by Friday Night Lights reached November in the 2025 postseason, and the offense was at an all-time high for the #2 Mentor Cardinals (10-0) (7-0) as they hosted the #7 Jackson Polar Bears (6-5) (3-3).
Mentor began with the football and shot out of a cannon on the opening drive, as RB #25 Jackson Farley thrashed Jackson’s defense for a 41-yard TD just over a minute in. Jackson quickly surrendered their possession, and lightning struck twice for Farley, as he went 64 yards to the house this time to give the Cardinals the 14-0 lead, less than halfway through the opening quarter.
Jackson would seem to find their groove on the next drive, as QB #17 Carter Muhleman found WR #10 Max Cowles on a 51-yard TD connection to make it a 14-6 game.
Mentor’s offense would not let their flames extinguish, as QB #13 Brogan Jones added two TDs to WR #1 Justen Hodge and WR #2 Brady Trivisonno to give Mentor a 28-6 lead at the end of Q1.
Things would only get more out of hand for the Polar Bears, as their offense could not ignite another spark. A failed fake punt attempt on their own side of the field and an interception only added to the trouble they were in.
Floods of touchdowns would follow this Jackson misstep, as Mentor WR #1 Justen Hodge would find his second TD, RB #32 Braylon Callahan found the endzone, and WR #12 Logan Berwald got his score to make it 49-6 Mentor.
Even the kicker got in on the mix, as K #5 Jacob Brown drilled a 37-yarder before halftime to make it Mentor 52, Jackson 6.
This would be the final scoring drive of the game, as both teams turned to their backups for the majority of the second half.
Mentor moves to 11-0, and the #2 seed takes on #3 Canton McKinley next week for the right to go to the regional final. As for Jackson, their season comes to a close at 6-6.
Players of the game:
Mentor: QB #13 Brogan Jones 15/18 184 pass yds, 4 TDs
Jackson: WR #1 Geno Szymanski 3 rec 56 yds
