|
|
|
Flyers turn 13-0 lead into 34-0
in a five-minute span to open the fourth quarter. |
 |
By
Mark Hazelwood
MEDINA –
All
the Flyers needed was a little thunder and lightning.
In a regional semifinal against the
McDonald Blue Devils
at what are now officially the friendly confines of Medina Ken Dukes
Stadium, the Flyers and Devils played in a driving downpour of rain from
start to finish.
Enter senior running back Matt Wilde (lightning) and junior quarterback Eric
Schwieterman (thunder), as the duo combined for all five touchdowns,
including three in a five-minute span of the fourth quarter to rock McDonald
by a 34-0 margin.
With the win, St. Paul improved to 12-0 overall and will play
Hopewell-Loudon (12-0) next Friday at a site to be determined. It will be
the fourth consecutive year the Flyers and Chieftains will meet in the
regional championship.
The Chieftains won in 2005 (43-14) and 2007 (26-14) while the Flyers won in
2006 (29-28).
It will also mark the fifth consecutive
year St. Paul is in the regional championship, as they beat Monroeville
30-14 in the 2004 title game at Elyria Ely Stadium. The Flyers also improved
to 3-0 in the playoffs at Ken Dukes Stadium while outscoring its opponents
by a combined score of 111-13.
The previous wins were a 51-6 fist round
victory over Cleveland Cuyahoga Heights in 1997 and last season's second
round win over Warren JFK, 26-7. It was also just the second shutout for St.
Paul in 23 victories, joining the 2004 state semifinal win over Hicksville
at Tiffin, 22-0.
The end result Friday showed the Flyers
allowing just 135 yards on the ground against McDonald on 50 attempts, good
for just 2.7 yards per run.
“They all did a great job tonight,” St. Paul head coach John Livengood said
of the defense. “McDonald presented a lot of problems with that Wing-T
formation, they threw a few different formations out at us tonight and there
was a lot of misdirection to defend.
“Our defense bent a little bit, but they didn’t break.”
Friday night the Flyers were leading 13-0 entering the fourth quarter and
got a three-yard run and a
two-point conversion by Wilde at the 11:07 mark to make it 21-0 that
capped a short 38-yard drive that was possible thanks to a fumble recovery
by Joel Boose at midfield on fake punt attempt by the
Blue Devils.
The Devils also lost their composure on the drive, as
head coach Dan Williams
was flagged 15 yards in arguing his player was down on the fake punt
attempt, then moments later a McDonald defender picked up another 15-yard
penalty to aid the Flyer drive.
“We just didn’t tackle well,” McDonald head coach Dan Williams said. “We
were in the game at halftime as expected, but it just got out of hand on us
in the second half. We can’t let a team like St. Paul get big momentum.”
On the ensuing play following Wilde’s third touchdown of the night,
McDonald’s Nick Cupan fumbled the ball and defensive tackle Jacob Rhoad was
there for his second fumble recovery of the night at the McDonald 30.
The very next play, the quick-strike Flyer offense that has made a living
all year of of stunning teams then to work, as Wilde took a sweep to his
left, danced between three defenders up the sideline and when it appeared he
was stopped, the senior captain then cut across three more defenders back up
the sideline and turned it into an incredible 30-yard score with 10:48 left
for a 27-0 lead.
Wilde finished the night with 200 yards and four scores on 19 attempts.
“Matt had some big runs for us,” St. Paul head coach John Livengood said.
“He did a fantastic job, but our line and receivers did some great blocking
for him while facing some different schemes they were throwing at us. “Matt
responded with some big plays, and that last sweep that he had was something
special.”
The defense for St. Paul wasn’t done, however, as junior
defensive back Brian
Roberts made a jarring hit on Devils quarterback Nick Accordinio on a
corner blitz to knock the ball loose and Boose was there for another fumble
recovery at the McDonald 20.
Schwieterman then brought out the thunder on the very next play once again,
as he cut to his right and followed a simple block and outran the defense
for the 20-yard score to cap the scoring flurry with 6:55 left and
Schweiterman’s PAT closed the scoring.
Livengood talked about the turnovers in the second half.
“Early in the second half we got some real big hits and forced some
turnovers,” he said. “And that was huge, I felt like that really swung the
momentum.”
After both teams traded posessions to start the game, the quick-play offense
opened the scoring as with a short field Wilde found the seam after a
McDonald punt for a 42-yard touchdown run with two minutes left in the first
quarter and Jim Roth added the
extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Justin Wilde then added his fourth interception of the playoffs to thwart
McDonald’s ensuing drive at the St. Paul 28 and eight plays later Matt
Wilde’s second touchdown came from seven yards out with 9:42 left in the
half but the kick failed for a 13-0 lead.
Frustration then set in for St. Paul for the better part of a quarter, as
the team turned it over on downs at the McDonald 12 to end the first half,
at the McDonald 7 to open the second half and the McDonald 26 on the ensuing
possession before the fourth quarter explosion took place.
Weather proved to be a factor for both teams.
“It bothered us a little bit, it was tough handling the football,” Livengood
said. “I think considering the weather we responded pretty well as I thought
that contributed to their turnovers. Even though we’re playing on turf it
was tough making tackles without overrunning and slipping. The conditions
were tough on everyone.”
Schwieterman added 61 yards on eight attempts and completed 5 of 9 passes
for 45 yards for the Flyers.
St. Paul will face a pass-heavy Chieftain team next week, but Livengood
cautioned the other potential problems they can create.
“I think they hang their hat on that passing game,” he said. “But they play
great defense, they run the ball sound and it is one of the best programs in
Division VI over the past four years.”
McDonald 0 0 0 0 — 0
St. Paul 7 6 0 21 — 34
Scoring
STP — Matt Wilde 42 run, (Jim Roth kick)
STP — Wilde 7 run, (kick failed)
STP — Wilde 3 run, (Wilde run)
STP — Wilde 30 run, (kick failed)
STP — Eric Schwieterman 20 run, (Schwieterman kick)
|
|
|
|
