by The Shaker Heights Red Raiders were able to defend their home turf and defeat the Mustangs of Strongsville by a score of 23-7. Shaker used their stout defense to propel them to victory.
Shaker got the ball to start the game and turned it over on downs. On the ensuing drive, Shaker defensive back Kevin Lowery picked of a Strongsville pass and setup the Raiders at the Mustang’s 32-yard line. Soon after, Shaker got on the board thanks to Kheyden King, who punched in a 2-yard touchdown. This put Shaker up 7-0 with 9:10 remaining in the quarter.
The defenses stepped up and held the scoring for quite a while. Then, with 8:08 left in the second quarter, Shaker defensive back Digamo Richards jumped an in-breaking route and returned it 65 yards to the house. This put Shaker up 14-0. The scoring was held until halftime as the defenses continue to be huge. Richards also blocked a punt towards the end of the half, and Strongsville defensive back JJ Pleasant picked of a Raider pass as time expired.
Shaker continued to rely on their defense in the second half. On the opening drive, senior defensive lineman Justin Russell had a big sack that pinned the Mustangs deep in their own territory and forced a punt. Shaker used the good field position to increase their lead. Jack Geisler knocked in a 24-yard field goal to put Shaker up 17-0 with 9:09 left in the third quarter. Later in the quarter, Strongsville had sustained a nice drive thanks to some solid running from Xavier Belvin and a few nice throws from Harsh Patel. That’s when the Raider defense came up big once again and stopped Strongsville at the goal line to keep them scoreless.
Shaker carried the momentum into the final quarter. Early into the quarter, Trey McNutt hauled in a 10-yard touchdown from Abdullah Ahmad. McNutt also had an impressive one-handed grab on the drive, that gave the Raiders a key first down. This touchdown put Shaker up 23-0 as the PAT was blocked. This pretty much iced the game for the Raiders.
Although, Strongsville was able to get on the board late in the game when Patel threw a 4-yard touchdown pass, as he was able to buy some time and find an open receiver. The drive was setup by Searius Addishin who snagged an interception and gave the Mustangs the ball at the Shaker 43. This touchdown made the score 23-7. This score held until the clock hit zero.
Tonight’s player of the game goes to the Shaker Heights defense. The defense had shutout the Mustangs until late in the fourth quarter. They came up with two interceptions, a touchdown, and a sack along the way. The two interceptions were by Kevin Lowery and Digamo Richards, who returned his for a 65-yard touchdown. The sack was by senior Justin Russell. They also blocked a punt, forced a missed field goal, setup a field goal of their own, and had a goal line stop. On top of all of this, they were swarming all night as every drive had tackles for loss, pass break-ups and QB pressures. The defense was outstanding in the victory.
With the win, Shaker Heights moves to an impressive 7-1, and will travel to Medina next week. Strongsville drops to 3-5 after the loss, and will host mentor next week.
