by Mentor, Ohio – The Mentor Cardinals defeated the visiting River Rouge (Michigan) Panthers, 47-21, in a non-conference game at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Mentor Cardinals won the opening coin toss and elected to defer. River Rouge had the ball to start off the game, but came up short on fourth-and-one, giving the ball to Mentor on downs.
Mentor would take advantage of the short field, as Scotty Fox capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown toss to Dominic Barone. The PAT was good and Mentor led 7-0 with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
Mentor would add to their lead, coming up with another big play, this time on defense. A Cameron Taylor interception set the Cardinals up at the 30-yard line for the second time. Two plays later, Scotty Fox found Justen Hodge for a 31-yard touchdown reception. This would make the lead 14-0 in favor of Mentor.
River Rouge found the end zone for the first time on their ensuing drive. Senior McKale McDowell broke free for a 25-yard gain on third and short to keep their drive going. He would find the end zone from a yard out to make the score 14-7 with :14 left in the first quarter.
Justen Hodge would find the end zone on an eight-yard rush to increase the Mentor lead to 20-7 in the second quarter.
Junior tailback Dominic Burns found the end zone for the first time, from two yards out. This score was set up by an interception from senior Gavin Briggs.
Mentor looked to add to their lead late in the first half, but River Rouge came up with a goal line stand, keeping the score at 27-7 going into the half.
Mentor was forced to punt after a River Rouge stop. But the ensuing loose ball hit a River Rouge player in the foot, and Mentor would recover. They took advantage of this, as Scotty Fox found Marcus Siepurtowski for a nine-yard touchdown reception. Mentor would lead, 34-7, with 9:44 left in the third.
River Rouge responded thanks to their ground game, as Jamauri Foster ran for a pair of first downs. Foster would find the end zone from a yard out, cutting the Mentor lead to 34-13 with 3:22 left in the third.
But River Rouge was not out of the game yet. The Panther defense got a forced fumble from senior two-way athlete DonPaul Keith. The Panthers would march down the field and cap their drive with a two-yard touchdown from junior Jamauri Foster. This would cut their deficit to 34-21 with 11:34 left.
Facing third and ten at their own 43-yard line, the Mentor Cardinals got a huge play from junior tailback Jackson Farley. Farley found an opening and burst through the secondary, finding the end zone. His 57-yard touchdown run increased the Mentor lead to 40-21 with 10:17 left.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Mentor found the scoreboard one more time, as junior Dominic Burns rushed for a two-yard touchdown with 2:17 to play. These would be the final points of the game.
Mentor moves to 6-0 and travels to Shaker Heights on Friday, October 4th, to continue Greater Cleveland Conference play.
River Rouge drops to 2-3 and hosts Cleveland Heights on Friday, October 4th.
