Photo by Brian Dulik
Woodridge football players Keione Artice, Tyler Freeman and Anthony Mong (left to right) played a part in the Bulldogs' 16-13 win over CVCA on Friday night.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH – The Woodridge Bulldogs used a stifling defense and three field goals from kicker Hunter Niswander to defeat Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 16-13 in a season-opening battle of Division III newcomers Friday night at John Lahoski Stadium.
"(Niswander) is not a secret weapon any more, people obviously know who he is now," said elated Woodridge coach Eric Ervin.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior connected on three-pointers from 53, 37 and 37 yards. His 53-yarder capped a 12-play, 54-yard drive and came at 4:18 of the first quarter to give the host Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead.
"I was praying that I could make the field goal," Niswander said about his longest effort of the evening.
CVCA took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Woodridge 25 yard line where senior lineman David Beach recovered a Nathan Rosenberger fumble to stop the Royals' drive.
Woodridge, using a no-huddle spread offense, marched 13 plays to the CVCA 20 yard and Niswander hit from 37 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 6-0 with 9:48 left until halftime.
That lead evaporated as CVCA senior Andrew Jordan bolted 61 yards around right end end to tie the score at 6 with 8:51 left in the half. The PAT was wide left.
The Bulldogs then closed out the first half with a 9-play, 80-yard drive ending on a 2-yard TD run by sophomore Devante Fellows to take a 13-6 lead at half. Woodridge quarterback Sean McCoy completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive for 78 yards.
CVCA tied the score at 13 following a bad Woodridge punt snap which resulted in a 29-yard loss setting the Royals up on the Woodridge 10. Rosenberger punched it in from the 2-yard line on a 4th-and-2 play and Jared Frizman’s kick tied the score at 7:44 left in the third quarter.
Woodridge senior linebacker Keione Artice took over at this point and continually blitzed and stopped CVCA runners in the backfield time and again. Artice and his defensive cohorts held the Royals to a net 4 yards total offense in the second half.
“The second half we knew what we had to do – we had to stop that run up the middle. We were well prepared and we executed. The key to getting to the ball was my D-line. Its all them – they made my job easy," Artice said.
"We call on our seniors to step up in big time situations and (Artice) stepped up in a big, big way," Ervin said.
The Bulldogs then closed out the scoring on Niswander’s third field goal, a 37-yard boot with 10:00 left. Niswander did miss on a 57-yard attempt.
"Phenomenal win – Welcome to Division III, Region 9!," Ervin said. "It's a good way to start the year. Let's face it, this game had playoff intensity.”
“I thought they were very aggressive and we knew they would be. They have a lot of speed and we had trouble stopping their pressure, which caused us some problems. We needed to play the entire 48 minutes,” CVCA coach Ray Carroscia said.
Woodridge was led on the ground by John Reid who carried 25 times for 115 yards and was led in receiving by Nelson Perry who had 70 yards on three catches.
Woodridge quarterback Sean McCoy completed 20-of-30 throws for 191 yards.
Jordan carried 11 times for 102 yards on the ground for CVCA. Rosenberger ran it 19 times for 75 yards.
Walsh Jesuit 27, Louisville 26
LOUISVILLE, OH -- Senior Ross Martin's 29-yard field goal as time expired brought Walsh Jesuit a thrilling road win on Friday night.
Martin has committed to Duke University.
Walsh senior Brock Jones found the end zone twice, scoring on an 18-yard run and a 28-yard pass from senior quarterback Nick Wargo.
That pass play put the Warriors on top 24-14 early in the fourth quarter; however, the Leopards rallied behind a pair of Chad Neff TD strikes covering 20 and 29 yards. The second coming with 1:15 to play gave Lousiville a 26-24 lead.
Louisville was haunted by converting only one 2-point play after four touchdowns. The Leopards missed two extra points.
Coach Gerry Rardin's Warriors led 17-0 in the second quarter. Martin opened the scoring with a 42-yard three-pointer.
Wargo had one rushing and one passing touchdown.