by Thirty-five years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time the Mayfield Wildcats held a perfect 10-0 regular-season record.
As the clock hit zero, head coach Ross Bandiera found himself and the rest of the Mayfield sideline celebrating the 24-21 win over the Kenston Bombers, crowning themselves Western Reserve Conference champions.
Joey Isabella finished the game with two touchdown catches, the second one coming late in the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats up 21-13 with under five minutes left to play. He went on to describe what it meant to him and his team to finish the regular season 10-0.
“It’s amazing right now,” he explained. “It’s unbelievable. We worked so hard for this and this team deserves it more than anyone.”
Junior Timmy Steffens was playing safety on the last drive of the game for Kenston. Down by three with under 30 seconds left, Steffens broke left towards the Bomber sideline to pick off Jon Tomcufcik’s pass, ending the game. Seeing that Tomcufcik threw that same plays one play earlier, Steffens explained that if he was able to read that play again, the ball would’ve been his.
“A lot of things are going through my mind but I just went out and played my heart out for my teammates and everyone here,” Steffens explained. “I’m truly grateful for the interception.”
The first half ended with the Wildcats taking a 7-0 edge over the Bombers. Joey Suchy’s two-yard touchdown run gave the Wildcats the momentum they needed despite a down first half from quarterback Michael Huss. Bandiera reiterated to the junior quarterback that it’ll fall through, just have to be patient in the second half.
“We had guys downfield all game long and just couldn’t complete the ball,” Bandiera explained to Huss at halftime. “We had total confidence in our quarterback Michael Huss and total confidence in our receivers.”
The fourth quarter featured 24 total points, as both teams kept making big plays on the offensive side of the ball. A 92-yard kickoff return followed up with a converted two-point conversion ultimately tied the game at 21 apiece with 4:42 left in the game.
The Wildcats were able to make the big plays late in the game and were faced with a 4th and goal from the Kenston one-yard line with 35 seconds left. Seconds later, senior kicker Henry Pernsteiner nails an 18-yard field goal to put Mayfield up 24-21.
Four plays later, Timmy Steffens was able to make the right read on Tomcufcik’s pass, starting the mob of celebration from the Wildcats sideline.
Left nearly speechless, coach Bandiera expressed what it meant like for his team to complete something that hasn’t been accomplished in 35 years at Mayfield High School.
“Nobody understands (what this football team) does from January on,” he explained. “These kids worked their butts off and it takes a lot of things to go right to finish 10-0. I am so proud of these football players we have.”
