Normandy Invaders Survive Comeback Attempt by Bay Rockets in 20-14 Win

Bay Village, OH – It was a tale of two halves in Friday night’s Cleveland West Conference matchup between the Bay Rockets and Normandy Invaders. The story of the game was Da’Quarius “DQ” Bradley who did it all for the Normandy Invaders. Bradley hauled in 4 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown, ran the ball 5 times for 20 yards and a touchdown, and returned a kick 89 yards for a touchdown. 

The Normandy Invaders made their presence known right away in Friday night’s contest. Senior ATH DQ Bradley returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for an Invaders touchdown. After a couple defensive penalties on the PAT try Normandy went for 2 points but failed the conversion. 

Bay was not determined to let the game get away early, however. The Rockets went on a methodical 11-play, 54-yard drive to get their offense started. The drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Rocco Ereditario. After the PAT, the Rockets took a 7-6 lead over Normandy.
With the Normandy offense taking the field for the first time, they were also looking to make some noise. The Invaders’ offense got some help from the Bay defense on their opening drive with a couple of penalties that set up Normandy in Rocket territory. After a sack from the Bay defense set up a 4th down, Normandy QB Elijah Gray found DQ Bradley in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. With Nino Ilic putting in the PAT, Normandy recaptured the lead 13-7 late in the first. 

Midway through the 2nd quarter after both sides’ defenses started getting stops, Normandy produced a blocked punt that set themselves up deep in Bay territory. Three plays later, DQ Bradley would find the end zone for his 3rd score of the half for the Invaders! This time he did it with a 1-yard scamper into the end zone.  

Now trailing 20-7, the Bay offense needed to put together a solid drive to head into the break. They did exactly that as they went on a 13-play, 81-yard drive that took 5 minutes off the clock. QB Michael Farrell produced multiple important plays during the drive. He capped it off with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sophomore wideout Brody Beggs. With just 30 seconds left to play in the half, Normandy opted to kneel on the ball to take the game into halftime with a 20-14 lead. 

With the Normandy defense forcing a quick punt to open the 3rd quarter, they were looking to extend their lead on the offensive side. After the first play of their drive, DQ Bradley needed to be helped off the field with an apparent ankle injury that forced him to be sidelined for the remainder of the game.  

After the game Coach Ian Kost said of Bradley, “He’ll be fine.” He continued to explain what DQ meant to the team, “He’s a kid that was with us in middle school then he left and came back. The best comparison I could make would be to Chicago. It was like when Jordan came back in ‘95. It was a huge lift… He was the best kept secret in the league, but I think the secret is out now.” 

In the 3rd quarter, neither team could get a rhythm going on offense. The best play to come out of the quarter was a punt by Normandy’s Nino Ilic that pinned the Bay Rockets at their own 2 yard line.  

Bay’s ensuing drive was a long one that lasted 8 plays and traveled 51 yards down field but ended with the Rockets punting the ball away. After a quick 3-and-out forced by the Bay defense, the Invaders were set to punt again. On the punt return, the Invaders’ special teams forced a fumble that they would recover in Bay territory.  

However, defense was the name of the game in the second half and the Invaders would once again be forced to punt after starting with great field position.  

On the Rockets’ next drive that started at their own 5, they were driving with the ball near midfield. The Normandy defense would produce what may have been the most important play of the game when they forced a fumble and recovered. This once again set the Invader offense up in Bay territory. 

Just as the half played out however, the Normandy offense could not capitalize. This gave the Bay Rockets one last chance to win the game with a touchdown with just over 2 minutes to play in regulation. 

Once again, the Normandy defense would create a defensive stop as on 4th down, they sacked Bay QB Michael Farrell to seal the game.  

With the victory, Normandy advances to 2-2 on the year as they host the North Olmsted Eagles (0-4) next week. As for the Bay Rockets, they fall to 2-2 on the year and will travel to Buckeye (3-1) next week to take on the Bucks. 

Key Players 

Normandy 

ATH DQ Bradley: 5 carries, 20 yards, 1 TD; 4 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD; 89-yard KR TD 

QB Elijah Gray: 10/20 passing, 100 yards, 1 TD; 15 carries for 59 yards; 1 reception for 8 yards 

Bay 

QB Michael Farrell: 8/13 passing, 115 yards, 1 TD; 10 carries for 41 yards 

RB Michael Ereditario: 29 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD 

WR Brody Beggs: 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: NORMANDY ATH DQ BRADLEY