by It wasn’t exactly all Dior all the time, but it might as well have been.
In a game that was shockingly devoid of offense, Midview senior Dior Jones provided the only spark Friday with 213 all-purpose yards, leading the Middies to a 14-0 victory over non-conference foe North Olmsted. Midview is now 2-0, while the Eagles fall to 0-2, suffering a shutout for the second consecutive week.
“He’s the very definition of electric,” said Midview coach Jack Armstrong of the 6-foot-1, 190-pound speedster. “But what people don’t realize is that he is the most physical wide receiver I have ever seen as a blocker. You don’t see that combination too often. We’re certainly glad to have him here at Midview.”
Early in the week, North Olmsted coach Tim Brediger said a key to the game would be to contain Jones, who also gave North Olmsted fits last year. The Eagles did a good job of limiting his touches, as he only had six. But that only makes his final numbers all the more impressive—two punt returns for a total of 134 yards, three receptions for 66 yards and one rush for 13 yards.
“He’s explosive,” Brediger said. “He’s a heck of an athlete. We did a lot of nice things early with him, but we had a lot of guys going both ways and we got tired. He was explosive when it mattered most.”
It mattered most in the third quarter. After a ho-hum first half that saw the two teams combine for just 122 yards and no scores, the Middies scored the game’s first TD midway through the period on a 68-yard punt return by Jones. He caught the ball in the middle of the field, broke toward the right sideline and then cut back to the middle to reach the end zone untouched.
Jones had a very similar punt return of 66 yards late in the second quarter, also running to the right sideline but eventually being tackled by North Olmsted’s 240-pound punter, Brennan Graf.
“On the first one, I was extremely tired, so I got caught by their 240-pound punter,” Jones said. “On the second one I was more athletic, and I beat him.”
Jones only had one more touch for the rest of the game, a 10-yard pass reception, but the damage had already been done. Midview scored again in the fourth quarter on a powerful 3-yard run by Cameron West, who also had an interception in the game. The TD capped a 41-yard drive that consisted of just four plays.
This was the second consecutive week that the Middies went into the halftime locker room with the score tied and then pulled away in the second half. Last week Midview turned a 14-14 halftime tie into a 34-14 victory over Westlake. While it’s difficult to complain about an undefeated team that comes alive in the second half, Armstrong knows that when the competition picks up the Middies will need to be ready from the opening kick.
“We seem to start slow, and that’s going to be a focus in practice next week,” he said. “The expectation is to start fast, and we’re going to work on that.”
Midview also needs to work on cutting down on its penalties. The Middies only had about 150 yards of offense for the game, and many of the offensive problems were self-induced. There were multiple holding penalties and multiple false start penalties. In addition, twice the ball was snapped over the head of quarterback Shay Williams, resulting in losses of 20 yards and 18 yards.
“Our expectation is to be a good football team,” Armstrong said. “We know we can be a good football team. What you saw tonight was not who we are.”
On the other hand, Brediger said he saw lots of progress from his team after the Eagles lost to North Ridgeville in their opener, 48-0. North Olmsted was the better team in the first half against the Middies, but the Eagles failed to take advantage of early trips into Midview territory. Then, they wore out because of a lack of depth.
“I thought our defense played unbelievable,” Brediger said. “I thought our whole team made huge steps. In the first half we had some momentum, but at crucial moments we had some brain cramps. And then, we had some actual cramps. We had to replace a lot of guys with cramps, which really hurt.”
Midview finishes the non-conference portion of the schedule next Friday at Elyria Catholic, while North Olmsted plays at Amherst. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
Player of the Game (Midview): Dior Jones. His 213 all-purpose yards on just six touches—including a 68-yard punt return for a score—provided the only offense in the game for either team.
Player of the Game (North Olmsted): Matthew Chalkwater. One of many Eagles who plays both ways, the senior led the offense with 59 yards rushing on 10 carries and he also made several big plays from his linebacker spot.
