by It’s more than just an ordinary game during the season when crosstown rivals Eastlake North and Willoughby South face-off against each other. Last year, South watched North celebrate with their fans on the field following a 37-19 win.
Friday night, South got their revenge, escaping past the Rangers 10-7 with a length of the field drive running out the clock. The win now elevates the Rebels to an overall series record of 20-28-1.
“These games are always going to be nailbiters,” South head coach Matt Duffy said. “These seniors have done everything we’ve asked them to do and for them to get the win, that of itself was good for me.”
With South alumnus and current Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt in attendance for the rivalry game, that itself gave the Rebels an edge early on. Rebel quarterback Justin Grosel felt his presence alongside the sidelines all night.
“It’s amazing. An NFL player coming back to our school definitely sparked us up and we felt that throughout the game.”
It was a defensive battle throughout the first half of the Civil War. The hard-nosed Willoughby South defense made things difficult for the run-oriented Rangers to get into scoring position. The only points of the first quarter came from a 25-yard field goal from sophomore Sam Patrizi.
The Rebels continued the early momentum into the second quarter. On a pass from senior quarterback Justin Grosel, speedster and fellow senior wide receiver Rico Small reached out in front of his defender to haul in and later score on a pass from 43 yards out. That was the only score of the second quarter, giving South a 10-0 lead over North heading into halftime.
North wasted no time making a statement in the second half. In just under six minutes, the Rangers offense flipped a switch, producing a number of big plays early and often. The opening drive was capped off with a 15-yard touchdown run from senior Dylan Froelich.
As far as the defense, the Rangers held their own, limiting South to a couple of punts and fourth-down stops to head into the fourth quarter carrying momentum trailing just 10-7.
Not much offense for either team translated into the final quarter. As the Rangers often found themselves driving down into Rebel territory, the South defense held its own, including forcing two turnovers in the quarter to ultimately seal a 10-7 win over North.
The three-point win over North now improves South’s record to 4-1 on the year and near the top of the Western Reserve Conference. Next week doesn’t get any easier as they have a short turnaround to play reigning state champions Kenston on the road.
For coach Duffy, he knows that it won’t be easy moving towards the second half of the season, but remains confident in his team.
“This conference is brutal,” he said. “We got Kenston [next week] and we know we’re going to have to elevate our level of play and these kids aren’t going to shy away from anything and they’ll be ready to go.”
