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Berea, OH – Local products Bryce Agnew (Berea-Midpark) and Kadyn Viancourt (Avon Lake ) both had nights to remember, but in the end, there could only be one winner and that was Baldwin Wallace over Marietta 24-21 in a thriller in Berea today. The Yellow Jackets overcame an early 14-0 deficit to rebound and outscore the Pioneers 24-7 the rest of the way.
Down early, the Yellow Jackets made a switch at quarterback to Reese Wamer and that proved to be the smart choice. Wamer was a duel threat as he threw for 69 yards and a touchdown but did the bulk of his damage on the ground. Wamer would run for 139 yards on 22 carries.
Star tailback John Murray Jr would also have a great day on the ground for the Yellow Jackets. He finished with a productive 130 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. His long run was a 20-yard bolt as he continued to break tackles running downhill.
Marietta tailback Bryce Agnew is no stranger to this field as he played here in high school and it showed again today. Agnew had a touchdown rushing, but did his best work through the air as he caught 7 passes for 109 yards and a 70-yard touchdown.
Pioneer quarterback Connor Vierstra had 190 yards passing on 20 of 27 attempts, with 2 touchdowns of 27 and 70 yards each. His main target to go with Agnew, was Dawson Snyder who had 5 catches for 38 yards.
A blistering Pioneer defense sacked starting Yellow Jacket quarterback Keagan Armitage twice on the opening possession of the game. The second time forcing a turnover as he fumbled the ball and Marietta recovered on the Yellow Jacket 26-yard line. It appeared for a split second that the Pioneers turned it into points with a touchdown pass to Cashaw, but he fumbled it at the goal line, returning the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.
The turnover parade would continue as seconds later, a batted ball was intercepted at the line of scrimmage by the Pioneers. This gave them the ball right back, at the Yellow Jackets 9-yard line. A few plays later, Bryce Agnew would make them pay with a 6-yard touchdown rumble to make it 7-0 with 9:17 left in the opening quarter.
On their third drive, the Yellow Jackets pulled starting quarterback Armitage in favor of backup Reese Wamer. After a first down and brief spark, it led to a punt where the Pioneers took over at their own 43 yard line.
A 27-yard pass play to Agnew got the Pioneers cooking right away on the drive. They would go for the endzone on a third and long a few players later and convert a 27-yard touchdown pass to John Sierputowski to make it 14-0 with 2:55 to go in the first quarter.
The third Yellow Jackets turnover of the first quarter came at midfield as a Reese Wamer pass was bobbled off a brown jersey and then picked off by the Pioneers. This turnover would not to lead to points however and the quarter would end 14-0 Pioneers.
The Yellow Jackets stuck to the running game on their next possession and met with success as John Murray Jr would rack up the yards with some hard nose running. Reese Wamer called his own number several times as well as that got them to a first and goal from the 2. A few plays later it was John Murray Jr cashing it in to cut the Pioneer lead to 14-7 with 2:53 to go in the half.
The Yellow Jackets would get the ball back with 1:59 to play in the half and began a two-minute drill. It began with a 38-yard run by Reece Wamer to get the Yellow Jackets buzzing quickly. On the legs of Wamer and Murray Jr, they got the ball down to the 2-yard line at first and goal with 29 seconds left. After a brief injury timeout, the Yellow Jackets stung the Pioneers with a 2 yard touchdown pass from Wamer to Darius Stokes to send the game to halftime, tied at 14.
A quick three and out and then short punt by the Pioneers allowed the Yellow Jackets to start the second half in enemy territory. Runs by John Murray Jr would help them get inside the Pioneer 15. They would continue to get closer until an Iyan Mitchell jet sweep gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead at 21-14 with 9:25 left in the third quarter.
The Pioneers wouldn’t stay down long however, as Bryce Agnew took a screen pass 70 yards to the house on a third and long. Agnew knows these sidelines well and danced along them like Michael Jackson in an edition of Thriller as he used that fancy footwork to stay in bounds on the tail end of that catch and run. Agnew is deadly with the ball in his hands no matter how you get it to him, just get it to him!
The fourth quarter began with the game still tied, but the Yellow Jackets would score on the first play with a 36 yard field goal by Dean Sarris to make it 24-21 with 14:57 left in the game. The quarter would not see another point however, as the Yellow Jackets hung on to win 24-21.
The Pioneers tried for a last second drive, but it came to and as a Kadyn Viancourt sack would seal the game for the Yellow Jackets. The Avon Lake native checked in the game late and made an immediate impact once on the field. Viancourt is a closer and no stranger to big moments in big games!
Game Balls go to
Jon Murray Jr with 130 yards and a td
Reese Wamer with 139 yards on the ground
Bryce Agnew with 140 total yards and 2 td’s
Kaydn Viancourt with a game sealing sack.
It was a really awesome game I enjoyed it immensely 💕 Bryce Agnew is an awesome football player and a wonderful young man 🙏💜
Bryce Agnew is a beast on the field! So impressed with the way he plays and how humble he seems.
Would of liked to make Bryce Agnews game but I just wanna say I wish him the best with whatever he does and hope he keeps up the great hard work and makes it in the nfl someday. I believe in you Bryce keep it up.