by PARMA, Ohio – Three safeties. A pick-six. A punt-return touchdown. A field goal.
Padua Franciscan High School found points from nearly every corner of the football field Friday night, using defense and special teams to overwhelm Bedford High School, 35-6, at Padua Stadium.
The Bruins entered Week 3 searching for their first victory of the season. Bedford arrived at 1-1 after beating Twinsburg the previous week. By the end of the night, both teams stood at 1-2.
Padua’s night did not start cleanly. The Bruins moved the ball on their opening possession before a fumbled handoff exchange between the quarterback and running back gave Bedford possession.
That mistake became the exception rather than the rule.
Padua running back Maks Karasek started the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run to the right. The extra point gave the Bruins a 7-0 lead.
Karasek became the steady piece of Padua’s offense while everything around him became increasingly chaotic. He finished with 16 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown, caught one pass for 5 yards and totaled 91 yards from scrimmage. His rushing line included gains of 26 and 16 yards.
Bedford’s next possession turned into points for Padua without the Bruins’ offense taking the field.
A Bedford pass was tipped, intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The extra point missed, but Padua had quickly stretched the lead to 13-0.
Bedford’s defense kept providing opportunities of its own.
The Bearcats intercepted Padua quarterback Donavin Friscone twice, including a takeaway deep in Bedford territory. Padua also lost the early fumbled handoff, giving Bedford three takeaways on the night.
The problem was what happened after those takeaways.
Bedford struggled to escape poor field position, and Padua eventually trapped the Bearcats in their own end zone for a safety. That made it 15-0.
The Bruins added a 32-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 18-0.
Then special teams produced one of the night’s more unusual plays. Bedford brought a return back into its own end zone and the returner was tackled there for another safety.
With 2:32 remaining in the half, Padua had a 20-0 lead.
That was two safeties before halftime, and the Bruins were not finished.
Friscone opened up the passing game after the break. He connected with Jack Boswell for a 25-yard touchdown, and the extra point pushed Padua’s advantage to 27-0.
Friscone finished 7-of-11 passing for 56 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. On the ground, his recorded 9-yard run and 12-yard sack left him at minus-3 net rushing yards.
Connor Kramp caught two passes for 16 yards. Jose Caban added a 6-yard reception, Vince Angelone caught one for 7 yards, Karasek caught one for 5 and Reed Cervenka recorded one reception for a 3-yard loss.
But Padua’s special teams soon stole the scene again.
Trey Gasparro returned a punt 41 yards for a touchdown, sending the Bruins ahead 33-0 after the extra point missed.
Bedford finally found life offensively later in the third quarter.
Quarterback Zionte Williams began connecting on underneath throws, while running back Alexander Finley provided the Bearcats with production both on the ground and through the air.
Williams completed 10 of 16 passes for 62 yards with two interceptions.
Finley carried seven times for 32 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards, finishing with 47 yards from scrimmage.
The Bearcats started stacking first downs before Rayshawn Duncan Jr. finished the possession with a 6-yard touchdown run up the middle. The extra point missed, cutting the Padua lead to 33-6.
Duncan finished with eight carries for 4 net yards and a touchdown, a line that reflected how often Padua created penetration in the Bedford backfield.
The Bruins also received 34 rushing yards on five carries from Jack Lorz, including a 28-yard gain. Josh Lasky added 7 yards on three carries, while Jacob O’Hara had two carries for minus-2 yards.
Bedford kept competing in the fourth quarter, but the same problems that had haunted the Bearcats all evening returned.
A tipped pass ended in another Padua interception. Later, a bad Bedford snap ended in the end zone for the Bruins’ third safety of the game.
That supplied the final two points.
Padua 35, Bedford 6.
There are plenty of conventional ways to win a high school football game. Three safeties probably do not make the first page of the instruction manual.
Padua did not care.
The Bruins turned Bedford’s field-position problems and mistakes into points while Karasek gave the offense a reliable option between the tackles. Bedford’s defense generated enough turnovers to create chances, but the Bearcats never consistently converted those chances into offense.
Padua Franciscan, now 1-2, travels to Sandusky on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Bedford, also 1-2, returns home to face Brush on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.
Players of the Game
BEDFORD HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE GAME: Alexander Finley, RB
7 carries, 32 rushing yards; 3 receptions, 15 receiving yards; 47 total yards from scrimmage.
Finley supplied Bedford’s most consistent offensive production, contributing as both a runner and receiver during the Bearcats’ strongest stretch of the game.
PADUA FRANCISCAN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE GAME: Maks Karasek, RB/LB
16 carries, 86 rushing yards, 1 touchdown; 1 reception, 5 receiving yards; 91 total yards from scrimmage; 1 fumble lost.
Karasek handled the largest share of Padua’s offensive workload, scored the Bruins’ first touchdown and provided steady production while the defense and special teams piled up points in a 35-6 victory.
