by In the last week of the regular season, the North Olmsted Eagles headed to Bay Village to take on the Rockets. The first quarter started off with a bang for the Rockets. Running back Rocco Ereditario took the handoff and ran the ball 62 yards before he was tackled. This set Bay up at the North Olmsted 10-yard line. The Rockets wasted no time getting into the endzone, with Brendan Spellman taking the direct handoff up the middle for a 10-yard score. Bay’s defense came to play as well. Charles Rice intercepted North Olmsted quarterback Tommy Horsfall, giving the Rockets the ball back as the first quarter came to a close.
Bay capitalized on the Eagle turnover, handing the ball off to Spellman, who ran in a 9-yard touchdown. The successful PAT put the Rockets’ up 14-0 early in the second quarter. North Olmsted refused to quit, forcing Bay quarterback Michael Farrell to fumble, which Dennis Jefferies of the Eagles recovered. The turnover set up a 4-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation for Collin Willard, cutting the Rocket lead to 7 at the half.
North Olmsted came out firing in the second half. Horsfall found Willard deep over the middle for a 30-yard pitch and catch for six. The PAT tied the game at 14 apiece. Bay answered back on the ensuing drive, which Spellman capped off with a 6-yard touchdown run.
A sloppy fourth quarter began with North Olmsted in the red zone. As the Eagles were looking to tie things up, Brady Haug fumbled, and Bay recovered. Ereditario then fumbled for the Rockets, which North Olmsted recovered at the Bay 21-yard line. The Eagles couldn’t convert on the Rockets’ miscue and turned the ball over on downs just a few plays later. On Bay’s next offensive possession, Spellman coughed up the ball, setting up North Olmsted at their own 38-yard line. This time, the Eagles converted on the turnover as Horsfall found Michael Passafiume in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown. North Olmsted tried taking the lead with a two-point conversion. They failed to do so, as Willard was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. Bay recovered the attempted onside kick, kneeled down a few times, and escaped with a 21-20 win.
With the win, the Bay Rockets end the regular season with an 8-2 record. Next week, they will play host to an opponent in Division III Region 10 for the first round of the OHSAA playoffs that will be announced once official playoff standings are finalized. With the loss, the North Olmsted Eagles finish the season with a 2-8 record and will not return to the playoffs this year in Division II.
Player Of The Game:
Bay RB Brendan Spellman: 29 RUSH 192 YDS 3 TD
