in the ITCL
The Playoffs
McDonald 14 Mogadore 28
" Wildcats Capture Another Crown "
Early on in the game the Devils would take advantage of a Mogadore mistakes as a McDonald punt was fumbled by the Wildcats with Mike Helco recovering at the Mogadore 15-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Matthias Tayala would scamper the 15-yards to paydirt to give the Devils a 6-0 lead as the extra point was blocked.
Then it was Mogadore's turn to take advantage of a Devil miscue. Early in the second quarter, Nick Rota would fumble the ball at mid-field with the Wildcats linebacker Scot Hower recovering at the McDonald 37-yard line. Four plays later, McAvinew would plunge into the end zone from 3-yards out to give Mogadore a 7-6 lead at the 9:53 mark of the quarter.
Just before the half Mogadore would threaten again, however the Devils defense would turn them away on a fourth and three play at the McDonald 30-yard line. With just 2:09 remaining in the half, the Devils would march 70-yards on 14 plays, scoring on a Tayala to Justin Rota 22-yard pass play with 0:00 reading on the clock. Tayala and Justn Rota would connect again on the two-point conversion, and the Deviles took a 14-7 lead into the locker rooms.
As usual, the first possession of either half is key, and Mogadore knew exactly what they needed. They would go on a 65-yard, 11 play drive, with quarterback Adam Schrack leaping over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown. The score at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter knotted up the contest at 14-14.
It looked like McDonald was going to answer right back as they drove to the Mogadore 29-yard line, and looked to be carring the momentum. However, Zach Tura would have the ball squirt out of his arms at the 29, and returned to the 48-yard line by Mogadore's Scot Hower again.
Although Mogadore did not take advantage of that turnover, they would put together another scoring drive on their next possession. Following a short punt by the Devils Miles Dunlap, the Wildcats would take over at the McDonald 39-yard line. Seven plays later the Wildcats would score on a 5-yard run by Kodey Chance as they would take a 21-14 lead with 9:17 remaining in the game.
The Blue Devils were not able to covert on their last three possessions as they were forced to pass the ball and attempt desperation fourth down conversions. Finally, as the Devils defense was trying desperately to strip the Wildcat running backs of the ball, McAvinew would break a 44-yard run up the middle to the Devil's 13-yard line. On the next play, Kodey Chance would score again, this time on a 13-yard run with only 1:19 remaining in the game.
On the night, Tayala was held to only 34 yards rushing, however he did score one of the two McDonald touchdowns, while he completed 8 of 19 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Zach Tura also added 97 yards rushing on the night.
For Mogadore, McAvinew totalled 159 yards rushing with 1 touchdown, Gary Strain added 56-yards on the ground, and Kodey Chance would get 34-yards and 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Adam Schrack would only go 4 of 7 passing, but he would also score 1 touchdown on the ground.
McDonald closes the season with a 10-3 record, ITCL Lower Tier Championship, and a Regional runner-up trophy. After struggling to a 1-2 start the Devils won 9 of their last 10 games this season.
