"Devils Win With Defense"
McDonald - The McDonald Blue Devils used a fierce defense and a pounding running game to overwhelm the Wellsville Tigers 50-12. The Devils would also use a big pass play, and a special teams touchdown to add insult to injury for the Tigers.
McDonald scored on their first possession of the game as Zach Tura would race around right end on a 39-yard touchdown run at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter. However, Wellsville would answer right back with a score of their own when Tigers quarterback Bubba Dowling would hit Nunzio Lombardozzi on a 18-yard touchdown pass. The extra point would be no good leaving the score 7-6.
That is when McDonald began to pull away, and pull away they did. On the ensuing kickoff, Nick Rota would race down the right sideline 92-yards for a touchdown to extend the Devils lead to 14-6.
In the second quarter the Devils would add to their advantage. First the Devils would score on 52-yard touchdown pass from Nicola Accordino to Devin Bansberg. After two consecutive misques by the Tigers, first a fumble then a blocked punt, the Devils would add a 25-yard field goal by Will Robison, and a 14-yard touchdown run by Accordino. With the four unanswered scores, the Devils would take a 31-6 halftime lead into the locker room.
In the second half the Devils continued to push their advantage as they would give the Tigers a steady dose of Nick Cupan running. The senior fullback would score three touchdowns in the third quarter on three consecutive possessions. His touchdown runs would cover 3, 18, and 53 yards. Cupan would finish with 108 yards rushing on the night.
Following the second Cupan score, Jeremy Carter would give the Tiger fans something to cheer about as he returned the Devils kickoff 85-yards for a touchdown. The run would close out the scoring as the Devils improve to 5-0 on the season, and take the early advantage in the league race.
"Rebels Keep Rolling"
Columbiana - Sometimes they say its the little things that make a difference. For the Crestview Rebels it was special teams teams that helped them beat their backyard rivals 20-13.
It was a muffed Clipper punt that seemed to be the turning point in the game as the Rebels took advantage of the misque to take a commanding 20-6 lead in the second half of play.
The Clippers started the game with a bang by scoring on their first play from scrimmage. However, the Rebels would not be phased as they would battle back to tie the contest at 6-6 early in the second quarter. Later in the stanza the Rebs would go 13-6, and take that lead into the locker room at halftime.
Following the muffed punt and Rebels score, the Clippers would not give up as they would mount a long drive late in the contest to cut the score to 20-13. However the onside kick was recovered by the Rebels. The Clippers were also guilty of an offside call on a fourth down play to allow the Rebels to run out the final seconds of the game.
Photos and Recap Courtesy of: RebelPhotography
Crestview was able to down their backyard rivals in Columbiana in what was a great contest between these familar foes. With the Rebels 20-13 win, the Rebels set up an absolutely huge game with East Palestine next week. The Dogs held up their part of the bargain by beating the United Eagles 47-20.
McDonald overpowered the Wellsville Tigers 50-12 to improve to 5-0 on the season, while Western Reserve beat a very good Southern team 26-7. The Reserve Devils are also sitting at 5-0, and trying not to look down the road at a possible "Devils" title re-match.
Mineral Ridge and Springfield also had solid performances again tonight as the Rams beat up on the Lisbon Blue Devils 48-0, and Springfield downed arch-rival South Range 21-9. Both the Rams and Tigers are 2-0 in the league race and will face each other in a key game next week in Mineral Ridge.
Leetonia also continues to keep pace with the race in the ITCL Lower Tier as they downed an improved Sebring squad 34-13. The Bears are also 2-0 in the league and are positioning themselves for a title shot.
Congratulations to the Lowellville Rockets as they were able to get into the win column following four consecutive losses to start the year. The Rockets outlasted a solid Jackson-Milton team and winning in overtime by a 18-12 count.
With numerous teams positioning themselves in the league races, the games are going to get more intense, and more serious as the teams will be fighting for their lives. They will also be aware of their possible playoff positioning. It could get VERY, VERY interesting!