STOW: Brecksville entered Friday’s game against Stow undefeated, but its inability to move the ball on offense or stop a high-octane Bulldogs offense cost the Bees a chance at a perfect regular season.
The Bees never recovered from costly errors in the first half, and in their final home game of the season, the Bulldogs cruised to a 41-7 Suburban League-National Conference victory.
“The kids executed. That’s the big piece at the high school level,” Stow coach Mark Nori said. “When you change things up on a week-to-week basis and you’re only getting them for two hours a day, they’ve got to retain that information, too, so they did a great job of executing the game plan that the coaches put forth.”
The Bulldogs (8-1, 5-1) moved the ball practically seamlessly and scored on three of their first four possessions. On the opening possession, the Bulldogs managed two fourth-down conversions on a 62-yard drive, then scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kyle Vantrease to senior receiver Logan Lindsay. Bulldogs senior kicker Austin Burnham booted a 30-yard field goal later in the quarter and junior running back Terrian Wray scored on an 11-yard touchdown run. A 44-yard run by sophomore Bryce Sheppert highlighted that particular drive.
The Bees (8-1, 5-1) scored on their first possession but failed to do anything beyond that point. Stow’s stout defense capped multiple Bees drives, including a third-down sack by senior defensive lineman Matt Esterle on senior quarterback Luke Strnad. Strnad’s pass failed on a fourth-down conversion in Stow territory on the following drive and senior linebacker Joe Gobble returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown.
Gobble’s play lifted Stow to a 24-7 lead, which Nori called a “momentum-shifter” because the Bees’ offense started to heat up prior to the interception. Vantrease made it a 31-7 game 17 seconds before the half with a 1-yard touchdown dive, but Gobble’s interception return already ensured the damage was done.
“We knew [the Bees] had big-play potential,” Nori said. “We had a couple of hits on defense, we were able to make some stops, and then Joe’s interception really turned the momentum.”
After Burnham kicked a 26-yard field goal in the second half, junior safety Tyler Shaver intercepted one of Strnad’s passes. In the fourth quarter, Gobble added a 9-yard touchdown run as a tailback.
With just over five minutes remaining, officials instituted a running clock.
At 405 yards of total offense, the Bulldogs nearly doubled what the Bees mustered. Gobble and Wray each had over 100 yards rushing, and Vantrease passed for 101 yards and his touchdown. Strnad finished with 175 yards passing and a touchdown for the Bees, but he also threw the two interceptions. Brecksville hosts Hudson next week to close the regular season, and Stow will play at North Royalton.
“North Royalton does a great job, and that’s what we’re setting our sights to in Week 10,” Nori said. “We do one game, one play, one day at a time. To us, that’s another championship game for the Suburban League, and we have to treat it as such.”
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