by Cover photo by – https://www.facebook.com/bizphotographyllc
First Federal Lakewood Stadium – In the Division I, Region 1 second round of the playoffs, the first seed St. Edward Eagles hosted the ninth seed Berea-Midpark Titans.
Coming into the night, the Eagles had an impressive 10-1 record; the Titans were 7-4 following a narrow victory over Brunswick the week prior. Everyone knew the Titans were fighting an uphill battle on the road.
The Titans won the toss, elected to defer and put their defense on the field first. The Titans defense struggled through the regular season but stepped-up last week, holding the Blue Devils to only 24 points.
Berea-Midpark quickly halted quarterback Christian Ramos and the Eagles’ offense, forcing several incompletions on the drive.
The defense of the Eagles immediately returned the favor and forced Berea-Midpark quarterback Luke Devins and company to punt. The ensuing punt was blocked by Michael Kilbane of St. Eds and the Eagles jumped on the ball.
The massive and early swing of momentum, plus excellent field position at the five-yard line ended the battle between both defenses. St. Eds scored on the very next play, courtesy of running back Danny Enovitch. The five-yard rushing touchdown on first and goal gave the Eagles their first lead of the game 7-0. They would not look back from there.
The Berea-Midpark offense was moving the ball in small chunks on their next drive, but after chipping away yardage, a big sack by Kilbane and Matthew Molnar on third down forced a punt on 4th and 18.
The St. Edward offense capitalized on the play of the defense and marched down the field. Ramos ran in the four-yard touchdown on the last play of the first quarter, putting the Eagles up 14-0.
Hudson Devins had no room to run in the first half but appeared to rip off a 16-yard run on the first drive of the second quarter. A big collision between Devins and an Eagles defensive back dislodged the ball and St. Eds recovered the fumble on the Titans’ 41-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, Ramos launched the ball 37 yards in the direction of Rayshawn Manning Jr. Manning Jr. made a miraculous shoestring catch which set up a 1st and goal from the four. With their backs right up against their own endzone, the front seven of Berea-Midpark put up a tough fight for several plays, allowing no gain.
On 3rd and goal from the four-yard line, the Eagles took a play straight out of the Kansas City Chiefs playbook. Ramos slightly rolled to his right, pitched the ball back to the middle, where tight end Brad Delphia caught the ball and followed his lineman into the endzone. The four-yard TD catch extended the lead to 21.
Ramos would get back-to-back passing touchdowns as he would connect with running back Josh Gribble who leaked out on a wheel route. The wide open 20-yard TD grab made the score 28-0.
Berea-Midpark’s offense truly started clicking, just a little late as they already found themselves in a hole. Luke Devins hit Jack Arnold over the middle for a huge 34-yard reception. Arnold was finally tripped up at the one-yard line and Luke Devins was able to punch it in on the QB keeper (28-7 Eagles).
Just as some belief possibly could have been creeping in for Titans supporters 31 seconds before half, they decided to kick it deep instead of squib the kick. That proved to be costly as the speedy sophomore Kyan Mason ran it 92 yards to the house. The massive kick return gave the Eagles a 35-7 lead headed into the locker room.
The first drives out of the break for both offenses resulted in turnovers. Luke Devins was sacked on a 4th and 8 by Wyatt Gedeon and Ramos threw a screen pass right into the arms of Aquan Bell.
Berea-Midpark made the Eagles pay for their turnover and put up six on an excellent deep slant from Luke Devins to Devin Johnson for 29-yards. The made PAT made it 35-14.
The Titans did not learn from their mistake at the end of the first half and kicked it deep again. This time Carlton Landingham II fielded the ball at the 10-yard line and turned on the jets. The 90-yard touchdown return was the second kickoff return TD of the game for St. Eds (42-14 Eagles).
The Eagles then went on to score one more time before the end of the third quarter on a five-yard TD toss and catch from Ramos to Ryan Micklich (49-14).
On the final drive of the game for the Eagles, sophomore QB Casey Bullock checked into the game and only needed one touch to make something happen. The backup quarterback kept the ball on the read-option and split the defense for a 58-yard TD run.
That wrapped it all up with a final of 56-14.
The St. Edward Eagles improve to 11-1 on the season and will face Canton McKinnley next Friday.
The Berea-Midpark Titans wrap up a great season with a record of 7-5 and their first playoff win from a Berea city school since 1991.
St. Edward Notable Stats
Passing:
#4 Christian Ramos – 9-14 for 117 yards and 3 TDs
Rushing:
#25 Danny Enovitch – 12 carries for 82 yards and 1 TD
#4 Ramos – 9 carries for 51 yards and 1 TD
#15 Casey Bullock – 1 carry for 58 yards and 1 TD
Receiving:
#8 Ryan Micklich – 2 receptions for 13 yards and 1 TD
#12 Connor Goodall – 3 receptions for 31 yards
#5 Rayshawn Manning Jr. – 2 receptions for 49 yards
#27 Josh Gribble – 1 reception for 20 yards and 1 TD
#87 Brad Delphia – 1 reception for 5 yards and 1 TD
Defense:
#47 Michael Kilbane 1.5 sacks and a blocked punt
Berea-Midpark Notable Stats
Passing:
#11 Luke Devins – 23-42 for 260 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
#32 Hudson Devins – 13 carries for 45 yards
#11 Luke Devins – 6 carries for 10 yards and 1 TD
Receiving:
#3 Jack Arnold – 4 receptions for 60 yards
#1 Devin Johnson – 9 receptions for 128 yards and 1 TD
#5 DeAngelo Borders – 3 receptions for 52 yards
Player of the Game: Christian Ramos – 9-14 for 117 passing yards and 3 passing TDs, plus 9 carries for 51 yards and a rushing TD.
