by TWINSBURG, OH – The Greater Cleveland Conference rematch between Mentor and Medina in the Regional Semifinals was held at Twinsburg Tigers Stadium on a rainy Friday night.
The Mentor Cardinals have historically won against the Battling Bees, yet found themselves on a two game losing streak dating back to last season. The last time these two met was in week seven when the Battling Bees went on to win 52-38 in a thriller at home. That game was the Kee On Sports High School Football Game of the Week broadcast live on our YouTube channel.
Prior to the game, it was evident that the rain was not stopping and would play a factor in this game. It was also pretty clear that Mentor had a bit more energy during their pregame warmups. Both things translated to benefits for the Cardinals once the first whistle blew.
Mentor received the ball to start the game and marched down the field with ease. Sophomore quarterback Scotty Fox capped off the excellent drive with a 20-yard touchdown throw to freshman wide receiver Justen Hodge. The 7-0 Mentor lead put the Cardinals in an ideal spot to start the game.
During pregame warmups and the opening drive there was some confusion at who was actually at quarterback for the Battling Bees. Medina’s star quarterback Danny Stoddard came out wearing number 10 rather than his usual number 19. On 4th and 6 Stoddard’s pass was broken up by Caden Markowski forcing the turnover on downs.
Mentor’s offense took advantage and easily cruised down the field once again. Fox found the end zone on the ground and the 1-yard TD put Mentor up 14-0.
On the second drive for the Battling Bees, Stoddard returned to the field wearing his #19 jersey, but the drive ended the same way the first one did – with a turnover on downs.
Mentor continued their physical rushing attack with senior running back Mitchell Waite and the Battling Bees defense could not find a way to get a stop and get off the field. In fitting fashion, Waite found pay dirt on a 34-yard run which was the first play of the 2nd quarter. The Cardinals were pouring it on in the first half, now up 21-0.
For a third drive in a row, Stoddard threw an incompletion on fourth down resulting in a turnover on downs. This one looked extremely threatening because Mentor was getting the ball at the 26-yard line of the Battling Bees.
Everything was trending the way of Mentor and it felt like the game would be over quickly if the Cardinals went up four scores so early in the game. That was not meant to be. After back-to-back Fox incompletions, Mentor faced a 4th and 9. Junior defensive end Nathan Nunn blew up the play in the backfield, sacking Fox and forcing the turnover on downs. The stop finally gave the Medina crowd something to cheer for and sparked some new life into the Battling Bees.
The Medina offense began clicking and the fourth drive for Medina finally ended in points. Stoddard hit a wide open Brennen Schramm down the middle of the field for a 26-yard touchdown.
Immediately after cutting the deficit to 14 points, the Battling Bees surprised Mentor with an onside kick and recovered it. The gutsy call worked out and momentum kept swinging the way of Medina. The Battling Bees entered the red zone and then stalled out once they got to the 18 yard-line. The turnover on downs left Medina 0 for 4 on 4th down conversion attempts.
After another Nunn sack, Mentor had to punt and Medina continued to make things interesting. Stoddard hit Jack Wojciak for a 41-yard completion that took the ball down to the 11 yard-line. Stoddard then found Austin Knowles for the 11-yard TD making the score 21-14 in favor of Mentor.
The Cardinals got back into a rhythm offensively towards the end of the 2nd quarter thanks to an excellent return by Caleb Pohto on the kickoff, giving Mentor nice field position at the Battling Bees 47. Fox and Waite went back to work moving the ball on the ground. Fox then found senior receiver Jacob Snow for an 11-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 14 again (28-14 Mentor).
With a little over a minute left Medina had an opportunity to drive down the field and respond. They also knew that with receiving the ball after half time, it was an opportunity to perhaps tie the game up at 28 all if they could piece together two nice drives. The first part of that plan did not go to plan. The ball was marked at the 27 yard-line of Mentor and Medina was knocking on the door, Stoddard looked over the middle and threw an interception to Markowski who returned it 58 yards, putting his offense in field goal range with eight seconds remaining in the half.
Fox ran the ball 4 yards and slipped out of bounds with three seconds left to make the field goal attempt more manageable from 46 yards. Due to the wet ball caused by the continuous rain, the ball was dropped on the hold and the half ended 28-14.
Coming out of the locker room, things remained much of the same. Medina turned the ball over on downs for the fifth time on the night to get the second half started. Mentor then responded with a field goal that missed wide left off the foot of Dylan Tackett. Then Medina turned the ball over on downs for a sixth time.
Mentor’s second offensive drive of the second half was all about the rushing attack, protecting the ball and draining clock. Four straight runs got the ball to the two-yard line and Waite punched it in. The 35-14 score line would not last long.
Stoddard found Knowles on a deep shot down the left sideline for 41 yards. A few plays later Stoddard hit Corchado on a slant over the middle for a 9-yard TD (35-21 Mentor).
Mentor’s offense killed a lot of clock on the next 12 play drive, but it did not result in points after another missed field goal. This time Tackett’s kick came up short from 32-yards out.
In order to have a chance at a comeback, Medina needed to put up points on the ensuing drive. Unfortunately for them, it would result in a Stoddard interception as he was picked off by Pohto.
Waite found the end zone for the third time on the night on a 9-yard run. After capitalizing on the turnover, the Cardinals held a commanding 42-21 lead in the 4th quarter.
The Cardinals were truly able to seal the game with another interception courtesy of Jase Burgett the senior linebacker.
The 42-21 victory for the number three seed Mentor Cardinals means they have a date with number one seed St. Eds next weekend. Their record also improves to 9-3 on the season.
Number two seed Medina concludes their season with a record of 11-2.
Stats
Passing
(Mentor) Scotty Fox – 13/25 for 147 yards and 1 TD
(Medina) Dan Stoddard – 30/56 for 372 yards, 3 TDs and 3 INTs
Rushing
(Mentor) Mitchell Waite – 33 carries for 209 yards and 3 TDs
(Mentor) Scotty Fox – 8 carries for 93 yards and 1 TD
(Medina) Dan Stoddard – 18 carries for 128 yards
Receiving
(Mentor) Jacob Snow – 2 receptions for 33 yards and 1 TD
(Mentor) Holden Cerny – 4 receptions for 26 yards
(Medina) Brennen Schramm – 6 receptions for 76 yards and 1 TD
(Medina) Jack Wojciak – 11 receptions for 149 yards
(Medina) Austin Knowles – 5 receptions for 107 yards and 1 TD
(Medina) Carlos Corchado – 7 receptions for 37 yards and 1 TD
Defensive
(Mentor) 3 total interceptions
(Medina) Nathan Nunn – 2 sacks
Player of the Game: Mitchell Waite – 33 carries for 209 yards and 3 TDs
How about that Scotty Fox 💥