by By: Tyler Danburg
MENTOR, OH– Postseason Friday Night Football was off to a frigid, thirty degree start as the eighth-ranked Cleveland Heights Tigers took on the dominant, top-ranked Mentor Cardinals from Mentor’s Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium.
Both teams came into the regional quarterfinal after Conference Championship clinching wins, as the Tigers garnered the Lake Erie League title with a 21-12 win over Maple Heights.
Meanwhile, Mentor proved why they were the Associated Press’ Top-ranked big school in Ohio, capping off an undefeated season in a 56-21 Week 10 rout of Strongsville. With the snow falling in a moderate manner, the game was underway from the JTO.
Cleveland Heights elected to receive after winning the coin toss, giving the first possession of the game to the Tigers. However, a Cleveland Heights offense led by the junior quarterback from Switzerland Bay Harvey (2,054 Tot Yds, 27 Tot TD) could not get much off of a terrific Mentor Defense that has allowed only 116 points all season.
But it soon became a story of the Cardinals offense, as on the third play from scrimmage, Mentor star quarterback Ian Kipp found his main target Luke Floriea for a 44-yard touchdown pass. That connection was Kipp’s 19th touchdown pass on the season; the 14th that has gone to the Kent State commit Floriea.
Two possessions and three-and-outs later, the Tigers began to get the offense rolling, going over twenty yards on two consecutive Bay Harvey passes. But Mentor’s defense stepped up incredibly. Tigers QB Harvey rolled to his left on third down looking to pass, but was picked off by Cardinals DB Eriq Martemus.
That led to a quick drive set up by Cards quarterback Ian Kipp’s 37-yard run. Despite a fifteen yard penalty, Kipp himself responded with a 21-yard run and then a one-yard run into the end zone to finish a drive in which Kipp scampered for 58 total yards.
As the top-ranked Mentor Cardinals were leading 14-0 with twenty seconds left in the first quarter, Cleveland Heights once again made it a game, as Shemar Turner finished the period off with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, proving he was no match for the Cardinals special teams unit in open space. That concluded the first with the Tigers cutting the Mentor lead down to seven.
Following the end of the first quarter and the Cleveland Heights touchdown, a hungry Cardinals offense came out swinging, as Mentor running back Brian Trobel found room to run through the Tiger secondary for a 51-yard gain setting up a possible scoring drive. Ian Kipp finished the drive himself, as the Mentor quarterback became a human joystick by spinning away from a Cleveland Heights linebacker for his second rushing touchdown of the game and third total to make it 21-7 Cardinals.
The game soon shifted into full gear for Mentor and their defense, stopping the then-driving Tigers on 4th and 8 as Mentor’s Marco Toth tackled Tigers receiver Shemar Turner by a shoestring. Following the turnover on downs, Mentor took over on their own 35 yard line. They soon charged downfield after a Brian Trobel 38-yard run to put the Cardinals into Cleveland Heights territory. Trobel, five plays later, put Mentor up by three scores with a six-yard touchdown, and another touchdown of his made it 34-7 at the half.
With a late first half score for Mentor, that put the Cardinals at 299 total yards in the first half compared to a sluggish 92 total yards for Cleveland Heights.
The Cardinals transferred their scoring mentality into the second half when Brian Trobel scored his third rushing touchdown of the game from one yard out, after he caught a 68-yard pass from quarterback Kipp, to make it 41-7. Trobel, reflecting on his three touchdown night said: “It sets the tone for next week, which is a big game. It shows that we can run the ball efficiently and can keep going with a good week of practice.”
Following another three-and-out for Cleveland Heights, it was second-string running back Riley Coughlin’s turn for Mentor, busting through the seam for an 82-yard touchdown, the longest run of the game. That was the final score of the contest, as on the next possession for Cleveland Heights, quarterback Bay Harvey was sacked for a 16-yard loss in field goal territory. That was the final offensive snap for Harvey and the Tigers offense.
With the 48-7 defeat of Cleveland Heights, Mentor will take on the winner of #5 Solon vs #4 Canton-McKinley. While the Cardinals move on, the Cleveland Heights Tigers end their season and playoff hopes with their first loss since the first week of the season with a 21-10 loss to Medina.
Mentor Head Coach Steve Trivisonno on his final home game: “It was really special. It’s a great place, a great school, and a great community. I couldn’t have been more proud to represent the school and community for the last 23 years.”
