by Written by Brandon Miller
Elyria, OH- Midview Head Coach Luke Beal and the Middies took a trip to Dan Reaser Stadium to take on head coach Brian Fox and senior 2021 All Ohio running back Levi Ellis and the Elyria Catholic Panthers this past Friday Night. Elyria Catholic came into the contest with a 1-1 record after beating archrival Elyria in week one but falling in a heartbreak loss in overtime to Perkins in week two.
The Middies came into this contest also at 1-1 after a shut out of Rocky River in week one but like their opponent this week they also lost in a heartbreak fashion to Strongsville who beat the Middies in week two on a pick six.
After a Midview fumble, the Panthers then took over at their own 18 for their second drive of the game. On this drive for the Panthers a pass from senior quarterback Brady Cook was intercepted by junior defensive back at Midview’s 28-yard line.
The Middies took advantage of that turnover by Cook as senior quarterback Marc Reed found West on a 27-yard connection to put the Middies up 7-0 with 4:04 second to go in the first quarter. That Middies drive last just three plays, 21 yards in 21 seconds of clock time.
After the kickoff by the Middies, the Panthers started their drive on their own 22-yard line. An offside penalty kept the drive alive for the Panthers and it turned into a 33 yards rumble for a touchdown by senior running back Levi Ellis on an eight play, 78-yard drive that lasted three minutes and 18 seconds. With this the first quarter ended in a 7 to 7 tie.
In the second quarter the Panthers started at their own 30 yard line and senior quarterback Brady Cook connected with senior Tony Grasso for a three yard touchdown on a 13 play, 70 yard drive that lasted about 4 minutes and put the Panthers up 14-7 with 7:51 left to play in the second quarter.
After a Middies punt on their ensuing drive, Brady Cook threw an interception to senior defensive back Jeremy Mathes who returned down to the two-yard line, but it was brought back to the Panther 13 due to two key penalties on the Middies. Both defenses stood their ground as we head to halftime where the Panthers led 14-7.
The Middies started the second half with the ball, but the Panthers defense denied them of anything as they forced a quick three and out. Midway through the third Cook found Colin Ginley for a touchdown to cap off a 9 play, 70-yard drive that lasted two minutes and eight seconds.
On the next Panthers possession, Hector Garcia IV entered the game and threw an interception on his own eleven-yard line and it was returned for a touchdown by Jeremy Mathes to cut the Panther lead to 21-14 and brought the third quarter to an end.
As we started the fourth quarter, Panther running back Levi Ellis took a direct snap and threw a pass to senior tight end Ryan Tanner for a 23 yard touchdown to put the Panthers up 28-14 and to end a 10 play, 66 yard drive that last four minutes and four seconds with seven minutes and fifty-six left in the game.
After a punt by the Middies, Levi Ellis of the Panthers put the game out of reach as he ran 64 yards into the end zone on the only play of the drive that last only two seconds to put the Panthers up 35-14 with a little over five minutes to go in the game.
With that big run by Levi Ellis, he gets my player of the game honors and the game ended by a score of 35 to 14 in favor of the Panthers.
Levi had three total touchdowns tonight with two on the ground and one through the air and with this performance, he has reached a milestone of fourth all time in school history in career rushing yards with 3,401.
Next up for Elyria Catholic is a road test at North Royalton against Holy Name where as Midview will try to rebound in Olmsted Falls against the Bulldogs.
Great job Brandon!
Great write up Brandon!