by WESTLAKE – It was an exciting crosstown rivalry game as the Westlake Demons defeated the visiting Fairview Warriors 37-25 tonight. The Demons came in a little banged up without starting tailback Matthew Porcelli but received a giant effort from Jake Ostrowski who went off for 102 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns.
Demon quarterback Brucchieri also stepped up with his legs as well, rushing 8 times for 130 yards and a score. He also tossed two touchdown passes as he threw for 260 yards on 17 of 25 passing. His biggest threats were Chace Kelly with 5 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Rummel added 4 catches for 56 yards while Kaden Cole had 5 catches for 103 yards and a score.
Fairview looked strong tonight on offense, with 4 touchdown drives throughout the night. The Warriors quarterback Burke Lowry went 12 of 24 tonight for 290 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 4 times, for 24 yards and 3 touchdowns.
His top threats were Brandon Clark who rushed for 46 yards and received for 102 yards as he is lightning fast. Quinn Bruder ran for 37 yards, Pat Canfield ran for 44 yards and Nolan Reis caught 3 passes for 109 yards. His biggest target was Savijan Harris who caught 4 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Sam Brucchieri started the game off with a 70-yard touchdown run on the very first play from scrimmage and Westlake was off to the races. Fairview was undaunted however, and went right to work with the ball as Burke Lowry hit Savijan Harris with a 20-yard strike to open up the Warrior attack. Brandon Clark followed it with a nice 14-yard run. The drive eventually stalled and the score remained 7-0 Westlake.
The next drive was set up with one pass to Campell and then just a heavy amount of runs from Jake Ostrowski to move the ball down the field. They would cap it off with points on a 1-yard touchdown jaunt from Jake Ostrowski to extend the lead to 14-0. The quarter ended by that same score.
Fairview began the second quarter on the move and found their first points of the game. The Warriors quarterback Burke Lowry had all day to pass and found a perfect one on one matchup in the corner of the endzone with Savijan Harris who he hit in stride for a touchdown. This made it 14-6 with 11:24 to play in the first half.
Chace Kelly made the play of the game on the next Demon drive. He caught an 8-yard pass, and then spun out of two tackles, to sprint for a 34-yard touchdown. It was one of the nicer plays you’re going to see in high school football. This brilliant play gave the Demons a 21-6 lead with 8:59 to go in the second quarter.
Fairview head coach Sean Ranc dialed up some trickeration on the next Warrior possession, calling for a fake punt that Bray Weir took 30 yards to extend the drive. A moment after that, Burke Lowery connected with Nolan Reis for 38 more yards. Seconds after that, Lowry cashed it in from one yard out to score and cut into the lead, 21-12 with 2:47 left to play in the opening half.
A second Ostrowski touchdown run made it 28-12 at the half as a two-minute drill for the Demons went smoothly and led to points to close out the quarter. The teams combined for 40 first half points.
After a third quarter that featured each team having a few missteps, the Demons put together a nice drive to start the fourth quarter that resulted in a 39-yard field goal to move the score to 31-12. Fairview answered right back with a solid drive, capping it off with a Lowry touchdown run to slice the lead down to 31-18.
The scoring wasn’t done yet however, as the Demons methodically marched downfield with a nice run pass mix. They found the endzone on a Brucchieri launch to Kaden Cole of 38 yards for the score and the 37-18 lead with 4:06 to play.
The Demons hung on for the 37-25 win after another Burke Lowry touchdown run. The win moved Westlake to 5-1 as they travel to Rocky River next week. Fairview will host Bay Village next Friday.
Players of the game
Westlake RB Jake Ostrowski with 102 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns.
Fairview QB Burke Lowry who went 12 of 24 tonight for 290 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 4 times, for 24 yards and 3 touchdowns.
