by The Padua Bruins and the Midview Middies came into this matchup with very similar regular seasons. Both teams finished 5-5, but none of that matters once the playoffs hit. The Bruins fell in love with the run game in this one. Roderick Love, that is, senior running back for the Bruins. Love collected 293 all purpose yards and found himself in the endzone 3 times, leading Padua to a 31-14 home playoff win over Midview.
After some back and forth punts to start the game, the Bruins found themselves with the ball at Midview’s 45 yard line. They mixed the pass and the run to get themselves into the redzone. On a big 3rd and 13 Midview linebacker Dior Jones came up with a huge sack to force a Bruins field goal. Bruins kicker Caleb Zolkowski made the 38 yard kick putting them up 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
After forcing a Middie missed field goal, Padua got right back to work. Running back Roderick Love drove the Bruins right down the field with elite vision on his runs. The drive finished with a 21 yard screen pass to Love, putting the Bruins up 10-0 with 7 left in the half.
Needing some momentum, Midview put together a fantastic drive at the end of the first half. They marched 70 yards down the field in 11 plays, 4 through the air and 7 on the ground. The highlight of the drive was a clutch 4th and 1 pickup from the 25 yard line. Junior running back Marcus McMahon punched in the score from 2 yards out to make the score 10-7 going into halftime.
The first half was a neck and neck battle with both teams playing well on offense and defense. Midview’s first half was a team effort with everyone getting involved, while Padua’s first half was highlighted by Roderick Love.
The Middies started with the ball in the second half but were quickly forced to punt the ball away after a three and out. Padua got the ball at the 25 and went right back to business. Roderick Love continued to take snaps from the wildcat formation this drive, and Midview continued to not have any answers. Love carried the ball 6 times on the drive for 66 yards and capped it off with a 16 yard touchdown. This put the Bruins up 17-17 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
Midview got the ball back and looked to go deep on the second play of their drive. Quarterback Cody Martin threw one deep to Dior Jones. The ball was a bit off target to Jones, but that didn’t matter for cornerback Christian Ruggiero made a spectacular diving interception. The celebration was short lived for the Bruins however, as the ball was fumble on a handoff exchange just 2 plays later, giving the ball back to the Middies.
Midview quickly took advantage of this gift from the Bruins. Running back Marcus McMahon broke off a 29 yard run to the 2 yard line where cleaned up the touchdown on the next play, cutting the lead to 3 and making the game 17-14 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
After some defensive stops by both teams, the Bruins got the ball at their own 25 desperate to regain momentum. On the first play of the drive quarterback Nick Barker dumped a screen pass to Roderick Love. Love dipped in and out of defenders and took in to the outside. With only the safeties to beat it was a race that Love wasn’t going to lose. He took the pass 75 yard for a touchdown putting them up 24-14 with 9 minutes left in the game.
Midview needing a score started their drive at the 50 yard line. Unlucky for them the Bruins defense was ready in this clutch moment, forcing a 4 and out. Padua then drove down the field and put up the dagger which was an 8 yard touchdown catch by Riley Cervenka. This put the Bruins up 31-14 with 6 minutes left.
After forcing a punt, Padua ran down the clock to triple zeros, winning the game 31-14.
The Bruins play at the Buckeye Bucks next week. Buckeye was 9-1 in their regular season and defeated Norwalk in their first round matchup.
