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Cuyahoga Falls, OH- The Medina Highland Hornets are ranked 5th in Division II, and on Friday night their perfect season continued with another big conference win over the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers 70-7 from Clifford Stadium. This was a complete team victory as the Hornets displayed excellence on both sides of the football.
The game opened with 3 consecutive plays of no gain or less for the Black Tigers. This setup the visiting Hornets with excellent field position in enemy territory for their first offensive possession. Highland began the scoring in this evening’s contest very quickly. On their 2nd offensive snap Junior Wide Receiver Johnny Siliko took an end around for 20 yards into the endzone to give the Hornets an early 7-0 lead.
Following the touchdown, Highland added more points thanks to an interception from Junior Defensive Back Matt Ciryak. An overthrown pass resulted in an untouched 40-yard return by Ciryak. With the score being 14-0 early the Black Tigers really needed to put together a drive to shift the momentum back in their favor. But that would not be the case.
Another punt from the Black Tigers resulted in another quick score for the Hornets. After a few solid runs, Junior Wide Receiver Tommy Turk ran around the left end for a 13-yard score to add on to the Hornets advantage with 6:20 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Yet again, the Hornets started in great field position because of their stalwart defense who snuffed out any big plays from the Black Tigers. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved Highland into the redzone, where Junior Quarterback Peyton Janickas would do the rest. A 1-yard touchdown from Janickas made the score 28-0.
On the first play following the score the Hornets would strike again for their 2nd pick 6 of the 1st quarter. Hornets Defensive Lineman Logan Marquis made quite the athletic play, leaping to intercept the screen pass from Black Tiger Quarterback Alex Golden and taking it into the endzone for a 15-yard score. Another interception by Ciryak led to one more score in the quarter for the visitors. Janickas switched directions in the backfield and wound up with nothing but green in front of him all the way into the endzone for a 33-yard touchdown.
This was Highland’s first and only 3rd down of the half as their offense was in complete control and cruising against the Black Tiger defense. Ciryak added to his outstanding half of football with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown giving the Hornets a commanding 49-0 lead with only 10:51 to go in the half.
Highland’s defense forced their 4th interception of the half this time Sophomore Garrett Phillips was the recipient. Once again, the Hornets wasted no time getting back into the endzone. On the first play of the drive, Janickas threw a quick slant pass to Siliko who then would run untouched using his speed for a 40-yard touchdown.
The Black Tigers would go on to break through into the scoring column on the ensuing possession. Sophomore Running Back Zavier Lindsey would go 80 yards down the left sidelines to get Cuyahoga Falls on the board in the 2nd quarter. Junior Noah Vandegrift would add an interception for the Black Tigers, but nothing materialized after that. At the half, the Hornets lead 56-7 on a rainy Friday night.
The 2nd half saw a few more scores from Highland with a running clock. Sophomore Quarterback Josh Arvantes was able to punch one in from 10 yards out and Junior Tommy Shondel finished the scoring with another pick 6 for the Hornets late in the 4th quarter. Medina Highland has now scored 357 points on the season while only giving up 40. With the win the Hornets improve to 8-0 staying unbeaten. Next week, they’ll travel to Aurora for a big Suburban Conference matchup. As for the Black Tigers of Cuyahoga Falls it will be a road contest against Barberton.
Players of the Game:
Medina Highland Defensive Back- Matt Ciryak
2 Interceptions, 1 for touchdown, 1 punt return for touchdown
Medina Highland Quarterback- Peyton Janickas
67 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns, 1 touchdown (passing)
tigers trying to be like the broncos….
Are you a moron? This game was from over a year ago. What a stupid comment to leave.