by It was a beautiful night at North Olmsted Stadium, the Midview Middies out of Grafton were ready to play the North Olmsted Eagles in a play-off matchup.
The Eagles received the ball first and after a touchback they started at the 20-yard line. They proceeded to get their offense in motion with Senior Captain quarterback # 8 Anthony Guercio making plays with his arms and his legs.
As they drove down the field a couple penalties hindered their efforts. One example was when Guercio threw a bomb to WR Macguire Savarino for a TD the play was called back for holding. The very next play Guercio hits # 5 Sophomore Jared Kelly for a 48 yard TD.
On the next series Midview standout QB Ethan Surdock never saw Eric Wasen the Eagles Junior DB as he stepped in front of the receiver. This, on just the second play of the game for a stunning pick six TD.
The score was now 14-0 North Olmsted just two and a half minutes into the game. A game like this with two quick scores from the home team could mean a blowout, but it turns out 14 points would be the biggest lead of the night.
On the next drive QB Surdock got in gear with key passes to Mason Kucera, and Tim Henson culminating in a short TD pass to receiver Connor Awad as the Eagles lead was cut to 14-7.
A couple possessions later Surdock connected with # 10 Junior Bryce Newton for 28 yards. More penalties led to a short field goal conversion from kicker Kaeden Cook. Now 14-10. As the first quarter ended.
One play worth mentioning was another Middie pass by Surdock was blocked and tipped in the air by Defensive Lineman Brian Shackleton who caught the pass for an unusual interception. This led to another field position TD when running back Jio Rodriguez ran the ball in from 5 yards out. The halftime score was 20-17 with the Eagles clinging to the slim lead.
There’s talented players on both teams but both teams rely heavily on the QB especially for their running game. Both QBs have speed and can break tackles. The second half in many ways became a battle for which QB would outlast the other.
In the second half there were points where the teams were scoring touchdowns about every minute of the game. It also became a game of who would make the least amount of mistakes and unfortunately the Middies made some critical miscues. One such mistake was a fumble that accidentally touched a player on a punt return. The Eagles recovered with great field position quickly scoring a touchdown.
Every time Midview would score, North Olmsted had an answer. Midview got to within 3 a few times, but never got any closer than that. One reason for this was the outstanding defensive play of Eagle Senior LB Kosta Ermides. This kid was everywhere the ball was making at least a dozen tackles and keeping the Middies from ever taking a lead.
The final drive saw the Middies with the ball at their own 25 yard line with just 1:08 left in the game. Surdock and team had one last chance to take the game. After a couple big plays including a 20 yard pass again to Awad. With just seconds left the Eagles ended all hopes with an interception by # 15 Junior Daniel Davis and the game ended right there with a 48-45 final score.
The Middies gave it a valiant effort in a tough hard fought battle, but in the end mistakes and turnovers were just too much to overcome. The North Olmsted Eagles were celebrating their first football playoff win in team history. The faithful had much to be grateful for on this beautiful night for a high school football game.
North Olmsted Player of the Game – Anthony Guercio was 16 of 29 passing for 234 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 172 yards and four TDs
Midview Player of the Game – Completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards with three passing TDs. He also ran the ball for 128 yards and two scores.
It definitely was a great game!!