"Tigers Stop the Streak"
New Middletown - It all came down the leg of an offensive linemen, and thirty-seven yards that decided the game between McDonald and Springfield. Jake Noble’s 37-yard boot with only 14 seconds remaining won the season opener for the Tigers 9-7. The kick came at the end of an impressive 14 play drive that started at the Tigers own 20-yard line with 4:25 remaining in the contest.
The first half of the game saw the Devils make several errors including interceptions on their first two possessions, and a fumble just before halftime. The Tigers would make them pay for the miscues on one occassion with a 21-yard touchdown run by Tommy Mastran at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter. But despite the errors by the Devils they only trailed 6-0 at halftime.
In the second half Springfield would commit numerous penalties that put them in bad field position. McDonald would drive to the Tigers 19-yard line before they would be forced to turn the ball over on downs. Finally, mid way through the fourth quarter the Devils would drive 54-yards on 5 plays as Ryan Vernell would power his way into the end zone. The extra point would put the Devils up 7-6 with 4:28 remaining in the game.
That is when Tigers senior quarterback Brad Ferraro would lead his team down the field to the winning kick. Ferraro would hit 3 of 6 passes and rush for 35 yards to set up Noble’s kick. On the night Ferraro would rush for 84 yards and hit 11 of 18 passes for 102 yards.
"Raiders Return to Form"
North Lima- Typical South Range football features a pounding rushing attack. Against the Warren JFK Eagles senior fullback Floyd Kenney scored four touchdowns on 27 carries and 101 yards in demostrating a traditional South Range win. Kenney would rush for three scores and also throw in a 38-yard touchdown reception to add to his all-star game performance.
The Raiders capitalized on Eagle mistakes, another Raider trait, as the Raiders recovered a botched punt at the JFK 12-yard line at the 7:21 mark of the 1st quarter. Four plays later Kenney scored his first touchdown on a 2-yard plunge to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead.
The two teams would trade possessions before Raiders defensive back Alex Dickey would intercept a Bryce Baker pass to give the Raiders possession at the JFK 45-yard line. Five plays later, Raider quarterback David Buzzacco would roll out and throw back to Kenney who would rumble 38-yards for his second score.
Finally, JFK's skill players would break loose when quarterback Baker would roll to his left and hit receiver Vince Infante deep down field. He would spin out a tackle, and race the remaining yards to complete a 70-yard touchdown pass. With the score the two teams would go to the locker room with the Raiders holding a 13-7 advantage.
In the second half the Raiders would inflict a methodical rushing attack that would not only produce points, but also ate away most of the second half clock. First, they took the second half kickoff and went 63-yards on 10 plays using 5:35 off the clock resulting in Kenney plowing into the end zone from 2-yards out.
After a long JFK drive to the Raider 9-yard line the Eagles would turn the ball over on downs at the 1:42 mark of the 3rd quarter. The Raiders would then go on an inconceivable 20-play, 91-yard drive, eating up 10:15 on the clock and ending on a 1-yard plunge by Kenney.
The Raiders would intercept the Eagles again on the next possession and run out the clock to complete the win. The Raider quarterback David Buzzacco also had an outstanding game as he rushed for 28-yards and completed 6 of 10 passes for 101 yards.
If the first night is any indication of what we have to look forward to, it is going to be a GREAT year in the ITCL. Springfield winning on a last second field goal, Wellsville winning on a single point after, and Leetonia winning a big game against a rival. Friday night promises to be just another outstanding night of high school football.
FRIDAY NIGHT
The ITCL scheduled some very tough non-conference opponents this year. Unfortunately a few of the leagues top teams came up short in big games. However, a few others came up with HUGE wins such as South Range beating JFK 26-7, Lowellville over YCS 25-21, and United smashing Malvern 40-25. Also coming up with big wins were Southern over East Palestine 28-7, and Western Reserve beating Mathews 28-0.
Those from the ITCL that came up a little short tonight include: Crestview losing to St. Clairsville 34-24, Columbiana rallied back but still lost to Monroe Central in Steubenville 34-26, and Mineral Ridge was out-gunned by Campbell Memorial 42-28.
Also coming up on the wrong side of the scoreboard were the Jackson-Milton Blue Jays to Windham 21-7, and Sebring battled, but came up with a 17-7 loss to Rootstown. All the losses in the league were close, hard fought, and tight contest.
Although the league only went 8-8 in non-conference play in week #1, ever team played well enough to win. Hopefully next week we will see some more big wins and some more tremendous performaces from the league brightest stars. It has just begun, and we are set to bring you the action.
East Liverpool Review
"Tiger Win Thriller"
Toronto-Toronto started off the scoring early with a TD in the first quarter. The point after being was no good and Toronto led the game 6-0. A hard fought game ensued with Toronto controlling the ball for most of the first half but were denied another trip into the end zone, due toWellsville's, Tyler Reed being all over the field in defense. At the start of the second half of the game with Toronto receiving the kickoff, it was not long before they scored again. This time on a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown, once again the Red Knights were denied that crucial point after.
Later in the third quarter, Wellsville's Chad Elliott caught a short pass, and rambled 35 yards into the end zone for the Tigers first score of the night. A fumbled snap led to the missed extra point for Wellsville leaving the score 12-6
In this opening week nail biter it came down to the last minute of the 4th quarter when Tigers Joe Hall broke through the middle of Toronto's line and blocked a punt. He then scooped it up and ran into the end zone with it to tie up the game 12 - 12. Cavan LeMasters put it through the uprights for the point after bringing the final score to Wellsville 13 Toronto 12.