by WESTLAKE, OHIO – It was senior night for the Demons and they sent their 12th graders off with a big 34-14 win against GLC rival Fairview. It was a tremendous mix of a solid running game, mixed in with efficient passing and a relentless pass rush defense that kept Warrior quarterback Sean McNamara scrambling for his life all night long.
Demon quarterback Mackey Keenan had a big first half that saw him toss 3 touchdowns on his way to a 7 of 15 night with the 3 touchdowns and 126 yards. His main target was Josh Bauer who had 3 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Bauer also had an interception on defense as well.
The running attack for the Demons went three deep as Arrington Taylor had 75 yards all in the first half on just 5 carries before leaving the game. Will Ostrowski ran for nearly fifty yards, a touchdown and had two interceptions on defense, including a pick six. Backup tailback Matt Porcelli carried the bulk of the load in the second half and also went for over fifty yards.
I continue to be impressed by Fairview Warrior quarterback Sean McNamara every time I watch the young man play. The Demon defense was all over him every single time he dropped back to pass, but he still managed to throw for 151 yards on 12 of 29 passing. He did get sacked 7 times as again, that Demon pass rush was incredible tonight.
The Warrior wideouts also had a pretty good game as several of them turned in nice nights. Ethan Luebe has 3 catches for 54 yards. Cole Kariliak was everywhere tonight as well, he pulled in 3 more passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. David Medina had 3 catches for 41 yards and Xavier Medina caught two passes for 36 yards.
The Demons began the game with the ball and promptly marched down the field to score. The 9 play 67 yard drive was capped off by a 7 yard touchdown pass from Mackey Keenan to Josh Bauer who made a tremendous tip toe catch in the corner of the endzone to grab the score. The big plays on the drive were a 38-yard run by Arrington Taylor and 18-yard jaunt by Will Ostrowski.
Sean McNamara rolled out and hit a wide-open Ethan Luebe to start the first Warrior drive with a 40 yard strike. Some nice runs by Zach Wilson and Gavin Jennings placed the ball inside the 10 for the Warriors soon after. Wilson would punch it in to tie the game at 7 with 3:33 to play in the first quarter. The quarter would end with that same score of 7-7 as neither team could move the ball with their second drive.
The Demons would open up the second quarter with a post route that saw Josh Bauer catch the ball then fly down the sideline managing to stay in bounds on his way to a 65-yard touchdown. This big play gave the Demons a 14-7 lead with 11:17 still to play in the first half.
Josh Bauers big night would continue as he picked off McNamara on the next Warrior drive, deep inside Fairview territory. Penalties would hurt the drive however, and the Demons would face a third and 30 when Keenan hit the Speed Demon known as Cooper Rummel on a short screen that he proceeded to take 43 yards to the house. Folks, I’ll say it again, keep your eyes on Rummel, he is one of the fastest young athletes I have ever seen. This burst extended the Demon lead to 21-7 with 8:05 to play in the half.
The Demons stayed hot the next time they had the ball as they extended a drive by completing a crucial 4th and 7 when Mackey Keenan hit Bauer at the sticks to keep the drive alive. They would eventually cap things off when Will Ostrowski took it in from 10 yards out to make it 28-7 with 5:03 to go in the half.
The Warriors would cut the lead to 28-14 before half however on a Sean McNamara Cole Kariliak 11 yard touchdown pass.
Fairview would have multiple chances in the third and early parts of the fourth quarters to score and dig into the lead, but they couldn’t. McNamara would drive them down, and then they would fizzle out. McNamara had to scramble time and time again as the Demons Angel Jiminian was in the Warrior backfield all game long.
The lone points of the second half would come towards the end of the game when Will Ostrowski picked off McNamara and returned it to make it 34-14 Demons. Ostrowski had two picks on the night.
