Eagles Avoid "Miracle on Madison"
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:59 pm
On paper, tonight's first round OHSAA football matchup looked like a mismatch. The #1 seeded St. Edward was 9-1, having played a national schedule of top teams. Cleveland Heights, the #16 seed, had a 4-5 record in the regular season, causing many to question if they even belonged in the tournament. By the end of the evening noone was questioning the Tigers, who lost 20-12 to the Eagles in a game that came down to the final minute.
Cleveland Heights set the tone early, taking the opening kickoff and moving the ball into St. Edward territory. They forced a punt on St. Edward's first possession, quickly showing the crowd that they belonged in the game. On St. Edward's second possession, the Tigers stopped the Eagles on downs, getting the ball back midway through the first quarter. The Heights offense then moved down the field, scoring on a touchdown pass from Reggie Harris to Jaylen Harris. The conversion failed, leaving Heights with a 6-0 lead with 3:55 left in the first quarter. The Eagles got a Jake Budyka field goal on the next drive, cutting the lead to to 6-3 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
St. Edward scored again in the opening seconds of the second quarter, as running back Cole Gest got a one yard TD run to give the Eagles a 10-6 lead. The chilly St. Edward crowd began to feel more comfortable, as order had seemingly been restored. However, Michael Pettit intercepted a Jimmy Keefe pass midway through the quarter, thwarting a potential scoring drive and giving the ball back to Cleveland Heights. The Tigers seized momentum, marching the ball down to the Eagles doorstep. Quarterback Reggie Harris scored on an 8 yard touchdown run, giving Heights a 12-10 lead with 5:14 left in the half. The Eagles again drove the ball down the field and appeared ready to score. However, Zachary Ford intercepted an Eagle pass deep in Tiger territory, again thwarting St. Edward. The game went to halftime with Cleveland Heights leading 12-10.
St. Edward received the second half kickoff, and again marched the ball down the field. However, the Tigers grabbed a third interception, this one by Jared Wilson. That score held until late in the third quarter, when Eagle running back Curtis Szelesta scored a TD on a 25 yard run. He gave St. Edward a 17-12 lead with 3:24 left in the third quarter, and gave a sense of relief to the concerned St. Edward crowd. The teams settled into a defensive battle in the fourth quarter, as St. Edward was never quite able to put the upstart Tigers away. St. Edward moved the ball to the Heights 8 yard line late in the fourth quarter, but had to settle for another field goal. That gave them a 20-12 lead, but kept it a one score game.
Cleveland Heights started its next drive at its own 20 yard line with 2:55 to go. The St. Edward defense shut them down, not allowing a single yard. The Eagles took the ball back on downs, then tried another field goal to put the game away with 32 second left. The kick went wide left, giving the Tigers one last gasp. The Eagles sacked the Heights quarterback on the next play, and time expired to secure the 20-12 St. Edward victory.
St. Edward will move on to play Mentor next Saturday at 7pm in the next round of the tournament. They will meet the Cardinals, who defeated Canton GlenOak tonight, at a site to be determined.
Cleveland Heights set the tone early, taking the opening kickoff and moving the ball into St. Edward territory. They forced a punt on St. Edward's first possession, quickly showing the crowd that they belonged in the game. On St. Edward's second possession, the Tigers stopped the Eagles on downs, getting the ball back midway through the first quarter. The Heights offense then moved down the field, scoring on a touchdown pass from Reggie Harris to Jaylen Harris. The conversion failed, leaving Heights with a 6-0 lead with 3:55 left in the first quarter. The Eagles got a Jake Budyka field goal on the next drive, cutting the lead to to 6-3 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
St. Edward scored again in the opening seconds of the second quarter, as running back Cole Gest got a one yard TD run to give the Eagles a 10-6 lead. The chilly St. Edward crowd began to feel more comfortable, as order had seemingly been restored. However, Michael Pettit intercepted a Jimmy Keefe pass midway through the quarter, thwarting a potential scoring drive and giving the ball back to Cleveland Heights. The Tigers seized momentum, marching the ball down to the Eagles doorstep. Quarterback Reggie Harris scored on an 8 yard touchdown run, giving Heights a 12-10 lead with 5:14 left in the half. The Eagles again drove the ball down the field and appeared ready to score. However, Zachary Ford intercepted an Eagle pass deep in Tiger territory, again thwarting St. Edward. The game went to halftime with Cleveland Heights leading 12-10.
St. Edward received the second half kickoff, and again marched the ball down the field. However, the Tigers grabbed a third interception, this one by Jared Wilson. That score held until late in the third quarter, when Eagle running back Curtis Szelesta scored a TD on a 25 yard run. He gave St. Edward a 17-12 lead with 3:24 left in the third quarter, and gave a sense of relief to the concerned St. Edward crowd. The teams settled into a defensive battle in the fourth quarter, as St. Edward was never quite able to put the upstart Tigers away. St. Edward moved the ball to the Heights 8 yard line late in the fourth quarter, but had to settle for another field goal. That gave them a 20-12 lead, but kept it a one score game.
Cleveland Heights started its next drive at its own 20 yard line with 2:55 to go. The St. Edward defense shut them down, not allowing a single yard. The Eagles took the ball back on downs, then tried another field goal to put the game away with 32 second left. The kick went wide left, giving the Tigers one last gasp. The Eagles sacked the Heights quarterback on the next play, and time expired to secure the 20-12 St. Edward victory.
St. Edward will move on to play Mentor next Saturday at 7pm in the next round of the tournament. They will meet the Cardinals, who defeated Canton GlenOak tonight, at a site to be determined.
