by There’s no better way to kickoff Halloweekend than some high school playoff football. Costumes were in full effect for the Holy Name faithful, and they go home happy knowing that their team is still alive in the playoffs.
The first quarter featured plenty of offensive fireworks from both teams. After a quick three and out from Copley on their first drive, the Holy Name green wave got to work quickly. RB Kriztion Sanchez found some green on his way to a 17 yard first down run. Facing a 3rd and 8 in Copley territory, Senior quarterback and captain Jayvon Williams scampered 20 yards on a QB keeper to keep the drive alive. This put the ball back in the burly Sanchez’s hands as he cashed in from 8 yards out to give the Green Wave an early 7-0 lead.
On the Indians next drive, junior QB DaOne Owens was sacked not once but twice on their first set of downs and went three and out once again. The Green Wave capitalized off this and extended their lead. Austin Wondolowski found paydirt for a 56 yard run up the left side of the field and extended the Green Wave lead to 14-0.
The Copley offense finally began to wake up, as Owens found receiver Scooby Stanford who juggled the ball before ultimately coming down with the catch and ran into the endzone to cut the Indians deficit in half.
Copley took a bit of a gamble on the ensuing kickoff. They lined up for an onside kick, and followed through with it. The ball ultimately ended up getting dropped by Holy Name special teams and ended up back in the hands of Copley. The Indians were not able to capitalize on this gamble, however. The first quarter came to a close with Holy Name knocking on the door of the red zone.
After Williams threw a ball towards the back of the end zone, it fell incomplete but pass interference was called. The Green Wave were set up with 1st and goal from the 9.They didn’t waste much time on their next couple plays, as Sanchez powered through with a tough 9 yard run to extend the Green Wave lead 21-7. Holy Name was also given extra yardage as a result of a facemask due to a Copley defender ripping off Sanchez’s helmet after the play.
The Indians answered right back with a little trickery. Owens threw a pass across the field to receiver Ben Firestine, who then threw a floater up to Carter Noel for a 58 yard touchdown. A blocked extra point kept it an 8 point game. Both teams combined for 34 points in the first 14 minutes of game action.
The next 10 minutes or so highlighted a dry period, as both teams failed to capitalize on opportunities to put points on the board. This didn’t seem like the case on Holy Name’s next drive. Sanchez bullied defenders on a 52 yard run, but it would have gone for more if not for a facemask called against him on a stiff arm. A couple plays later, Jayvon Williams fumbled the transfer to the RB, and Copley pounced on it.
The Indians very nearly got in perfect position but an illegal procedure offset a pass interference call that would have set up goal-to go. The Indians eventually turned the ball over on downs, and allowed the Green Wave to score before the half
Williams got receiver Matthew Montrunecs involved with a 33 yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 28-13.
The Indians tested their luck once again in the second half, as they kicked onside to start the 3rd quarter. Their aggressiveness paid off in these situations, as they remained 100% on onside kick attempts in this game. But once again, they were unable to capitalize as they fumbled the jet sweep which was recovered by Andrew Cole of Holy Name.
Williams wasted no time on their next possession as he swiftly ran through the secondary like a certain quarterback in Baltimore did in Tampa last night, extending the Green Wave lead to 35-13.
The Copley offense struggled mightily throughout the second half. After a turnover on downs on their next drive, they followed that with another fumble as receiver Scooby Stanford coughed it up trying to get more yardage.
With good field position to start their next drive, Kriztion Sanchez bullied the defense on a burly 17 yard run to put the Green Wave on the Copley 6 yard line. Jayvon Williams followed that with a 6 yard touchdown rush, his second of the game. 42-13 Holy Name.
After yet another turnover by Copley gave the ball back to Holy Name, they gave the Indians their grand finale, as Williams scrambled to his left and found a wide open Montrunecs for his second receiving touchdown to extend the lead to 36.
Player of the Game
For the second straight week, it goes to Jayvon Williams. He once again set the tone on the ground with 101 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 2 passing touchdowns to push his total to 4 on the night
What’s Next
Holy Name now goes on to face Lutheran West, which will be at Gibson Field in North Royalton.
