CUYAHOGA FALLS: Seldom is Jacob Margroff embarrassed on the football field.
After uncharacteristically dropping a sure touchdown pass, the senior wide receiver caught two first-half touchdowns, the second a remarkable grab, to help Woodridge overwhelm Manchester 49-7 Friday night at Lahoski Field.
“I knew I had to make up for it. I had to apologize to [quarterback Mason] Lydic,” said Margroff, who finished with four receptions for 90 yards and a 38-yard punt return. “That first one was an unacceptable drop. I did not [want to go back to the huddle].”
The Bulldogs (2-0) have won 17 consecutive regular-season games, including 15 in a row by 19 or more points. Mogadore is the last team to beat Woodridge in the regular season — on Sept. 26, 2014.
Manchester legendary coach Jim France remained at 378 career victories.
“We started off kind of slow. That first quarter, we were kind of slogging through things, and they were playing really solid,” Woodridge third-year coach Jeff Decker said. “We got the passing game going and stretched the field vertically.”
Lydic (9-of-13 passing, 155 yards, three TDs) got the Woodridge air attack flying late in the second quarter, providing a 21-0 halftime lead.
“Short memory. Look what I did at CVCA. I didn’t do much at all. That’s what I told [Margroff],” Lydic said.
Lydic, a junior, also found senior receiver Sharif Howard (five receptions, 65 yards, one TD) in clutch situations.
In the meantime, Bulldogs senior running back King Alfred Sanders (13 carries, 115 yards, two TDs, plus a 97-yard kick return TD) hit a couple of long home runs.
Manchester (0-2) received a gutsy effort from senior quarterback Dalton Earich, a Youngstown State baseball recruit. Earich kept the chains moving with three first-quarter runs of more than 10 yards and completed a 33-yard toss to junior JoJo France in the second quarter to move the ball into Woodridge territory.
The Bulldogs, however, made nine tackles for loss in the first half alone and made it difficult for Manchester to sustain its offense.
Junior linebacker Robert Singletary had five tackles behind the line, with four in the first half to go along with a blocked punt, and an impressive 22-yard run in one series at running back.
In addition, senior Dontae Craft, junior Robbie Taylor, and sophomore Kyle Kelleher each had two tackles for loss.
“We have a lot of fast kids,” Decker said. “They know their [defensive] responsibilities really well.”
Woodridge junior King Alcardon Sanders intercepted Earich in the fourth quarter and returned it 27 yards to the Manchester 2. On the next play, he scored the touchdown.
After Manchester scored on a 9-yard pass from senior Caleb Duckett to senior Jack Hettich, King Alfred Sanders picked up a bouncing kickoff and bolted 97 yards for a score with 4:41 left.
The Panthers kept Woodridge off the board on its first two possessions, but King Alfred Sanders broke three tackles on his way to a 66-yard touchdown run at 3:23 of the first quarter.
Lydic’s 22-yard pass to Howard led to Magroff’s first score, a 13-yard catch and run.
With 1:10 left before half, Lydic uncorked a rainbow pass down the right sideline and Margroff out-jumped a Manchester defender for a 45-yard touchdown play.
“I knew that corner was a little shorter and I knew Jake could go get it,” Lydic said
Woodridge scored two touchdowns on its first seven snaps of the second half for a 35-0 lead, which started the running clock.
Lydic and Howard connected on the first score, a 19-yarder on fourth-and-four at 6:45 of the third. King Alfred Sanders followed with an 11-yard touchdown run.
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