by Medina was able to defend their home turf versus Shaker Heights, defeating them by a score of 70-38. Medina’s offense was firing on all cylinders, as a special performance from quarterback Dan Stoddard pushed the Bees past the Raiders.
Medina got the ball first and came out cooking. On the second play from scrimmage, Stoddard hit Austin Knowles on a hitch and go for 37 yards. Senior utility man Jack Wojciak capped off the drive when he punched in a toss play from 2 yards out. This gave Medina a 7-0 lead with 8:05 left in the first quarter. Shaker wasted no time responding. On their first play from scrimmage, wide receiver Trey McNutt got behind the defense and quarterback Abdullah Ahmad hit him for a 74-yard score. This tied the game at 7 with 7:50 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Shaker’s defense came up with a nice 4th down stop, giving them the ball at their own 42. On the next play, Ahmad scrambled for 29 yards, setting up the Raiders with good field position. Facing a third and long, Ahmad had another nice carry, this one for 17 yards. This setup the Raiders with a 4th and short from the 22-yard line. On 4th down, Ahmad hit McNutt again, this time on a fade route to put the Raiders up 14-7 with 2:10 left in the opening quarter.
Medina got the ball back and put together a solid drive thanks to some nice throws from Stoddard. To polish of the drive, Stoddard found Wojciak for an 11-yard touchdown, coming on a bit of a scramble drill. This knotted the game up at 14 with 11:22 remaining in the second quarter. On the next drive, Shaker was able to march down the field courtesy of some nice completions from Ahmad to Dartagnan Mitchell, Kai James and Kheyden King. King finished off the drive with an 8-yard rushing touchdown, where he broke a tackle in the back field to scamper in. This put the Raiders up 20-14 as the PAT was botched.
Soon after, Shaker kept the momentum when Darrius Coleman picked off a Medina pass and setup the Raiders at midfield. On the first play after the interception, Ahmad found Mitchell for a 41-yard gain to setup 1st and goal for the Raiders. Facing a long 3rd and goal, Ahmad evaded pressure, broke a tackle and trotted in for an 11-yard score. After the missed 2-point try, Shaker led 26-14 with 6:22 remaining in the half.
Medina came right back with a touchdown of their own. Stoddard found Knowles on a curl route, he then made multiple defenders miss and dashed in for a 72-yard score. This brought the Bees right back into the game as the score was 26-21 with 4:37 remaining in the half. Medina’s defense was able to force a punt and get the ball back. After a nice drive, Stoddard ran it in from 8 yards out to give Medina the lead. This put the Bees up 28-26 heading into the break. It was clear that both offenses would have to keep pace in this high scoring affair.
Shaker got the ball to start the half and was forced to punt. Medina was able to increase their lead when Stoddard ran in a touchdown form 16 yards out, where he made multiple tacklers miss. This gave the Bees a 35-26 lead with 9:47 remaining in the third quarter. Medina was able to get the ball with great field position thanks to some special team’s work. Shaker had a high snap on the punt, and Medina’s Caden Sokolowski made a nice tackle on the punter to give the Bees the ball at the Shaker 26. Soon after, Stoddard ran one yet again. He took this one up the middle, made a nice cut, and ran in unscathed from 10 yards out. This put the Bees up 42-26 with 7:42 left in the third quarter.
On the first play of Shaker’s next drive, Ahmad hit Kamren Jackson down the sideline for a 45-yard gain, setting the Raiders up at the Medina 14. Medina’s defense held strong, as the forced a turnover on downs. This gave the Bees the ball at their own 3-yard line. On Medina’s first play from their own 3, they dialed up a marvelous play action pass. Stoddard found a wide-open Cooper Josefczyk for a 97-yard house call. After the long touchdown, the Bees led 49-26 with 4:17 remaining in the quarter.
Shaker was quick to respond. Facing a fourth down from the Medina 24, Ahmad kept the ball and darted in for a touchdown. This brought the score to 49-32, as the 2-point try was missed. Medina responded with a quick score their own. With 11:48 left in the fourth quarter, Stoddard ran in yet another touchdown, putting the score at 56-32. Then, on the first play of Shaker’s next drive, Medina came up with a fumble recovery to set them up at the Shaker 34. Soon after, Stoddard hit Knowles for a second time, as he ripped a ball to the endzone from 35 yards out. The scoring now held 63-32 with 10:31 remaining.
On Shakers next drive, McNutt made a nice, contested catch to set up the Raiders in the redzone. Soon after, Ahmad found McNutt again, this time for a touchdown. Ahmad hit McNutt on an out route from the 6-yard line. This made the score 63-38, as the 2-point try was intercepted by Sokolowski. Medina was not done yet, despite the starters being done for the day. Quarterback Chris DePasquale rolled left and found Brayden Walker in the endzone from 28 yards out. This made the score 70-38, capping off the game. The win gave Medina their 6th victory of the year.
Before tonight’s player of the game is named, it is important to mention some phenomenal performances from this high scoring affair.
Medina:
WR Austin Knowles – 10 catches, 229 yards and 2 touchdowns
Utility man Jack Wojciak – 11 rushes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Also added 7 catches for 79 yards and touchdown
Shaker Heights
QB Abdullah Ahmad – 17/30 for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns. Added 11 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns
WR Trey McNutt – 6 catches for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns
Tonight’s player of the game goes out to none other than Medina QB Dan Stoddard. Through the air, Stoddard was 24/35, racking up 455 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. On the ground, he carried the ball 13 times for 96 yards and 4 scores. In total, the senior accounted for 551 yards of total offense and a whopping 8 touchdowns. He was outstanding both through the air and on the ground. Stoddard put together one of the best performances you will ever see, as he was nothing short of incredible on this night.
With the win, Medina moves to 6-3 and will travel to Solon next week. Shaker Heights drops to 7-2 and will host Cleveland Heights next week.
