by Brecksville-Broadview Height’s senior stars Joey Labas and Garrett Kubitz combined for nine Bee touchdowns on a fickle fall night in Brecksville. Despite Chaden Lee’s four touchdowns for the Magics, Barberton’s penalties and lack of a run game brought their playoff hopes to an end.
The first drive set the tone early for both sides. Barberton went to the skies early, finding Lowe for a 20 yard pass on the opening drive. The play was called back, however, for offensive pass interference. On the same possession, the Magics inflicted two more penalties on themselves, forcing them to work 30 yards behind the original line of scrimmage. Throughout the game, Barberton would commit eight penalties, costing them 75 yards.
After the punt, Labas and the Bees marched downfield off the back of Garrett Kubitz, who punched in the first score between the tackles early in the first quarter. Kubitz would rake in 175 yards on 19 touches throughout the evening.
The Bees swarmed the Magic on defense, packing the box with up to nine players at a time. Frustrating the run game of Barberton’s Cam Macon and Mason Dewitt, the Magics relied heavily on the arm of quarterback Chanden Lee.
The Barberton Magics, a team acclimated with dominating defenses on the ground, were held under 60 total rushing yards. Macon carved out 13 yards on six carries, leaving the brunt of the rushing yards to Lee, who raced in 40 yards along with 286 yards through the air. The Magic were held from crossing midfield until the second quarter of play.
Storm clouds were brewing across Ohio, affecting games around the state. Around nine minutes to go in the second quarter, the officials realized the storm was a little too close for comfort, resulting in a more than hour long rain delay. After a brief warmup between both teams, play resumed and the halftime was voided to save gameplay.
Iowa-commit Labas etched his name into the hallowed halls of Brecksville Football by becoming the All-Time leading passer in the program’s history last week, and he wasted no time in solidifying his spot at the top. Labas went 17/19, dropping 320 yards and on one of his four touchdowns over the course of the evening, showed off his wheels, jogging in for a 16-yard score.
Senior Jeremy Jonozzo made it easy for his QB, using his agility and speed to create big plays for the Bees. In the first half alone, Jonozzo caught four passes for a whopping 111 yards. On one 40-yard bomb from Labas, Jonozzo hauled in a touchdown to pack his stat sheet. His night was not even close to being over, much to the dismay of the Barberton defense.
Late in the third quarter, immediately following an interception from fellow senior Raymond Carroll on a tipped ball, Labas immediately found his favorite target. Running at full speed, Jonozzo made a spectacular one-handed grab for a 48-yard touchdown.
The storm seemed to give Barberton the time they needed to rework their offensive approach as Lee found his rhythm late in the first half. The Magics, despite falling to a 21-0 deficit, felt the tide turning with a 41-yard connection to wideout / defensive back Charles Hornacek at the end of the first half. After trading scores in the second half of action, Barberton found themselves only trailing by 14 points early in the third quarter.
Unfortunately for the Magics, that is as close as they would get to the lead for the remainder of the game. While Brecksville-Broadview Heights was unable to convert on two PAT’s and two-point conversions, their speed and weapons proved too powerful.
On four of the Bees’ nine touchdowns, the team scored in less than 90 seconds. On two of those occasions, BBH scored in less than a minute of game time. Combined with the defensive prowess of Donovan Duncan, who wrapped up five tackles on the night, two of them for losses, the efforts of Barberton players like Hornacek (six catches, 110 yards, two touchdowns and five tackles) were nothing compared to the swarm of the Bees. BBH advances in playoff play with a win over Barberton, 55-30.
Sean Freeman is a writer dedicated to covering the action around Cleveland from sports to current events to business.
Players of the Game:
Brecksville-Broadview Heights
Garrett Kubitz: 19 touches, 175 yards and 5 TD’s
Barberton:
Chaden Lee: 18/31, 286 passing yards, 40 rushing yards, 4 TD’s, INT
