by Cuyahoga Heights becomes comeback heights as they grab a win over Berkshire after being down by 14 points. Cuyahoga started the game hot. On the very first play from scrimmage, Rocco Perconti got behind the line of scrimmage for a four-yard loss. After the defense produced an early three and out, Cuyahoga struck with a fifty-seven-yard run by number Ryan Krajewski to make the score 7-0.
After both of the team’s second drives went nowhere, Cuyahoga caused the first turnover of the game as Seth Kucia intercepted Miles Miller for a touchback. A trick play which led to Kucia passing to David Collins for thirty eight yards to make it 14-0.
Cuyahoga couldn’t celebrate that touchdown for long as Lucas Stoddard ran it in from sixty five yards on a reverse play to pull the score within seven points with 10:57 in the second quarter.
On Cuyahoga’s next drive, Miller would end up picking off Lucas Torgerson and return it to the house to tie the game with 9:32 left in the second quarter. As the momentum began to swing in favor for Berkshire, they started to not only stop the run, but they also started to bring more pressure to the quarterback.
Hunter Nicholson was unstoppable throughout the entire game, especially in the first half and the fourth quarter. Miller got his 2nd interception with 1:19 left in the second quarter, and then led a 1-minute drive to make the score 21-14 with thirty-five seconds in the half, after a pass to Stoddard.
Going into halftime, the Badgers would score 21 unanswered, the momentum was clearly on Berkshire’s side at that point in the game.
Opening up the second half and most of the third quarter, it was more of the same. Berkshire would dominate the line of scrimmage on both ends of the ball, (even if they stopped giving the ball to Stoddard) and shorten the game. Miller would end up connecting with Jack Hasting for 14 yards to make the score 28-14 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
Cuyahoga continued to struggle with offensive line play on both sides of the ball as the Badgers continued to disrupt both the running and passing game. Going into the fourth quarter, the Badgers led 28-14, driving with the ball and was in field goal range. However they would miss a field goal with 11:51 left in the game.
With 7:23 left in the game, Lucas would connect with number 16 Jason Meadwell for three yards to pull it within seven. After some back and forth the game would get tense as time was winding down. With 4:37 left, Stoddard caught an amazing pass on third down, and Cuyahoga was hit with a roughing the passer call.
Now it was time for Cuyahoga to drive down the field. This drive was intense, the Badgers would record three sacks alone on this drive including two by Nicholson. With four seconds left, Lucas would throw it up in the air after taking a hard hit, into the hands of Collins as he caught it at the four yard line and ran it in to tie the game and send it to overtime.
This was a controversial play, because as the ball was floating in the air. Miles Miller seemed to have the play, until Collins came over, jumped with Miller, seemed to push off of Miller’s back with both hands and make the play. After both teams’ would score in the first overtime, Cuyahoga would stop the Badgers from scoring in the second overtime, drive down to the one yard line and then number 11 Owen Schuckert would make the game winning field goal. Final score 38-35 double overtime.
My final thoughts are the following. This game had everything, momentum swings, comebacks, drama, and a few controversial calls that would’ve made the difference between either team winning and losing.
Berkshire Line work on both sides of the ball are amazing, Hunter Nicholson (a junior) is an absolute stud. He has size, speed, and a ton of potential, and schools on all levels need to start recruiting this kid now.
Stoddard (a senior) if not he has not already gotten some scholarships, then it’s a shame, he was unstoppable, and one of the key reasons why the Badgers lost, was because they stopped feeding this monster.
Miles Miller (a sophomore) is very mobile and plays both sides of the ball well. I wish he was more confident in standing in the pocket, because this kid has an arm. For Cuyahoga hts, Collins is a solid, he has size, speed, and knows how to play the game well.
Lucas Torgerson was clutch when it mattered the most, and even when the chips seemed down, he still picked his team up and stayed poised. Cuyahoga’s run game is good, they just need better offensive line play to establish that said run game
