MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It pays to have a good mudder. Cleveland Heights proved it had more than few players who can handle an off track as the Tigers knocked off Maple Heights, 20-12, to win the Lake Erie League championship on Friday night at Stafford Stadium in Maple Heights. The Tigers, who will make their first trip to...
MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It pays to have a good mudder.
Cleveland Heights proved it had more than few players who can handle an off track as the Tigers knocked off Maple Heights, 20-12, to win the Lake Erie League championship on Friday night at Stafford Stadium in Maple Heights. The Tigers, who will make their first trip to the postseason next week, ended the regular season at 9-0 and 6-0 in the LEL.
And they won their title in style as they overcame both a 12-0 deficit and deplorable field conditions in rallying for the championship against the Mustangs (8-1, 5-1), who saw their 23-game winning streak end in the muck.
"This means every thing to us," said massive two-way tackle Kyle Dodson, who is headed to Wisconsin next season. "We're in the history books. We waited nine months for this."
The Tigers, ranked No. 11 in the Plain Dealer, put up 20 unanswered points. Senior quarterback Bryce Jones, who also handled the punting, came to life in the second quarter as he managed to put his passes on target.
He finished a modest 9-for-17 for 136 yards, with all the yardage coming in the first half. He was not intercepted and got his punts away in steady fashion.
"The punting," said Jones, when asked what worried him the most. "The team had confidence in me. Down, 12-0, did not do anything to us. We wanted it more and we did just that."
The Tigers came alive in the second quarter as they moved 73 yards in eight plays, Jones clicking on three completions, the last one to wide receiver Sheldon Gibson on fourth-and-goal from the 4. Gabriel Brown's extra point made it 12-7.
Bogged down in their own part of the field, the Mustangs could not get a punt off when the snap went over senior Almonte Patrick's head and the Tigers took over at the 15. After a holding penalty set them back, Jones found wide receiver Dorien Hudson in the right corner of the end zone for a 13-12 lead with two minutes to go before the break.
In the third quarter, sophomore running back Marcus Bagley, who lost two fumbles in the first quarter, scored on a 12-yard run for the final cushion.
"I had to put the fumbles out of my head," Bagley said. "The coaches told me to keep my head up and fight through it."
Cleveland Heights coach Jeff Rotsky had his head held high as he took in the celebration on his side of the field.
"The greatest thing is coming back from 12-0," said Rotsky, in his fifth year with the Tigers after a stint coaching the Mustangs. "We had some fumbles early, but came back from it. Both lines played with emotion."
Bagley fumbled on the first play of the game to give the Mustangs the ball at the 40. After a penalty, Maple Heights senior Mervin McCane went untouched up the middle from 45 yards out with the game less than 90 seconds old.
Taking advantage of a poor punt, Maple Heights only had to cover 30 yards and they did it in three plays, with McCane getting his second touchdown, this one from 3 yards with 4:39 left in the quarter.
The Mustangs failed on both two-point attempts to lead, 12-0.
But from that point on, the defending Division II state champions had their hands full as they could not sustain drives. It did not help that senior quarterback Da'Junn Graham had to leave the game for a time in the third quarter with a leg injury.
He returned in the fourth quarter and led his club to a first-and-goal at the 4, but the Mustangs could not punch it in.
Maple Heights announced it will play next week's Division II playoff game at Bedford High.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168
On Twitter: @JoeMaxse
Source: http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/4196436943274666159
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