by STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Under the Friday night lights, the Strongsville Mustangs put together a complete performance on both sides of the ball, powering past the Medina Battling Bees with a dominant 42-14 win.
Medina opened the game with a quick three-and-out, giving Strongsville solid field position at the 46-yard line. The Mustangs wasted no time capitalizing, riding the legs of freshman running back Austin Tatulinski and two key catches from Alex Espay to set up Tatulinski’s 4-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and the Mustangs led 7-0 after their strong opening drive.
On Medina’s next possession, quarterback River Blomquist was picked off on his fourth throw. Strongsville was gifted another short field, but Medina’s defense responded, forcing a fumble from Tatulinski to keep the Bees in it.
Medina in the second quarter quickly cashed in on the turnover. Blomquist strung together several completions before the Bees pulled off a trick play. Caleb Sherman took a jet sweep and found Syd Loyd through the air, setting up a 3-yard rushing score from Loyd. With the good PAT, the Bees tied the game at 7-7.
Despite the strong effort from Medina, the game was only tied for a short period of time. On the kickoff, Medina’s Nathan Rodak broke loose for a return touchdown, flipping the momentum right back to the Mustangs. They led 14-7 just 13 seconds later.
Blomquist would throw his second interception of the half, and this time Strongsville would make it count. Quarterback Nick Carrossella faked the defense out with a perfect play-action before sprinting out 43 yards for another touchdown, extending the Mustang lead to 21-7.
Just when it looked like Medina would claw back, Strongsville made a goal-line stand at their own 1-yard line with under three minutes in the half. The very next play, Kendrick Boddie took the handoff and exploded for a 73-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 28-7 at halftime.
After the half, Medina was showing signs of hope, but Austin Adkins came up with a big sack on third down, forcing a Medina punt. Strongsville took over at the Bees’ 27 after a high punt. The Mustangs immediately dialed up a flea-flicker. Carrossella threw the ball to Espay for 22 yards, setting up another touchdown run by Tatulinski from 5 yards out, extending the Mustang lead to 34-7.
Medina tried to respond with a few big completions from Blomquist to Brian Wutcher and Jayden Tagalicod, but the Mustangs’ defense stood tall again, forcing a turnover on downs.
The Mustangs came up with another dagger when Kendrick Boddie burst loose for a 63-yard touchdown run, his second long run of the night! After a successful two-point conversion, Strongsville led 42-7 with just under a minute in the third.
Medina showed grit early in the fourth quarter. After working into the red zone, Blomquist connected with Syd Loyd for a big 16-yard gain and then punched it in himself from two yards out. The PAT was good, trimming the deficit to 42-14 with 10 minutes to go. Medina recovered the onside kick, but their drive sputtered and Strongsville took over with 6:18 left. The Mustangs chewed down to under a minute and sealed the win.
Player of the Game – Strongsville Mustangs: Kendrick Boddie, who had two carries for 136 and two touchdowns.
Player of the Game – Medina Battling Bees: Syd Loyd, who had 5 catches for 63 yards, along with seven rushes for nine yards and a rushing touchdown.
