by MEDINA, Ohio – The Lorain Titans traveled to face the Medina Battling Bees in Week 10 of the Ohio high school football season. Coming in at 2-7 overall, Lorain was looking for a season-ending spark, while Medina also had hopes of salvaging momentum heading into the postseason picture.
Medina would start the game with a surprise onside kick, which they recovered. On their first possession, Quarterback Beckett Vorgin found Kellen Hathaway on a 6-yard screen pass for the early touchdown. The extra point was no good, and the Bees led 6-0 early.
The Titans struggled to establish rhythm early. A short kickoff gave Lorain good field position at their own 42, but the Titans’ drive stalled on fourth down. Medina took over and extended the lead with a 25-yard field goal by Landen Cusick, making it 9–0.
The Bees struck again before the end of the quarter, successfully recovering another onside kick. On the very next play, Brian Witcher took a jet sweep 49 yards for the score, giving Medina a commanding 16–0 lead after one.
Lorain’s offense responded early in the second. Running back Toriano Allen Jr. powered through with two big carries before finishing the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was good, cutting the deficit to 16–8 with 9:29 left in the half.
Medina answered quickly, starting from Lorain’s 49-yard line, Vogrin found Ashton Knowles for a 19-yard touchdown to push the lead to 23–8.
Moments later, a mishandled handoff by Lorain led to a fumble recovered by Medina, setting up another score — a 2-yard touchdown run by Korde Carey — that extended the lead to 30–8 with 5:49 to play.
Lorain showed resilience before halftime when the Titans took a jet sweep 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 30–14. Then, after a defensive stop, quarterback David Whitaker found his receiver for a 45-yard strike with eight seconds left in the half. The two-point conversion was good, trimming the deficit to just one score at halftime.
Medina added to its lead early in the third quarter with another field goal by Landen Cusick from 21 yards out, pushing the score to 33–22.
Both teams traded defensive stops throughout the quarter, highlighted by an interception from Medina near midfield. Lorain answered with an interception of their own to end the third.
Lorain’s offense moved the ball deep into Medina territory, but missed a 23-yard field goal attempt with 7:48 left.
The Titans’ defense continued to battle, forcing their second interception of the night and setting up the offense at midfield. Lorain capitalized on a 14-yard run, and the successful 2-point conversion made it a nail-biter — Medina 33, Lorain 30.
Medina’s next drive stalled, giving Lorain one final chance with 2:58 to play. However, the Titans went three-and-out, and Medina ran out the clock in victory formation as they got the win 33-30.
The player of the game for Medina was wide-receiver Brain Wutcher, who had 3 catches for 81 yards and 4 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The player of the game for Lorain was running back Toriano Allen Jr., who had 18 carries for 78 yards and a rushing touchdown. Allen also had 3 catches for 40 yards.
