Twinsburg: Welcome to prime time, Craig Palidar.
Playing in front of a statewide television crowd on Time Warner Cable, the Wadsworth senior did a little bit of everything Thursday to lead Wadsworth to a 38-36 Suburban League National Conference win over Twinsburg.
And Palidar does love the cameras.
“[Play-by-play announcer] Jeff Phelps up there said last year, ‘When the Palidar boys come in, they show off in front of the camera,’ ” he said.
Palidar certainly did, and the 5-foot-11, 190-pound standout did it every way imaginable in one of the greatest individual efforts of the season for the Grizzlies (4-3, 3-1).
Palidar came up with something special in a 36-all contest to seal the deal.
Facing fourth-and-24 from the 18, the Tigers (1-6, 1-3) sent Jalen Tucker back to punt. Palidar came in untouched and blocked the kick, nearly recovering it in the end zone for the final points of a wild league contest.
“Coach said go after it and I was like, ‘OK. We’re getting this,’ ” Palidar said. “I came in, saw it, blocked it. I wish I would have gotten it before it went out of bounds. We got a safety on it. I just saw an opening and took it.”
Speaking of openings, Palidar wasn’t too bad at wide receiver. Quarterback Joey Baughman was 19-of-34 for 345 and three touchdowns.
All of the scores went to Palidar, who finished with 10 catches for a career-high 212 yards.
To put it in perspective, Palidar accounted for 51 percent of the total offense and 53 percent of his team’s receptions.
“It’s awesome to know I can rely on him every time,” Baughman said. “I know if I put the ball in the air, he’s going to be there to make plays.”
Just in case anyone thought Palidar was done, Twinsburg was still breathing life in the end, but Palidar broke up a pass from Adam Van De Motter (14-of-21, 168 yards, two touchdowns) to close things out.
“I can’t believe it,” Grizzlies coach Justin Todd said. “He was off the charts. He is truly a gamer. It’s his third year starting for us and I can’t be more proud of that kid. What a game. He stepped up in the biggest way on a huge stage. What a player.”
Palidar’s play overshadowed a solid night by Van de Motter and Tre Radford (6 catches, 120 yards, touchdown) for Twinsburg, but what it did most for Wadsworth was keep playoff hopes alive.
Fantastic50.net gives the Grizzlies a 70 percent chance to make the postseason with two more wins in Division II, Region 6.
“It gives us another opportunity to fight,” Todd said. “I talk to the kids about that all the time. Your football life is very short. You have to take advantage of every moment.
“That’s why guys like me coach because we’re still trying to get a piece of it back. I told the kids you’re guaranteed four more weeks. I asked them how they’d live it? God might say to you if you do something great, maybe you’ll get a fifth week and then maybe a sixth. That’s been our approach.”