The Westlake defense pitched a shut out for three quarters last Friday night against Bay. Here, senior linebacker Ryan McConnell sacks Rockets quarterbak Brendan Rehor, with added pressure form Jacob Kutz (35) and Ryan Smugala (13). (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Demons top Rockets, take on Pirates next
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Sept. 3, 2008

Two area football teams with high hopes, but contrasting styles, meet Friday night as Westlake travels to Rocky River in a matchup of former Southwestern Conference rivals.

Last Friday, the Demons ran their early-season record to 2-0 with a 20-7 win over Bay in the battle for the Little Brown Jug. The same night, River opened its home season and evened its record at 1-1 with a solid 25-6 win over Trinity.

Westlake controlled the game with just five possessions against the Rockets, getting touchdown runs from senior Ryan Smugala on three of them. For the game, the Demons gained 264 yards on the ground, with Smugala getting 162 of them on 27 carries. Junior Jimmy Campbell had a solid night as well with 73 yards on 15 carries.

“He was a workhorse for us Friday night,” said Westlake head coach Mark Hollars. “Right now, Ryan is running the football very well. He’s been very physical going after those extra yards, and that really fires up his offensive line when they see that extra effort.

“Campbell ran and blocked well too. We’re starting to see some of our younger players emerge and contribute. Scott Bishop is doing a nice job getting us into our offensive plays, and the line is doing a great job in opening holes,” said Hollars.

Rocky River got a strong running performance from senior Taylor Custenborder, who gained 123 yards in 13 carries against Trinity. That was a big turnaround for him after gaining minus seven yards on four carries in the season opener at Highland.

“The kids really responded after the loss, and getting that first win feels really satisfying,” said first-year River coach Rick Adams.

“The way we played that first week, we looked like a team that was running a completely new system,” said Adams. “The improvement we showed from week one to week two is a credit to the kids we have. Just from a mental approach alone, they’ve really grasped what we’re trying to do.”

River will try to use a number of weapons against the Westlake defense Friday night and will try to keep the Demons off balance with its version of the no-huddle offense.

“We went to our delayed no-huddle, letting the kids line up and calling the plays from there,” said Adams. “Defensively, we stepped up when they had the ball deep in our territory. I told the kids they really grew up this past weekend. This Friday, we’re going to have to stop their running game, and we can’t turn the ball over in our own territory.”

Adams knows if they turn the ball over, they might not get it back for a while. Westlake had drives of 69, 80 and 80 yards on their scoring possessions against Bay, with the running game allowing the Demons to control the clock.

“River’s got a lot of great skilled players,” said Hollars. “Their running backs are fast, and they’re deep at receiver. And a couple of their linemen got two-ways, but they’re a very physical bunch.

“We have to tackle a lot better against River, because if they don’t they have guys who can turn a normal gain into a big play. Offensively, we need to play a very physical game and control the ball. Our passing game has also improved, and we want to keep that going as well,” he said.

In other area games:

Westlake 20, Bay 7
Smugala scored on runs of four, nine and nine yards to outlast the Rockets, who actually led the game, 7-6, after one quarter of play.

Bay took the lead on an 18-yard pass play from Brendan Rehor to Brian Harrell with 1:26 left in the first. The Rockets, however, were unable to reach the end zone the rest of the night. For the game, Rehor completed 16 of 27 passes for 169 yards and the touchdown to Harrell, while Harrell had four receptions for 43 yards. Bryan Boss also had four catches for 54 yards, while Nathan Baugard had 40 rushing yards on seven carries.

River 25, Trinity 6
The Pirates got on the board first on a 22-yard field goal by Alex Baltas, then scored 19 points in the second quarter to take a 22-0 halftime lead. The River defense shut out the visitors through three quarters.

Zach Echols scored the first touchdown for the Pirates on a 24-yard pass from Eric Schade. A nine-yard scoring run by Jensen Mrozinski followed, along with a 43-yard fumble return by linebacker James Martin. Baltas tacked on another 22-yard field goal in the third quarter to conclude the River scoring.

Clyde 33, Olmsted Falls 27
The Bulldogs fell to 0-2 on the season despite racking-up 358 yards of offense. Quarterback John Atkinson threw for 221 yards by completing 20 of 31 pass attempts and led the way on the ground as well with 59 yards rushing.

Brett Emerine, Robbie VanZandt and Tom Novak hauled in touchdown passes. For VanZandt, it was his second touchdown reception in as many games. He leads the team in points scored with 12.

Defensively against Clyde, Charlie Trefny registered an interception.

Lutheran West 28, Hawken 14
The Longhorns moved to 2-0 on the season, jumping out to a 20-7 halftime advantage. Senior quarterback Paul Fackler threw for a touchdown and ran for two more.

Lutheran West’s first score came on a 24-yard pass play from Fackler to Mike Berardinis in the first quarter. Hawken followed with a touchdown and an extra point to take the lead in the second quarter, but the Longhorns answered with a five-yard run by running back Dan Gesch. A one-yard Fackler run before halftime accounted for the 20-7 lead.

Fackler’s 35-yard scamper in the third quarter gave West a commanding 26-7 lead. The Longhorn’s final score came when a Hawken punt sailed out of the back of the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter.

Cloverleaf 38, Fairview 21
The Warriors played the Colts tough in the first half, trailing just 17-14. But a 21-point second half, including 14 points in the fourth quarter, put the game in the win column for the visitors.

Fairview’s first score came on a 14-yard pass play from senior quarterback Adam Dickey to senior wide receiver Marty Patton. Junior Canaan Lorek added an 11-yard touchdown run before the half. The Warriors added a one-yard plunge by sophomore Nick Williams in the fourth quarter.

Padua 40, North Olmsted 0
It was a rough night for the Eagle offense, although Damien Kirks did manage 96 yards rushing on 11 carries. The visitors had 354 yards of total offense, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and 13 more in the second for a 27-0 halftime lead.

North Olmsted will travel to Lakewood this Friday night with hopes of improving on its 1-1 record.