Region 14. The Rockets finish the regular season next week at rival Rocky River.

“We prepared all week for a long game, a tough game that was going to be close,” said Bay running back Rocco Ereditario, who scored the winning points in overtime. “We worked a lot on finishing. Our coaches put us in the position to win and the whole team rallied together and pushed through.”

The Rangers, who fell to 4-5 and 2-4, entered the game ranked No. 16 in Division II, Region 6. They have the unenviable task of having to beat Buckeye next week in order to clinch a spot in the playoffs. The Bucks manhandled Rocky River Friday, 55-0, to clinch the conference title.

“I told the kids I was proud of them because we gave ourselves a chance and we fought all night,” said Lakewood coach Mike Polevacik. “It was a tremendous high school football game. We knew both teams were playing for a lot. We’re trying to get to week 11 and we have one more shot at it.”

Holt literally never left the field, as he carried the ball 33 times for 218 yards and a touchdown and completed 11 of 15 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. The Hillsdale commit also played defense and made numerous tackles. By the way, he also is Lakewood’s punter and kicker, and he recovered an onside kick to himself to open the game.

“That’s a heck of a football player,” said Bay coach Ron Rutt, “We knew he was a great runner, but they really got him going on the ground tonight. He’s a load to tackle. He throws lasers out there, too. He was an impressive player.”
Polevacik said that Holt could have had games like this all season, but they were careful not to burden him too much, as he does so much for the Rangers.

“He’s had some great games on the ground,” Polevacik said. “We knew he could do that, but we also were trying to not beat him up physically. Now it’s win or go home time, so you ride the horse. He’s a tremendous high school football player.”

Lakewood had a chance to perhaps win the game in regulation, putting together a 14-play drive that moved the ball from the Lakewood 24 to the Bay 23. Twice during the drive the Rangers were successful on fourth down conversions, including a pass from Holt to Jaylen Chappell on a fake punt.

However, on the most important fourth down conversion with 1:32 left to play, Holt appeared to complete a pass to Chappell that would have given Lakewood a first down inside the Bay 15, but senior linebacker Wondu Evans came up and put a wicked hit on Chappell, jarring the ball loose.

“We had a shot at the end of the game, but we couldn’t get that one last first down to give us a chance,” said Polevacik.

Bay got the ball first in overtime and needed only two plays to score—runs of 15 yards and 5 yards by Ereditario, who received a direct snap from a Wildcat set on each play. On the TD run, Lakewood was called for a facemask violation, putting the ball on the 1½-yard line. Ereditario, who led the Rockets with 124 yards on 16 carries, scored on the conversion run to give the hosts a 22-14 lead.

While the facemask penalty certainly made it easier for the conversion run to be successful, Rutt said the Rockets were going to go for two anyway.

“Our mindset was that we were going to go for two no matter what,” he said. “We’ve been in a few overtime games over the years, and going for two is the way to go. We had faith in our guys that they would be able to get it done. When we started that first overtime series, I told our offensive coordinator that when we score we were going to go for two. That was the plan.”

Lakewood answered almost as quickly, needing just three plays to reach the end zone. After Braedon Greenfield gained 5 yards on first down, Holt broke off a 13-yarder and then scored untouched on a 2-yard keeper around the left side. Forced to go for two, Holt rolled to his right and saw an open receiver in the end zone, but Bay defensive back Charlie Rodgers read the play and cut in front of the receiver and made a game-clinching interception.

“The kid made a tremendous play,” said Polevacik.

Rodgers also played a big role in Bay’s power running game, gaining 64 yards on nine carries and scoring a touchdown in the first half, which ended with Bay holding a 14-7 lead.

“He’s a really good football player,” said Rutt. “He kind of read the play, hung back and then jumped the pass. It was a great play.”