COPLEY: You can’t keep a good offense down.
At least that was the case on Friday when Aurora outlasted host Copley 42-28 in a Suburban League-American Conference game that was loaded with league championship and playoff ramifications.
The game had enough offensive highlights to satisfy the hungriest of thrill seekers.
It had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Aurora’s Gavin Blunt, a scintillating 64-yard scoring run by Copley’s Weston Bridges and some old-fashioned, up-the-gut running by Aurora’s Chris Vanzo.
The two teams combined for more than 600 yards of offense, with Copley actually having a 332-294 advantage.
If it was defensive highlights you crave, they were supplied by Aurora linebacker Bubba Arslanian. The 6-foot, 210-pound Arslanian intercepted two passes, returning the first one 47 yards for a touchdown that staked the Greenmen (7-1, 6-0) to an early lead. His second interception set up Aurora’s third touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 3:50 to play in the first half.
Aurora dominated the first half, and the teams were basically even in the second.
“Give them credit,” Aurora coach Bob Mihalik said of Copley. “We got off to a great start, and they made some adjustments to get back into the game. Then, I thought our guys [coaches] made some adjustments to their adjustments later in the game.”
Bridges, a Michigan State recruit, broke free in the second half and finished with 191 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries for Copley (6-2, 5-1).
Blunt, a 6-2, 190-pound junior, was the star of the game as he had three receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns and two kickoff returns for 124 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Vanzo, a 6-0, 200-pound senior, gained 90 yards on 20 carries and had one touchdown.
Copley receiver Alex Zelch caught four passes for 49 yards, including a 4-yard scoring pass from Austin Brenner that cut into Aurora’s 28-7 halftime lead.
Blunt helped the special teams get involved with what might have been the crushing blow. After Copley had pulled to within 21-7 on a 3-yard touchdown run by Brenner with just 25 seconds remaining in the first half, Blunt retaliated with his 89-yard return.
“He’s a pretty special player,” Aurora coach Bob Mihalik said of Blunt, who scored the decisive touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Mac Austin with 4:39 to play. The same duo hooked up on a 41-yard scoring play in the third when Blunt split two defenders on a slant.
Bridges, who raised his season rushing total to 1,283 yards, raced down the sideline for a touchdown that cut the Indians’ deficit to 14 points late in the third quarter.