High School 2nd Annual Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Classic (2006)

[osugrad21]

Link

Bombers lose OT thriller
St. X earns raves on national stage
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
St. Xavier lost a football game Saturday for the first time in two years, but the Bombers actually gained some prestige in a battle of national titans.
Lakeland (Fla.), rated No. 3 nationally by USA Today, beat the No. 8 Bombers 25-22 in overtime at UC's Nippert Stadium. It was the marquee game of the McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge, and a crowd estimated between 12,000 to 15,000 watched the heavyweights duke it out.
"A loss like this isn't a bad loss for St. Xavier," said USA Today writer Chris Lawlor, who compiles the Super 25 poll and attended Saturday's games at UC. "I thought St. Xavier was the best of the four teams in the day session. They're well-coached and they play aggressively."

The day session at UC also included Moeller losing 21-20 to Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.), the USA Today No. 2 team.
St. Xavier and Lakeland played to a 22-22 draw in regulation. Lakeland got the ball first in overtime, when each team gets four downs from the opponents' 20-yard line. The Dreadnaughts took a 25-22 lead on a 41-yard field goal by senior Matt Rodenberry, as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over.
After Rodenberry's field goal, St. X got the ball at the Lakeland 20-yard line. St. X quarterback Ryan Morris lofted a pass toward wide receiver Luke Ewald, who was running a post pattern from right to left. Lakeland defensive back Steve Wilks stepped in and intercepted the pass, ending the game.
"I like the fact that they went for it," Lawlor said. "As far as the rankings and how far they'll drop, I don't know yet . . . I thought they looked good."
St. Xavier, the reigning Ohio Division I champion, had an 18-game winning streak snapped. The Bombers had not lost since a regional playoff defeat in November 2004.
St. Xavier coach Steve Specht was upbeat in defeat.
"I love my kids, and I thought we played our hearts out," Specht said. "We got beat by a pretty darned good football team."
St. Xavier won the total yardage stats, 287-256. Lakeland did outrush the Bombers, 185 net yards to 93.
St. X junior Danny Milligan kicked three field goals, including a 36-yarder that sent the game to overtime with 12 seconds remaining. Milligan, also a wide receiver and punter, had two catches for 45 yards and punted three times for a 46.0-yard average.
"It never feels good to lose, but now we know what it's like," Milligan said. "We know how to react now when we lose, and we'll be better for it."
Lakeland, the two-time reigning Florida Class 5A champion, extended its own winning streak to 34 games.
Lakeland coach Bill Castle was glad to get out of Cincinnati with a win.
"It says a lot for our kids to be on the road for three days and win a tough, physical football game against a great St. Xavier team," Castle said. "It was a state championship environment."
St. Xavier had more than 10,000 fans in attendance, and Lakeland brought about 1,000 from Florida.
"Our fans were out in force, and you can't beat that," Specht said. "We improved in all phases of the game today, really, and a lot of good things happened."
Junior running back Darius Ashley carried 20 times for 120 yards and a TD for St. Xavier. Morris completed 14 of 28 passes for one TD and was intercepted twice.
Lakeland's Chris Rainey, a University of Florida recruit, raced 97 yards to score off the opening kickoff. But St. X answered with a ball-control drive and took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter, on a 1-yard pass from Morris to running back Fred Craig. Craig, who mostly plays safety defensively, also plays some on offense.
The game was tight thereafter, with St. X generally able to contain Lakeland's blazing speed. Rainey rushed 22 times for 87 yards, with 55 of those on one play. Senior running back Jamar Taylor carried 16 times for 117 yards and a TD.
Specht was down but not out. His career record as head coach is now 29-2. "Our kids were winners today," Specht said. "We played hard against a great team, but the only stat that matters is the scoreboard."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Oh so close for Crusaders
Outplay nation's No. 2 team but miss key kicks
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
A few Moeller players stared at the ground, while others simply gazed into space. Regardless, virtually every Crusader was oblivious to their fans' standing ovation after a 21-20 loss to America's No. 2- rated prep football team Saturday.
Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) rallied from a 20-7 second-quarter deficit to beat the underdog Crusaders before 10,000 fans in the McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge at UC's Nippert Stadium. Moeller fans saluted the effort with hearty applause afterward, but the Crusader players were upset by the missed opportunity.
"I feel like we outplayed them by a lot, except for the scoreboard," said Moeller senior linebacker Greg Jones, who had two sacks and an interception. "It's an advance for us, even though we lost. We know we can play with anybody."

Moeller held the upper hand all day until Byrnes, rated No. 2 nationally by USA Today, scored on 1-yard run by Clemson-bound quarterback Willy Korn with 3:26 left.
That made it 21-20. Moeller drove and got into position for a 41-yard field-goal attempt by sophomore left-footed kicker Ryan Sunderman, but the kick hooked wide with 50 seconds remaining.
"I feel very blessed, because they outplayed us today," Byrnes coach Bobby Bentley said. "That's the first game we've been challenged in about three years."
Byrnes has won 30 straight games, and has won four straight South Carolina Class 4A titles.
Moeller had more total yards (404-306) and had a sound defensive scheme that harassed Korn all day. Korn was sacked four times.
"We wanted to show (blitz) on one side and blitz the other," Moeller coach Bob Crable said. "We did a pretty good job of it, but you can't give up the big plays like we did."
Korn found junior wideout Randall Hawkins (seven catches, 186 yards) for some big plays. The biggest was a 51-yard rainbow to a streaking Hawkins, which put Byrnes at Moeller's 3-yard line and set up the winning score.
Moeller is tied for No. 10 in the Ohio Division I state poll and is No. 7 in the Enquirer area coaches' poll. The Crusaders lost 13-12 to Lakota West in the season opener, with a missed extra point decisive in that one, and again Saturday.
Crable said he would send Sunderman, one of the city's top young kickers, out again in the same situations.
"Ryan Sunderman has done a great job for us all year," Crable said.
Moeller quarterback Ross Oltorik completed 10 of 19 passes for 172 yards, two TDs and one interception. Tim Uecker carried 16 times for 80 yards, and Patrick Blanks rushed seven times for 37 yards and a TD. John Giuffre rushed for 54 yards, and Oltorik 48.
Moeller rushed for 219 yards and held Byrnes to 34 yards rushing.
Korn completed 17 of 24 passes (one interception) for 272 yards. He also rushed for two TDs.
"Our guys have played hard all year," Crable said. "They played their tails off today."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Byrnes does it all

Published September 17, 2006


The Byrnes High School football team received a police escort during its stay in Cincinnati for the Ohio vs. USA Challenge.
We sort of did, too, but the flashing blue lights in our case were behind us, not in front, and the escort was to a stopping point at the side of the highway.
That's when we found out for sure that the Rebels' reputation far exceeds the South Carolina boundary and at least as far north as Dayton.
A highway patrolman there knew about Byrnes football and wanted to chat about the Challenge.
So instead of giving us a speeding ticket for driving 83 mph in a 65 mph zone, he gave us a polite warning and better directions to the game.
Thank you, Rebels.
And now, after their big win Saturday against Moeller, traditionally one of the most powerful teams in Ohio, prep writer Jason Gilmer and I should be able to freely break traffic laws all the way to Michigan and maybe even Canada.
I finally let Gilmer drive the rental car for the first time all weekend and it took him about 20 minutes to get pulled over. He was making a pass on I-75 and didn't see the officer in position for the sack.
But when we told him we were sports writers on the way to watch Byrnes play, that's all he wanted to talk about. He was in a good mood because his alma mater, Colerain High School, beat Cardinal O'Hara of Pennsylvania on Friday night in the Challenge. We buttered him up because we knew Colerain won by shutout, having heard it on the radio about 10 minutes earlier.
He talked so much that he apparently forgot that we had been flying down the road at breakneck speed.
He talked so much, without radioing in, that the dispatcher called to see if he was OK. He talked so much that my coffee got cold. I didn't think it would be right to causally sip it until I found out if we were in trouble or not. He talked so much that I wanted him to just give us a ticket and let us go already.
"Moeller's down a little this year," he said. "But ?"
He didn't come out and say it, but Officer Colerain didn't think Byrnes had a chance. We didn't find out his real name (maybe it's better that way) and didn't want to find out by seeing it on a ticket.
Moeller recruits players, he told us. He said the school got in trouble about it a while ago, but the high school league gave up the battle and decided to allow out-of-district transfers within certain limits.
"But that's not enforced," he said. "Everybody knows Moeller recruits, but nobody really talks about it."
He couldn't believe that Byrnes had players who were ruled ineligible by the South Carolina High School League after they transferred in. The officer wondered how a team could be ranked No. 2 in the nation without bringing in players and getting jobs for their parents.
That's when he decided, I think, that Moeller would almost assuredly whip Byrnes and build on the common belief that Ohio football is just plain better. And make no mistake about it. Herbstreit, who played at Ohio State, didn't organize this Challenge to show off the top teams in the country. He organized it to show that Ohio teams could beat the best teams in the country.
Byrnes was playing not only for itself, but for everybody involved with South Carolina high school football. The Rebels are the best we have, although Gaffney's fans would argue. If our state's best team had lost to an Ohio team that is not even considered maybe the fourth-best in its own city (St. Xavier and Colerain are ranked, Elder is always great), it would have been a black eye for all of us. Believe that.
The Rebels didn't carry a school flag out there Saturday at Nippert Stadium. The carried the state flag. And they waved it proudly after the victory.
"We know Ohio football is tough," Byrnes senior linebacker Chad Diehl said. "But we've got good football, too."
"We would have always been compared to Moeller," said Willy Korn, who was born in Columbus, Ohio.
"Every time Moeller loses, people would say, 'Well, that means they're better than Byrnes. That means they're better than South Carolina's good football.' "
On the way back up the road after the game, I almost wished we could have seen Officer Colerain again to ask him what he thought now. But I kept Leadfoot in the passenger seat.
Todd Shanesy can be reached at 562-7273 or [email protected].

 

[osugrad21]

Link

LAKELAND 25, CINCINNATI ST. XAVIER 22 (OT)
Dreadnaughts Kicker Redeems Himself In OT

Skip directly to the full story.
By TOM GROESCHEN Special to the Tribune
Published: Sep 17, 2006


CINCINNATI - Lakeland senior kicker Matt Roddenbery figured he was partly to blame for the Dreadnaughts going to overtime. To make up for it, Roddenbery merely made the kick of his life.
The 5-foot-11, 145-pound senior booted a 41-yard field goal that gave Lakeland a 25-22 overtime win against Cincinnati St. Xavier on Saturday at the University of Cincinnati in a battle of national prep football heavyweights at the Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge.
Lakeland (4-0) is rated No. 3 nationally by USA Today and St. Xavier (3-1) is No. 8. The Dreadnaughts extended their winning streak to 34 games while St. Xavier, the reigning Ohio Division I (big school) champion, had an 18-game winning streak snapped.
Lakeland star Chris Rainey returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, but Roddenbery missed the extra point. Had he made it, the game obviously might not have gone to overtime.
"I'd been kicking them bad all day," Roddenbery said. "I kicked this one [game-winner] bad, too, but at least it went straight."
The ball did go straight and, upon descent, hit the crossbar and bounced over.
St. Xavier and Lakeland played to a 22-22 draw in regulation. Lakeland got the ball first in overtime, when each team gets four downs from the opponents' 20-yard line. The Dreadnaughts lost 5 yards on three downs, then took a 25-22 lead on Roddenbery's field goal.
St. X then got the ball at the Lakeland 20. St. X quarterback Ryan Morris drifted back and lofted a pass toward wide receiver Luke Ewald, who was running a post pattern from right to left. Lakeland senior defensive back Steve Wilks stepped in and intercepted the pass, ending the game.
"It feels good to come this far and win," Wilks said. "We haven't been held down that close in a while. They're good, and I give them all the respect."
A crowd estimated between 12,000 to 15,000 watched the game on a hot, sunny day. Lakeland reportedly brought somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 people.
Lakeland coach Bill Castle was glad to get out of Cincinnati with a win.
"It says a lot for our kids to be on the road for three days and win a tough, physical football game against a great St. Xavier team," Castle said. "It was a state championship environment."
St. Xavier coach Steve Specht was upbeat in defeat.
"I thought we played our hearts out," Specht said. "We got beat by a pretty darned good football team."
St. Xavier won the total yardage battle, 287-256. Lakeland did outrush the Bombers, 185 to 93.
The game was tight throughout, with St. X generally able to contain Lakeland's blazing speed. Rainey rushed 22 times for 87 yards, with 55 of those on one play. Senior running back Jamar Taylor carried 16 times for 117 yards and a TD.
Lakeland 6 8 8 0 3 - 25 St. Xavier 7 3 9 3 0 - 22 L-Rainey 97 kickoff return (kick failed)
SX-Craig 1 pass from Morris (Milligan kick)
L-Broxton 16 pass from Castle (Wilson run)
SX-FG Milligan 38
SX-FG Milligan 40
SX-Ashley 32 run (run failed)
L-Taylor 1 run (Wilson pass from Castle)
SX-FG Milligan 36
L-FG Roddenbery 41

 

[osugrad21]

Link

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL #1 ST. EDWARD 49SPRINGDALE 3
Arkansas school is no match for Eagles' juggernaut


Sunday, September 17, 2006Tim Rogers
Plain Dealer Reporter
Massillon -- St. Edward did its part in defending Ohio's high school foot ball honor Saturday when it throttled Springdale High, 49-3, in the second annual McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Is it significant that Springdale, from Springdale, Ark., is the alma mater of former Browns coach Butch Davis? The Bulldogs did not score until Alex Tejada kicked a 37-yard field goal on the game's final play. Tejada, who will attend Arkansas, just missed a 50-yarder in the first half. It would not have made any difference.
St. Edward (3-1), ranked 30th nationally and fourth in Ohio, was lethal and efficient in handing Springdale its first loss in 16 games. The Eagles scored the first three times they had the ball, rolled up nearly 350 yards of offense, had two lengthy punt returns, created two turnovers and held the Bulldogs to 167 net yards.

"I think we did a pretty good job of representing Ohio," said senior lineman Ben Kuhar.
Springdale coach Kevin Johnson concurred.
"I feel we have played some of the top powerhouses in our region and we see some real good competition," said Johnson, in his first year. "But I told our kids that this week we would be taking on a different beast. St. Edward is about the best team I've seen."
St. Edward defensive back Nate Oliver, who will attend Ohio State, was named the game's MVP. The 6-1, 205-pound senior returned two punts for 101 yards, including a 46-yarder for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.
Oliver returned another punt 55 yards to the Springdale 4-yard line, which senior back Frank Edmonds converted into a touchdown. Just 52 seconds after he scored on his punt return, Oliver added a 26-yard scoring run with a pass interception.
"I just came out with the mentality that our defense needed to score," said Oliver, who revealed that head coach John Gibbons had wondered at practice if his defense was going to start causing turnovers. "We hadn't scored yet on defense this year."
Eagles junior quarterback Alex Sterba completed 6 of 8 passes for 116 yards, highlighted by a 55-yard scoring strike to junior Branden Williams.
Tailback Frank Edmonds led all ball carriers with 129 yards on 18 carries and scored three times for the Eagles.
"I guess these guys decided to come out ready to play, which wasn't the case in our first three games," said Gibbons, whose team plays Chaminade Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) -- ranked 21st in the country -- next week. "Hopefully we can use this as springboard for the rest of the season."

 

[osugrad21]

USAToday

Don Bosco (N.J.), No. 5 De La Salle win at Herbstreit Challenge


swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader'); By Christopher Lawlor, USA TODAY
CINCINNATI ? Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) passed its second consecutive test against out-of-state competition Saturday.
Using a stout defense and running of Guy Germinaro, Don Bosco blanked Centerville (Ohio) 21-0 in the McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge.
FULL RESULTS: McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge
The two-day football extravaganza pitted Ohio's best high school football teams against nine from eight other states. Six were played at University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium, while three more were at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon, Ohio.
In the second Challenge, out-of-state teams won five of the nine games. Ohio teams swept the three games played in Massillon.
Germinaro, who rushed 96 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, gave Don Bosco (2-0) a 7-0 halftime lead off a two-yard scoring run.
Steven Dorn scored in the third quarter from 10 yards and Germinaro added his second score on a 64-yard run with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
Quarterback Matt Simms, whose father Phil played for the New York Giants, completed 12-of-17 passes for 193 yards. Last week Don Bosco beat St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 31-28 in a game aired on ESPNU.
Centerville (2-2), which lost for the second consecutive week, dominated time of possession by more than eight minutes and rushed for 199 yards out of the wishbone. Don Bosco held a 365-263 edge in total yards.
In the second game, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), No. 6 in the Super 25 rankings, opened a 14-0 first quarter lead en route to a 56-38 victory over Elder (Cincinnati). Elder's loss was the third of the day for Greater Cincinnati Catholic League teams. Earlier Saturday, both No. 8 St. Xavier and Moeller lost close games.
DLS (2-0) amassed 173 yards in the opening quarter as junior quarterback Mike MacGillivray scored twice, but Elder cut the deficit to 14-12 with 5:11 when Patrick Williams scored from the 1.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ryan Nastor broke the game open by returning the kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Two minutes later MacGillivray ran 47 yards for his third touchdown of the half for a 28-12 lead.
MacGillivray collected 302 total yards (133 rushing and 169 passing) and scored four times, passing for two to Albert Rosette. He ran DLS' veer offense to perfection, garnering 496 total yards, earning MVP honors.
Williams rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns for Elder (3-1).
In Massillon, No. 13 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) rebounded from last week's loss to St. Xavier (Cincinnati) with a 49-3 victory over Springdale (Ark.). St. Edward (3-1) dominated the game from the start. Senior running back-defensive back Nate Oliver was named the game MVP after returning a punt 46 yards for a touchdown and intercepting a pass.
Massillon Washington used home-field advantage in a 35-26 upset of No. 11 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.). Senior tailback Brian Gamble scored three TDs, including two on receptions of 10 and 21 yards, and accumulated 361 offensive yards.

McDonald's Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge​

FINAL RESULTS​

Texas High (Texarkana, Texas) 44, Findlay (Ohio) 21

No. 25 Colerain (Cincinnati) 28, Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.) 0

No. 2 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 21, Moeller (Cincinnati) 20

No. 3 Lakeland (Fla.) 25, No. 8 St. Xavier 22 (OT)

Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 21, Centerville 0

No. 5 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 56, Elder (Cincinnati) 38

Hilliard (Ohio) Davidson 17, St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 14

No. 13 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) 49, Springdale (Ark.) 3

Massillon Washington 35, No. 11 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 26

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Simms-led Eastern powerhouse blanks Centerville in Ohio vs. USA Challenge

By Ron Jackson
Staff Writer

Sunday, September 17, 2006
CINCINNATI ? Matt Simms sports the golden locks of his father, Phil, and brother, Chris, and Saturday night he helped engineer Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) to a 21-0 win over Centerville.
The Elks football team, now 2-2, fell on the national stage as part of the Ohio vs. USA Kirk Herbstreit Challenge at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium before an estimated 4,000 fans. Simms hit 12-of-17 passes for 193 yards, but it was the Ironmen's running game that proved to be the difference. The Eastern powerhouse from Ramsey, N.J., rushed for 162 yards.
"We're not a one-dimensional team at all," said 6-foot-3, 205-pound Simms, who has verbally committed to Louisville. His father is Super Bowl hero Phil Simms and his older brother Chris is the Tampa Bay starting quarterback.
"We build off our great running game. Centerville likes to take chances, over pursuing and blitzing a lot, and we took advantage of that with some well-executed inside runs and we found some openings."
Guy Germinario rambled up the middle for a decisive 64-yard score late in the third quarter, making it 21-0. Centerville couldn't muster a score against the rugged defense.
"I think we just got beat by the next New Jersey state champion and a team that will be in the top 10 or 20 nationally by the end of the year," said Centerville head coach Ron Ullery. "That's no disgrace. You hear a lot about Simms, but no way are they are a one-man team. They can afford to make more mistakes than us because their offense is more explosive than ours."
Playing one of their most ambitious schedules, the Elks came out and played strongly in the first half, limiting the Ironmen to 16 plays while penetrating deep into Bosco territory twice without scoring. Overall, Centerville rushed for 199 yards, led by quarterback David Fleming with 105 in 24 carries.
The Elks were a part of the made-for-exposure, nine-game extravaganza in Cincinnati and Massillon that matched Ohio prep powers against teams from all over the country.

 

[CleveBucks]

4-5 against some of the top teams in the nation is nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when the X and Moeller games could've easily gone the other way.

Texas High (Texarkana, Texas) 44, Findlay (Ohio) 21
No. 25 Colerain (Cincinnati) 28, Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.) 0
No. 2 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 21, Moeller (Cincinnati) 20
No. 3 Lakeland (Fla.) 25, No. 8 St. Xavier 22 (OT)
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 21, Centerville 0
No. 5 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 56, Elder (Cincinnati) 38
Hilliard (Ohio) Davidson 17, St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 14
No. 13 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) 49, Springdale (Ark.) 3
Massillon Washington 35, No. 11 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 26

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tigers overcame many challenges Saturday night[/FONT]
Monday, September 18, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By JOSH WEIR repository sports wRITER [/FONT]

Repository Ray Stewart SWARMING Massillon defenders Antonio Scassa (47), Darian McGuire (7) and Trey Miller converge on Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton wide receiver Kerry Taylor on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The defense picked up as the game went on in the Tigers? 35-26 victory.
​

MASSILLON Wherever the 2006 high school football season takes the Massillon Tigers, they might look back on Saturday as the defining moment.
Massillon could have been buried by Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High School during the McDonald?s Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge. Instead, the Tigers clawed back for an impressive 35-26 victory against USA Today?s 11th ranked team in the nation.
?That was a big win,? Massillon coach Tom Stacy said afterwards. ?We needed that win. That was a very, very good football team ? better than Moeller. They were faster (and) very well coached.?
Moeller embarrassed the Tigers, 48-14, last weekend in Cincinnati. Hamilton looked as though it was ready to do the same early in the game Saturday, but seniors Brian Gamble and Andrew Dailey wouldn?t allow it.
Gamble ran, caught, threw and stole, accounting for three touchdowns, 269 total yards and one crucial pick in earning game MVP honors. Dailey was all over the field defensively and produced a huge interception return for a touchdown in the second half.
?These two guys came up big,? Stacy said with Dailey and Gamble sitting by his side. ?They just made plays all over the place. That?s a big key when you have seniors do that. The seniors did it last year, and now these guys are taking over this year.?
Hamilton made Massillon look awfully bad defensively a number of times in the first half. Kerry Taylor, an Arizona State recruit and the nephew of former NFL receiver John Taylor, outran the secondary for a 66-yard TD catch on Hamilton?s first play. Later in the half, Nathan Jeffery basically went 80 yards with one shoe and despite getting grabbed by his facemask, giving the Huskies a 17-7 lead.
But as Massillon adjusted to Hamilton?s speed, the game changed on both sides of the ball.
?It was Midwest football,? first-year Hamilton coach Steve Belles said. ?It was pound and make the short throws. I thought their quarterback did an extremely good job just hitting the short out-routes. I thought that was big, because he let his receivers do some damage after they caught the ball. We didn?t play tight enough in some of our coverages.?
Bobby Huth finished the game with 175 yards and three TDs on 15-of-24 passing. Bryan Sheegog had a monster performance, catching five passes ? including a 66-yarder from Gamble ? for 116 yards and a TD.
When he didn?t throw it, Gamble hurt Hamilton with his aggressive running behind an offensive line that improved as the game wore on. Gamble finished with 159 yards on 35 carries.
Massillon gained 21 first downs to Hamilton?s 15 and held a 30:08 to 17:52 edge in time of possession. Belles didn?t feel like his team got tired, but he did second-guess himself.
?We?re up 17-7, I probably should have just sat on the ball,? he said. ?That?s my fault as a coach. I?m more of a press guy. If there is time on the clock, it?s time to play football (with) the way I look at it. We made bad decisions when we threw, but some of the blame I have to look in the mirror.?
Bigger than Football
Martel Carpenter, a reserve senior tight end-linebacker, was in a horrible car crash Saturday morning. His younger brother was killed in the accident. Martel was hospitalized but upgraded to stable condition Sunday.
?I told the captains (Saturday) morning after our Sideliners breakfast and the rest of the team before our meetings about what had happened, and there were a lot of tears in that room,? Stacy said.
?It?s one of those things that you unfortunately have to go through in life. I?m not sure it?s fair for these guys to have to go through it as young adults. It hard enough for us as adults.?
For the record
USA finished on top in the Herbstreit Challenge, 5-4, as Ohio swept the games Saturday at Massillon.

 

[akronbuck]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2006-09-17-ohio-challenge_x.htm

lemming talks about some juniors to watch