by The 5-2 Nordonia Knights battled the 1-6 Stow-Munroe Falls Bulldogs in a cold and rainy game, winning 31-21.
The stars for Nordonia were Joey Palinkas, Israel Petite and Devin Tufts.
Palinkas went 18/24 for 205 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 8 times for 88 yards.
Petite and Tufts were the two favorite targets. Petite caught 5 passes for 120 yards and one score, he ran the ball for an extra 14 yards and scored a two-point conversion. Tufts caught 6 passes for 63 yards and was explosive in the return game.
The Stow stars were Jacob Harrington, Teddy Gregory Jr. and Nate Boozer.
Harrington had one of the better performances of his freshman season. He went 14/24 for 216 yards and 2 scores. He also ran the ball for a 15-yard touchdown.
Gregory brought the muscle all game long. He had 4 tackles and ran the ball 25 times for 97 yards. Boozer caught 6 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Stow won the coin toss and elected to receive. Stow was able to drive past the 50 thanks to a couple of strong runs by Teddy Gregory Jr., but punted shortly after.
The Knights started the drive pinned on the 2. They drove all 98-yards behind the arm and legs of quarterback Joey Palinkas. The drive was capped off by a 15-yard slant route to Israel Petite to make the score 7-0 with 5:00 left in the first quarter.
Stow passed the midline again on their next drive. They couldn’t move anymore then that though as Harrington fumbled and gave the ball to the Knight’s Vinnie Schiavone.
The Bulldog defense stood strong. They forced a turnover on downs right off the bat, after Gregory knocked down a pass on fourth.
The next drive the Bulldogs reached midfield and did not lose momentum. Harrington found Nate Boozer wide open on a seam route for a 50-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs tied the game 7-7 with 11:00 left in the half.
The first play of the Knights drive, Palinkas found Petite on a seam route of their own for a gain of 74. A touchdown saving tackle and a goal line stand from the Bulldogs forced Connell Rafferty to hit a 24-yard field goal. The score was 10-7 with 9:59 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs offense kept the team’s momentum. Gregory busted a 25-yard run and Harrington completed a 19-yard corner route to Boozer for his second touchdown of the day. Stow led 14-10 with 7:06 left in the half.
Petite was able to break away on the kickoff for a 45-yard return. A missed deep shot and holding penalty killed the Knights drive. Punter Jeremy Olszko accidently dropped to one knee and set the Bulldogs up in great field position.
Stow capitalized when Harrington took off for a 15-yard touchdown run. Stow led 21-10 with 4:37 left in the half.
Nordonia had a good drive going behind the legs of Rocco DeLorenzo and Gino Perrine. They ended up kicking a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-13 with 1:27 left in the second quarter.
The Knights were able to move the ball well to start the second half. The drive ended in disappointment though, when Palinkas fumbled the ball and the Bulldog’s Desmond Boyd Jr. recovered it.
After a Stow drive that ended in a punt, Devin Tufts returned a punt 45-yards to set the offense up in the red zone. Nordonia didn’t let the field position go to waste. They utilized the wildcat formation with Brendan Hermensky, who eventually punched it into the endzone from 3 yards out. Palinkas found Petite on the shovel pass for a two-point conversion. The game was tied up 21-21 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
Stow drove the ball all the way down into the 10-yard line. A sack by Asher Wilson and a few incompletions made kicker Davis Broghammer attempt a 27-yard field goal, which he missed.
Nordonia broke the tie on their next drive when DeLorenzo was able to punch in a touchdown from 2 yards out. The Knights led 28-21 with 10:15 left in the game.
Stow turned the ball over on downs. Unfortunately it would be the last time they touched the football with time.
Perrine ran all over the field. He led the offense all the way down inside the 5. Connell Rafferty came into the game on fourth to try and put the game away. He hit a 21-yard field goal to make it a two score game. The Knights led 31-21 with :30 left in the game.
The player of the game was the quarterback Joey Palinkas. He looked composed all day long, willing to make plays with his arm and legs.
The Bulldogs will continue to look for a win when they travel to Twinsburg to take on the Tigers next week.
The Knights will go home to take on the Brecksville Bees next week.
